Category: Rescue News

Gracie went to her new home today. We wish her the best in her new forever home.

This is a courtesy listing and not in our foster program. Please contact heather.robinson.dvm@gmail.com for more information.

Gracie is 4 years old, in good health, current on vaccinations and heartworm preventative, and has no medical issues. Gracie was given to me because her previous family could not deal with her protectiveness of their special needs daughter which lead to Gracie biting a visiting child. She is protective of her family and would do best in a home without young children. Gracie prefers to be an only dog and has not lived with another dog until I started fostering her. She has displayed inter-dog aggression towards my family dog and other dogs over food, treats, toys, space, and my attention on several occasions. I feel it would be best for Gracie to go to a home where she is an only dog. I have been working to socialize Gracie and introduce her to new situations as much as possible. She is good with cats and other pets. Gracie is shy in public and aloof with strangers. She knows basic commands (sit, lay down, come). Gracie needs a fenced yard as she will wander if not contained. Gracie is very sweet and wants to please her people. I really want to find the right home for Gracie where she will flourish and be loved. She is a wonderful dog that I would keep if it weren’t for my family dog who is now terrified of her.

Mocha now lives in Bloomfield, MI with 2 new Buddy’s and her new dad. She has a young Leonberger to play with and and older dog to supervise them. She is adjusting well and no, or very little signs of the stress that she had in her old home. We are getting updates and she seems very happy!

We took in a 3 year old male and a 2 year old female, both with some temperament/personality issues.

Samson, is a neutered 3 year old that has several fear and anxiety issues. He just came in on June 20th so we are working on learning about him. He is fearful of new people, especially men. Will bark at them when they would come into his old home. He does not like people at his level so no children for him. We will update as we learn more, but so far is doing very well in his foster home with another dog. Samson would do best with another large, confident dog to act as a guide for him to help him adjust.

SAMSON UPDATE 6/27:

Samson is a sweet 3 year old neutered boy who just came into the program on June 20.  Although his prior owners reported that he had several fear and anxiety issues, his foster home has reported that Samson has not manifested those issues to the degree we thought he might.  Down inside Samson is a very sweet loving dog that is coming to the surface more and more each day.  He is somewhat fearful of new people, men more so than women.  One of his issues is that he would bark when strangers came into the house.  He has already been introduced to a few strangers in his foster home and has only barked at one of them (two barks), but within an hour (and after a few treats) was allowing himself to be petted and scratched by the stranger, and was lying down next to him while the stranger was sitting on the floor.  Although initially shy, he has warmed up to all of the strangers he has met.  The foster home reported that after Samson being in the home for one week, his trust level is already around 95% with the foster dad.  As soon as he is asked if he wants to go outside or for a walk he gets excited and runs to the door, and he walks very nicely on his leash.  Samson appears to be the most uncomfortable with people at his eye level, so a home without children would be best for him.  He would also do well with another large, confident dog to act as a guide for him to help adjust and learn to trust.  The foster home has another dog (an intact male) and there have been no issues at all between the dogs.  They are getting along great including teaming up to beg the foster dad to share his lunch. 

Mocha is spayed came into foster 6/21. She turned 2 on April 12th. She likes most people, almost too much. She has not had many experiences in her life so she will need socialisation. She will jump up on people and knock the unsteady ones down. She is a 2 year old with a 6 month old puppy brain. Mocha was just too much for her former owners trying to cope with a active dog in a retired home. She has separation anxiety issues which we have not seen yet, and so far is doing well in her crate at night if she is allowed to be close to her family. She has been evaluated by a behaviorist a few times and they believe she was stressed in the old home and needed stimulation to keep her occupied. She seems outgoing with people so far. Again, more to come.

Both dogs will require a physical above ground fence for their safety.

Beyla is a 4 year old girl that has had a rough life so far. She needs a final forever home where she can just sprawl out and be happy.

