Myers showed up out of nowhere on the porch of a kind woman who lived in the NC mountains and stayed there for 3 days. Since the weather was getting colder and the kind woman was not able to keep him or take him inside, she contacted her niece for help. All of the local rescues were full but the niece took him home with her for the required Animal Control ‘lost dog notice period’ and then contacted a GRRCC volunteer for help. Although it was pretty clear from his pictures that he was not a purebred Golden, it was equally clear to us that he needed our help and we were pretty sure there was some Golden in his DNA! In addition to some Golden, our vets think there is some lab in his family tree and possibly some spaniel along with a dose of WhoKnowsWhat! He weighed 22 lbs. when he got his second set of puppy boosters when he was approx. 14-15 weeks old. Based on this, our vet’s guesstimate is that he will weigh 50-55 lbs. +/- as an adult.

Well, Myers has proved us to be 100% correct in placing our faith in the good nature of this adorable Golden Wannabe! He is being fostered by a family that has fostered a TON of puppies for various rescue groups and his foster mom says he is by far the best puppy she has ever had in their home…some magical combination of smart, loving and willing to please! It doesn’t get much better than that.

He is great with the ‘Big Dogs’ in his foster home (loves, loves, loves to play with them) and wonderful and also with his young human foster siblings. He has not been exposed to cats but my guess would be that given his sweet nature, he could learn to co-exist with a dog-savvy feline family member. He is pretty good on a leash but still gets excited when he sees another dog…always the optimist and thinking all dogs have the potential to be his new BFF! He is great in a car. He is, amazingly for his age, reliably housebroken. He hasn’t had an accident since the first day he was at his foster home. He goes to the back door and whines when he need to go outside. He is crated when his family is gone…he may be a great puppy but he IS a puppy after all and it is wise to manage his world until he realizes what he can and can’t do! He loves to chew on his toys and bones and so far, hasn’t autopsied any of them. He likes to chase a ball but is not yet accomplished in that part of the fetch game that requires bringing the ball back to a person, if he wants it to be thrown again! He knows ‘sit’ and ‘down’ so far and is a very willing learner so there will be many more commands and tricks that he’ll master in short order.

His foster mom reports that on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being The Energizer Bunny and 1 being a speed bump, Myers is about a ‘4’. He has short bursts of typical puppy energy, but otherwise very laid back. She also says on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being Alpha/confident and 1 being Submissive/timid, that he is about a 3 or a 4. He is perfectly fine being in the middle to the bottom of the pack…and doesn’t need to be anybody’s boss!

She goes on to say “Myers loves to be around people and dogs. He loves to snuggle next to someone when he sleeps, is very smart, and is one of the best behaved puppies we have ever fostered.”

This adorable pup is going to be a wonderful, wonderful addition to a family. However, no matter how cute and entertaining as puppies are, they need a lot of attention, training, socialization and TIME.

Myers’ Forever Family must be one that:

• has a stay at home person so that he is not left alone more than 2-3 hours TOTAL in a given day
• has a large structurally fenced yard attached to the home
• if there are children in the home (or frequently visiting children) they are 6-7 years old+. Sharp puppy teeth and puppy’s curiosity for small kids’ toys and belongings are not a good combination with younger children
• experience raising a large breed puppy preferred
• is a young and high energy family. Even though Myers is a relatively laid back puppy, he is still a large breed retriever mix puppy and as he grows, so will his energy level and his need for a way to expend that energy in a health way.

Please note that we will not be in a position to grant exceptions to these above requirements.

This sweet pup had a very rough start in life but that’s in his rear view mirror and his good luck starts now. We have promised him his family and ‘Happily Ever After’ ending will find him soon!

Check back for updates from Myers’ foster family