Sasha was listed on CraigsList by her owner because the other female dog in the house was becoming aggressive toward her. Sasha is a total lover and not a fighter so didn’t defend herself and ended up getting injured by her bullying sibling. We contacted the owner and warned her of the pitfalls of CraigsList and she surrendered Sasha to us, wanting her to be in a more safe and loving environment.

Sasha was a bit nervous by all the changes but settled in quickly. As you can see from her pictures, she is a petite little girl that is probably more lab than Golden but hey, that is a wonderful mix and the temperaments of both the retriever breeds are complementary and so-o-o loving! She has obviously been around other dogs and gets along well with them (obviously except for her bullying female sibling!). Her original home was on a large farm with horses, chicken 4 dogs and cats. She is fine with cats when by herself but will tend to chase them when she is with the other dogs and one of the outdoor cats runs from them. She is wonderful with kids (see foster family’s notes) and is great with even the smallest child since she spent a lot of time around her owner’s 2 years old grandchild. She is great on a leash and good in a car. She was predominately an outside dog in her original home so is now learning about inside manners (and outside pottying!). Her foster mom provided great information about her, in response to questions from the Adoption Coordinator (questions are in capital letters, responses are in sentence case) as follows:

• HOW IS SHE ON A LEASH? 

She’s great on a leash.  She doesn’t care any mind to other dogs that may bark at her, nor does she pull.  She’s mostly very mellow, but is always up for a walk or jaunt at the dog park.

• HOW IS SHE WITH OTHER DOGS (LARGE AND SMALL)?

She’s a little timid at first with other dogs, and initially, she’s very submissive.  Then, once they’ve properly acquainted, she’ll eagerly play with them.

• HOW IS SHE WITH CATS?

She’s been introduced briefly to a cat where she happily wagged her tail.  It was a short interaction as the cat was much less interested, but I don’t see any reason to think she wouldn’t be fine w/ them.

• IS SHE RELIABLY HOUSEBROKEN?

I would say yes, but I still don’t let her have free reign in the bedrooms upstairs.  We’ve had several fosters prior, as well as our old dog w/ a defective bladder at the end, who have all, sadly, left their mark in those rooms, so I’m more inclined to think she’s just marking territory there, than actually not able to hold it herself.  She’s not had any accidents downstairs (despite several area rugs as options) in over 2 weeks.

• IS SHE OK IN THE HOUSE LOOSE WHEN YOU’RE GONE? IF SO, HOW LONG HAVE YOU LEFT HER? IF NOT, IS SHE CRATED WHEN YOU’RE GONE AND IS SHE OK WITH THAT?

I leave her loose in the downstairs (i.e., family room, kitchen, DR, etc.) and I’ve never had an issue.  She’s typically home alone for about 5-6 hours straight, but yesterday was 8 hours and she was fine.  I crate her at night, which she welcomes. My understanding is that she was crated when inside the house at her original home and that was always her safe place and ‘den’.

• DOES SHE FETCH (AND MAYBE EVEN BRING THE BALL BACK?)  

She has not been interested in any games of fetch (Frisbee, ball, stick). She might learn to though if there was another dog to teach her how fun it is!

• HOW IS SHE WITH TOYS? DOES SHE DESTROY PLUSH TOYS?

She’s not been all that interested in plush toys either, though I probably haven’t given her enough exposure to them to know.  She’s stolen a few from the kids every now and again, but hasn’t destroyed them.

• HOW IS SHE IN A CAR? 

She’s great in the car.  Just wants to be included!

• DOES SHE GET ON THE FURNITURE? 

Not on my bed, but yes to everywhere else.  Her favorite spot, if not the crate, is on our couches. I sure hope whoever adopts her will allow her on the sofa…she is so happy there, either by herself or with people.

• ANY ‘DOWNSIDES’?

She has a tendency to be timid.  It took her a long time to adjust to my husband, but interestingly enough, not TO other men. My husband is tall, broad and bald, so not sure if all those features together reminds her of something unpleasant from her past, but she’s not had an issue taking to other tall men (with hair J).  I would say her only bad habit is her jumping.  When she gets excited, she jumps.  I’ve been working to curtail it, but it’s an ongoing thing.  Though as I type, I’m realizing that I’ve never really seen her jump on my 4-year-old, which is great!

• HOW IS SHE WITH KIDS?

I just have to remark about how really great she is with children!  I have a 9, 7 and 4-year-old, the latter of which doesn’t even particularly like dogs (unfortunately for him, he was born into the wrong familyJ).  She is so gentle w/ them and really lights up when she sees them.  Interestingly, as timid as she was when we first got her, it was my kids that were able to get her to go outside or out of her crate.  She immediately rolls over on her belly for them.  And for my 4-year-old, she generally gives him his space and lets him come to her, and occasionally, he’ll graze his hand across her body, which is HUGE for him!!

From GRRCC Adoption Coordinator:

As you can tell, Sasha is just a splendid little girl, deserving an equally splendid Forever Family. That family should have:

→A structurally fenced yard

→Ideally a family where she is only long with Her Person (or People) for 3-4 hours a day.

→A family with kids…bring ‘em on says Sasha!!
→If there is a resident dog, it needs to be kind, accepting of other dogs, and non-dominant. A dog that would bully or pick on her would not be good for her since we already know she won’t defend herself.

→If there is a resident cat, it needs to be a dog –savvy one!

Just look at her sweet face…she deserves nothing but the best!!!