She is a nice sized girl at about 90 pounds. She has some basic training, and house trained but have had an accident because we are switching foods. At about 3 years old she came into another rescue with 2 other Berners from an Amish puppymill. She was missing her left eye. It was injured on a wire sticking out of her crate and got infected. It then had to be removed. Then she went to a home for 15 months until her new owner decided she did not have time for her, becuase her job called for her to do a lot of traveling, so she placed her on petfinder classifieds.

From there she went to another home where she was fully vetted andthey shaved her due to mats. In this home she showed some separation issues and fear of thunder. She was also intensely interested in cats. The first owner did not see any of the anxiety issues in her home.the next home decided that she was not a good fit after trying for 3 weeks, our rescue was contacted. We took her that day.

Beyla has been here over 2weeks and we have not seen any of the anxiety issues. In the 2nd home she was confined at time in the laundry room with their other dog. She was not happy not being part of the family. We have allowed her run of the house, and she does not seem to care as long as she has the company of our gang. We had a storm come through and she was sleeping on our bed. She sat up, but we petted her and she laid back down and went to sleep. She is on a very low dose of anxiety meds which we will continue for the 6 weeks and then ween her off to see if it makes a difference.

We don’t see the issues and don’t know if it was the home or the meds. Beyla needs a home with other dogs, and we think Berners she seems more relaxed around as she recalls the safety of the time at the puppymill. She would do best in a home where people are around alot like a retired family or someone that works from the home. She will require an above ground fenced yard due to the possible storm issues and we don’t want her running off in a fearful state. With just the one eye she has a great chance of getting hit.

She also can not go with a home with cats. She will injure, and has injured a cat due to a high prey drive. So no small animals. She did spend time with some smaller dogs but for safety to them we recommend no small dogs. She is good with children of all ages.

UPDATE 4/24

Beyla has not shown any of the supposed issues in the 3 weeks she has been here. She just needs a home where she will be a full part of the family. We had storms roll through the other night and she was between us on the bed with all 4 feet in the air and snoring.

5/1/11  She has decided that a couch is preferable over a dog bed and now is constantly lounging in comfort. It’s amazing how dogs from poor situations really seem to appreciate their new homes.

Heidi is a senior girl who will be 7 years old in May. She is 7 but you would never know it, she loves to play with toys and cuddle in bed. She has a habit of nibbling on cloth and love to lick faces. She is vet sweet and deserved a new home where people had time for her. So  now she has a fenced yard, and a new young berner buddy to play with. So far she is doing very well and is adjusting to being the new toy for her younger sibling.

Seeker has a new berner Brother to play with, a big fenced yard and super nice new parents! Seeker was very slow to meet all the people that came to meet him, until this couple. Seeker chose them by going right up to them, wanting to see them. Plus with a new buddy to play with, and my promise of a fenced yard, we are hoping Seek’s will be very happy with his new family.

ADOPTION PENDING——- AS OF 2-5-11

Seeker was born on May 1st, 2010. He is a lanky boy that has not had a lot of experiences in his short life. He was kept in a very confined area without much exercise and when his owner was injured in a bad fall he got even less. So his owner decided he was more that she was able to do at the time and gave him to rescue. He is shy, due to lack of socialization but will adjust to new people in a short time. He is learning how to play and that he can have a larger life that his previously confined one. He was moving hip rear end an limping on his front leg, so we had x-rays done to see if he was dysplastic and nothing obvious was evident. It was determined that because of his lack of muscle and having to cope on a slippery floor his tendons are shorter on one side and should stretch to normal with exercise and a little easy Therapy.

He is a sweet boy that we have become attached to, he at first self contained himself to a small area between out table and hutch. He now lays in the living room and has discovered how nice dog beds are. Because of Seekers limited chances at life we want him to be able to take advantage of his widened world and want him to go to a fenced yard where he can get the exercise and his pace along with walks and play time.

Seeker is neutered and up to date on all shots. Because of his shyness we do not recoment a home with children under 12.