Muffin

Muffin: age 3 1/2

Available ~ 9/26

Updated Sept 19

When first spotted on the shelter website, pretty Muffin looked kind of like a Lab, due to her shorter coat (possibly a shave that’s growing out?); and a trick of the light made it look like she had a big white patch on her chest, plus a white “ring” around her neck. A closer look was warranted… and:  “Muffin is a Golden, and she is a NICE one!” GRR was there again the minute the doors opened on her “out” date, just a few days later—and she headed straight the vet for a check-up and attention to a few problems.

For one thing, she had a worrisome-looking tumor on her tummy. The vet took that off when he did her spay surgery;  it proved to be cancerous, but the good news is that the doc got all of it, and it was a slow, low-grade cancer. The pathologist’s report was very reassuring: “This is considered a relatively low-grade malignancy. Potential for recurrence and metastasis is low, and full excision will likely prove curative in this case.” Yay! She is healing up nicely, too.

Miss Muffin also had really gunky ears – who knows when, if ever, they had been cleaned? Foster mom and dad set to work with ear rinses and drops, and the vet plans just to flush them out when Muffin has her spay sutures removed. That should make her feel a lot better.

The shelter, surgery, multiple changes of scene, new people, new dogs, those uncomfortable ears… well! That’s a lot for a little dog to deal with in a week, but Muffin is a real trouper. She’s got the good cheer and optimism that we all love in Goldens. And the loving attitude toward people—she wants to be near you, and she loves having her little tummy scratched. She likes the other dogs and is just starting to play a little “bitey face,” but not roughly. She likes walks, too. When she sees the leash, she gets excited. She pulls a little bit, but not bad—no unladylike behavior such as yanking the poor human’s arm out of the socket!  Car rides seem to be another favorite.

One thing Muffin does NOT care for is the crate. “We tried crating the first couple days. It stressed her out. Even our neighbors felt sorry for her --  when they were in their backyard they could hear her crying! She’s reliable in the house, so we’ve ditched the crate and she’s a lot happier.” She sleeps peacefully through the night, no problem.

So far Muffin seems like an average-energy girl, but as she heals up completely and relaxes, that may change. We wouldn’t be surprised if she got a little zippier! We don’t know about kids yet but hope to be able to report on that soon as she meets more neighbors on her walks. More soon!