Kelly 13-104 [1]

June 4, 2013

I would like to introduce Kelly who is a 21 month old absolutely gorgeous Golden. She is 68 pounds of almost pure puppy with high energy, crazy antics, very inquisitive and loves to run and play. Kelly came to our home a few weeks ago after her surrender to RAGOM due to several seizures which her owner did not want to deal with. Currently she is on a low dose of phenobarbital which has been very effective in controlling her seizures. Since she has been with me there was only one minor seizure which occurred the day she was spayed--the vet attributed this to her trauma over the surgery and anesthetics. Kelly is now house trained whose only major issue now is her fear of being alone. When she first arrived she could not stand to be alone for even a minute nor could she be alone in any room. She was very afraid of being left behind although she has no problem spending time alone in a car. For a while Kelly was with me 24 hrs a day. I have since added a pet gate/door to our laundry area which she can see out of. I now feed her in this room with the gate shut and I go away from the room. I also now go to the mailbox, garage, neighbor for short periods and she is fine. She spends lots of time alone on our deck. This separation fear was very severe when she arrived but is gradually abating as she gets more secure in her home. She does not like crates which is normal for a dog with her fear. Kelly is up to date on her vaccinations and also Heartgard and Frontline. She also has no resource guarding issues with her food, treats or toys. This is a truly wonderful dog who in a short time has endeared herself to our family.

I noticed the first day that she loves to be in the car with her head out the window(s) and wants to pace. She rarely sits down in the car and wants to see and smell everything. On our first walks she was all over the place-typical puppy behavior but she is settling down a bit now on our walks. A Gentle Leader certainly helped these walks. I have noticed on our walks that she has a strong prey drive. We recently spent a few days at our lake home. Kelly spent her time with 12 people in our home along with 3 other dogs and she was in heaven. Our youngest granddaughter (7 years old) has been terribly afraid of bigger dogs-she would run and hide from them. After a couple of days she not only warmed up to Kelly but she would seek her attention and Kelly was happy to nuzzle her. She gets along well with children both small and big and perhaps every one else on earth. Kelly also met 3 other Goldens on the island and loved every minute of her time with them. After a while I gave her some freedom to roam and she clearly loved this freedom including a swim in 45 degree water. To bring her back home all she had to hear was the Come command and there she would be, sometimes carrying items such as fish carcasses, twigs and any other interesting things she thought I would like.

I am a first time foster and admit I have fallen for Kelly--she is a very sweet, loving and playful young dog who I am confident will be a wonderful addition to the right family. This family should be one where someone works from home, retired or where someone spends the bulk of the day at home. Kelly still needs some time to work through this separation fear. Having another confident dog could also help. Kelly has so many special qualities and she deserves to be in her forever home--nothing less. More updates will be coming.