Basil 11-306 [1]

Sponsored by:

Dave, Sharon, Lisa, and Maddie Lunde
"In memory of our sweet golden girl Sophie"

Best wishes to Basil! From Megan and Bailey

Please welcome sweet little Basil to RAGOM! A huge thank you to Rona and Kathy for bringing her to MN! Basil is a 4 year old (b. 5/5/07) female Golden Retriever/Cocker Spaniel mix - she looks like a small Golden with long Cocker ears. She's just a tiny little girl - she probably only weighs 35-40 lbs - and is a light gold color with a white stripe on her head and some white on her muzzle. Basil and her kennel mates Sahara and India were rescued by a good samaritan in South Dakota from a breeder that was going out of business. Thankfully, her days as a momma are over as she was spayed recently, as well as microchipped and brought up to date on her vaccinations.

Basil was a very scared little girl when she first came to our house and would creep around on her belly. She is settling in slowly, but she is still pretty shy. She likes her crate and has a couple other safe spots around the house. She is getting more and more brave and will come out now and then and follow me around. I've even seen her wag her tail a few times now! In the picture below, you can see in her eyes that she isn't sure yet if she's safe, so I look forward to the moment that we can instead see the joy in her eyes, the look that says she knows she's safe forever and is happy in her skin (or fur!).

Basil likes to go on walks and will walk very nicely right by my side. She also likes to lounge around and relax - that's my kind of girl! She hasn't picked up any toys yet or played at all with my dogs, but hopefully she will as she gets more comfortable. I think Basil will do well in a pretty quiet home - one with no children and not a lot of activity. She would probably like to have another dog in the home, but one that is fairly mellow and low key - a dog that will teach her and help her to gain confidence but will also give her her space when she needs it. Typically, dogs that are shy or fearful do better in homes with physical fences because of their tendency to bolt when something scares them. Basil seems to register more on the "freeze" side of the Flight or Freeze scale so far, but a fenced yard would probably be a good thing for her, just to be on the safe side. She will need a family that is patient and committed to helping her feel safe and loved. Let us know if you think you could be that person for Basil!

I will write more as I get to know this girl better and I hope to have some smiling pictures of her soon!