Molasses
Updated 4/7/11
Back from the Brink, part II, or: Molasses Enters the Workforce
Wow! Just weeks ago she was in the ICU, but Molasses, the Queen of Rebound, is now recovered and has even found a job. Now that’s some dog! The easygoing redhead is proudly employed as a part-time therapy worker. That’s right, after settling into a new foster home, she soon headed off to help her foster mom at a local mental health facility, where she busily dropped into various classes and used Golden therapy skills she didn't even know she had. Her very favorite class, of course, was the one called “Golden seniors,” where she got to meet old folks in wheelchairs and walkers (the hardware didn’t scare her a bit). Many of these seniors have had to give up beloved pets, so they are always so happy to see a sweet dog—and Molasses was just as thrilled. She made the rounds, went right up to one person after another and laid her head in their laps, hoping for head rubs. Sure enough, she got lots of pets and gave lots of Golden love in return. Needless to say she was “hired” for regular visits on the spot!
True to her name, Molasses moves a bit slowly, but she does enjoy a gentle stroll or two—good for keeping those joints mobile and slowly working off that extra 5 pounds or so.
Molasses is low in energy but high in love. She is a low-key girl who gets along with everyone. She needs a family who will shower her with affection and give her the wonderful home she deserves.
Updated 3/27/11
Updated 3/16/11
Back from the Brink
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Molasses and the Miraculous Escape
One day a few weeks ago, an older Golden wandered into a local neighborhood. Too tired to go any farther, she finally lay down on someone’s lawn, and there she stayed. Exhausted, dirty, flea-infested, matted… she sure didn’t look like a lucky dog. But on that day, she was!—because the yard she chose just happened to belong to a GRR family, who knew exactlywhat to do. Within a few hours, a volunteer was headed out to meet the weary stray, and when she did, our usual “stray Golden” intake plans—mandatory shelter hold for 5 days, to give an owner a chance to come looking—went promptly out the window, because this dog was very, very ill indeed. It went beyond tired: the poor gal couldn’t even raise her head, let alone stand up and walk. Scratch the shelter and straight to the emergency room!
At the clinic, along with a name (“Molasses”), the first GRR Golden of March 2011 got the full medical work-up. We were expecting bad news, but -- no heartworms, no intestinal parasites, just a cyst on her head (benign) and a tummy absolutely loaded with, literally, garbage. She’d apparently been dumpster-diving to keep body and soul together, and whatever rubbish she had eaten had made her deathly ill. No sooner had she arrived at the hospital, in fact, than her body set about getting rid of the whole mess—it was “good riddance to bad rubbish” with a vengeance! Good thing she was in the right place to get IV fluids to prevent dehydration (not to mention a much-needed bath and anti-flea treatment once she was out of the woods).
And as so often happens, the dog who looked “ancient” on a Tuesday turned out, by Friday, to be merely delightfully mature—perhaps eight years old or so. There’s more good news, too: she is 100% housetrained. She sleeps all night long without a peep. She is wonderful during grooming—her foster mom says, “I spent a full hour trimming her nails and grooming her, and she didn’t mind a bit. What a good girl!” She is great with other dogs & enjoys their company, but people are her first love, and she’ll follow you around like a little red shadow. She is a super car rider. She walks nicely on lead. She is fine at meal time; no huffiness around the other dogs, she’s fine in close contact with the rest of the gang when food is near
To sum it all up? Molasses is calm, relaxed, friendly, affectionate, tolerant of the wild young dogs, easy to be with, sweet, enjoyable. She never does anything naughty—she is a little lady! “Molasses waltzed into our house & immediately acted as if she had lived here forever. All the dogs like her & vice versa. Great gal!”
