Josie
Josie, age 7
“This girl is a joy to
have around the house! She loves riding in the car, and going on walks and
outtings with the rest of our dogs. She will bark to warn you that someone is at
the door. She jumps right into any new experience that life brings her. She
loves going to the local dog park and playing with other dogs. She loves a good
game of chase or catch! She listens to commands like STAY and SIT. DOWN is a
little hard because of her stiff joint problems—but we bet she would do it if
she could!”
That’s the glowing
report from Josie’s foster mom. This little dog has
joie de vivre and a great attitude:
not only does she cope well with her arthritis (for which she does take meds),
but she’s nicely handling another issue that cropped up at the beginning of
October, when she suddenly exhibited sagging & loss of sensation on the left
side of her face. She could barely see out of the left eye, and could not close
it. The vets tentatively diagnosed a stroke or a neurological condition called
Horner’s Syndrome. Six weeks later, though her face still droops a bit on that
side & her left eye doesn’t close fully, she can see fine—and most important,
“her spirit is great and she doesn’t miss
a step. Still the same bubbly personality and full of life.”
Josie is bouncy &
silly with children and enjoys being around them. She’s happy with other dogs
and even plays well with cats. She’s calm and reliable indoors, though she DOES
like to chew and shred her dog toys—she likes to growl at them, bounce them, and
toss them in the air. But everything else is untouched—what a good girl! She
sleeps peacefully through the night on her own dog bed, and she’s completely
housebroken, of course – if she needs to go out, she lets you know.
This outgoing Golden
would do best with “a family with children over the age of ten or no children,”
says her foster mom. “She loves children, but not sure how she would handle
really vigorous kids at this time with her hip problems. She’s a super companion
and just loves to be included in whatever you’re up to.”
Coping with difficult
health issues, Josie’s owner made the very hard decision to find a new home for
his beloved Golden. Talking to our Hotline volunteer, he extolled the sweet
dog’s personality: “Beautiful, lovely dog. Nice, gentle, and thoughtful. As soon
as she meets you, she loves you. Whoever gets this dog is going to be SO lucky.
She is smart, too! One time a few years back we noticed her suddenly starting to
dig holes all over the yard. She had never done that before so we were confused.
Finally figured out that the neighbor was giving her dog biscuits thru the
fence. Instead of gobbling them up, she was stashing them here and there for
future snacks. See how clever she is!”
Josie’s foster
mom confirms it all:
She’s the
sweetest, gentlest, happiest 7-year-old dark Golden girl you will ever meet. She
had a bit of a rough start in rescue, clearly very stressed and anxious and even
nipped a few times when the clinic staff tried to get her out of her kennel—but
once we had her in our home and were able to watch her closely, we realized that
she was in pain & only nipped when someone inadvertently pulled on her painful
hips. She promptly went back to the vet, where we discovered that she has
arthritis in both her hips, causing her a lot pain when she walks or goes down
the stairs to the backyard. She is now taking Rimadyl twice a day, and what a
different it has made! She is active, loves to go for walks and even plays fetch
in the backyard. She will chase a ball, toss toys in the air and run around the
backyard with all the other dogs. You would never know that she is 7 years old!
She is young at heart and thinks that everything is a fun adventure.
Sophie gets along
great with all the dogs and two cats that live at her foster home. She likes to
hang out with the family, getting
treats and all the petting she can from everyone. Sophie walks on a leash every
morning without pulling. She follows commands like SIT, DOWN, and OFF. She is
easygoing and smart, and just enjoys life, even if all she’s doing is resting at
your feet while you watch TV. She is good with children of all ages, but because
tiny ones might not understand that they shouldn’t pull or push on her hips, we
think her best place will be in a family with no kids or teenagers.
Because of the
hip problems, Josie will need to be on medication for the rest of her life. But
this Golden Girl is worth the small added expense! She is pure love in a small,
Golden package.
