Phoenix (Trouble 01-217) [1]

 From Laura Kreun

April 25, 1012

Meet Phoenix! Phoenix (back in 2001 he was originally known as Trouble) is a stunning, 11 year old (young) Golden Retriever. He was adopted from RAGOM as a 1 year old pup and was recently returned to rescue because his family recently moved to a home on a lake and he is allergic to the algae in the water.

It is tough on a dog who has lived 10 years with one family to move... but this boy is taking it all in stride and settling in here just fine. Phoenix is well trained and active! I would NEVER believe he was 11, if I didn't have the paperwork and some hearing loss to prove it I would call him 7 :) we have a 7 year old resident dog and he acts just like she does! Speaking of resident dogs... he loves other dogs! He loves to play :) He was an only dog in his previous home, but he seems to enjoy canine company and he is also find without it. Phoenix is perfectly housetrained and has free roam here at night and when we are not home. He does have one bad habit... he LOVES paper, kleenex, toilet paper (you get the drift) and also cardboard! He even pulled a roll of toilet paper right off of the wall! The first day here when he got into those things he decided he didn't want to give them up when we wanted to take them away. He growled at us which showed us resource guarding that is not acceptable. We are now one step ahead of him and he doesn't have access to any of those things! We are teaching him to "trade" with all kinds of different items and he hasn't had any further issues. It is fairly safe to say that the resource guarding we saw can be attributed some to stress and not yet knowing if he could trust us. However, he should find a forever home with no young children (because children don't understand how to manage things like resource guarding!) For this reason, he will be moving to a new foster home in about a week. (We have a 3 year old son).

Phoenix is loveable and very easy to have around. He does have Addison's disease and a thyroid condition, both are controlled with medication. He gets two pills with each meal and gobbles them right up with his food. It is very easy to manage. He also does receive an injection for his allergies once per month. When he visits the vet I will get a cost estimate on these medications to share with potential adopters. He's worth it :)

He also loooves to go for walks! He easily does 2 miles and can even go longer on a nice cool day! He doesn't pull on a leash and is a perfect walking partner. When he returns from his daily walk he enjoys a long drink of water and a nice long nap on the cool wood floor... he's one smart cookie :)

Phoenix is looking for a quiet home to spend his GOLDEN years loving his people! He makes a wonderful companion and if you meet him, trust me you will fall in love.