Maggie was surrendered to a high kill animal shelter by her owner who said she “was moving and couldn’t take a dog”. Fortunately we have a good relationship with that particular shelter and when they made us aware of her, of course we jumped on the opportunity to get this cute girl.

Maggie has settled into her foster home and is looking forward to beginning the next (certainly more positive!) chapter of her life…one that will have a happy ending. Maggie has got a lot of age appropriate get-up-and-go but can also calm down when needed. She loves being the center of attention and being where the action is (and where Her People are). Maggie came to us with a mild ear infection (now cleared up) and carrying a few extra pounds…she could stand to lose 5 lbs. or so which is a work in process since she finds green beans to be something to be avoided at all costs. You will see in her pictures that there appears to be a dark spot on her flank. This is a result of being shaved down due to mats in that area. However, we thought the dark skin was a bit unusual so we did a thyroid test. As it turns out her thyroid is low which is very, very common in Goldens, especially Golden females, and we started her on medication. In all likelihood she will need to be on this for the rest of her life but it is very inexpensive (less than $10/month) and has absolutely no adverse side-effects.

I don’t think that Maggie has had a lot of ‘life experience’ so she can be nervous around some things….she doesn’t feel comfortable around young kids with their quick movements and lack of volume control. Although she is good with the other Golden in her foster home, and was fine visiting a home where there were 3 other Goldens, she does need a couple of minutes to ‘process’ her new friends. After that, she is happily part of the pack. Following her new BFFs and looking for adventure. She did however, not really appreciate a very ‘over-the-top’ and physically pushy American Bulldog she met. There was nothing serious that came out of it but she let the bulldog know, in no uncertain terms, that he was not going to be on her Christmas card list! I think Maggie would be fine in a home with a submissive, or at least not overly pushy or alpha, dog and she would also be fine as an Only Child. She is unknown around cats. Maggie LOVES balls and to play fetch…she will do it until you need rotator cuff surgery (thank goodness for Chuck-Its!) and also loves her toys. I think she would be thrilled to go to a home where there were older kids who wanted her help honing their baseball throwing skills! Her leash skills are pretty bad and I suspect she was rarely, if ever, on a leash before since the area she came in was pretty rural. She is however, improving with the use of a no-pull harness. She can all be a little reactive toward new people or dogs she sees while being leash walked but again, I am sure this is the result of her sheltered past and is something that can easily be addressed with positive reinforcement and patience. She would probably really excel in a basic training program where she could work on her manners and skills and also build her confidence and comfort in ‘scarey’ situations. She is totally housebroken and does not need to be crated while you’re out of the house…no destructive behaviors at all!

Maggie’s family will need to be one where:

• There is a structurally fenced yard large enough for some big league ball throwing
• An adult home at least part of the day so she’s not left alone more than 5 or so hours total in an average day.
• If there are other dogs, they need to be calm and non-dominant/non-assertive. She has never been around small dogs so I think if there is another dog in her new home, it needs to be one of her approximate size.
• If there are kids, they need to be 9-10 or so or older…this would be true for frequently visiting grandkids, nieces/nephews, etc.

Below are comments from her Foster Mom:

May 27^th:

About Maggie:

She is a sweet, loving pup. Started out as being very needy and was crying/whining a lot. But just after a few days, she has settled in nicely and is no longer crying and is just your typical Golden who loves her people.
She loves chasing around with my dogs and has started following them around but I think she would be fine without another dog. She does push her way around but she listens when corrected to wait her turn. She growled when first meeting my pups but when we tried again re-Introducing them all was fine and they are all getting along great.
Maggie loves her tennis balls and carries them around with her. She loves playing fetch and will drop the ball in your lap when she wants to play.  She likes chewing on bones and stuffed toys. She will de-fuzz the tennis balls too so need to keep an eye on her and correct that along with some of the toys she has been pulling apart.
Maggie ate dinner the first night with us but was not eating in the morning; we are thinking she might have been fed only once/day. She is now eating a cup of food in the morning and a cup in the evening mixed with a little warm water. She was spitting out the green beans that I normally feed my pups so am not giving her those.  She loves her treats and sits and gives her paw before getting her treats.  She does push her way thru to get her treats but we are working with her so she understands she needs to wait her turn. I have been feeding all the dogs at the same time just in different areas and there have been no issues.
Maggie’s owner stated that she was crate trained but she was fearful of the crate we set up for her. She did not go in on her own either so we took away the crate and there were absolutely no issues with her destroying anything… she got along with the dogs and all was well. Maggie is housebroken and has no accidents in the house.

Maggie just wants to be loved and cared for and in return will provide her unconditional love and companionship; she deserves the best life!