Shelly was surrendered to us by a breeder as she was getting too old to produce enough pups to ‘earn her keep’. This is the 6th retired breeding dog this breeder has surrendered to us in the last few years and I have to say, regardless of their not exactly ‘walk in the park’ back story, they have all been wonderful dogs with awesome temperaments….and Shelly is no exception.

Shelly is actually a good looking dog and right in line for the AKC breed standards for a female Golden. She weighed 64 lbs. on intake and is actually a bit chunky at that weight and need to lose 5 lbs. or so. At her ideal weight she will be a wonderful petite Golden Girl.

Although initially a bit flummoxed by her change in venue and suddenly becoming an inside dog, she has decided her future is bright indeed and she is making up for lost time and settling in wonderfully. She has not had an accident in the house and smart little girl that she is, learned how to use the dog door in about 10 minutes. Her leash skills aren’t great….probably has only been on a leash a handful of times in her life before coming to GRRCC, but her foster mom is working on that. She rides well in the car but would very much like to ride shot-gun so a barrier is probably a good idea until she learns to be a back-seat driver and leave riding shot-gun to humans. She is wonderful with other dogs, which stands to reason since she has spent her entire life with multiple dogs. In fact, Shelly will need to go to a home that has another resident dog as she seems to take comfort and gain confidence from being around other dogs. She likes to play and wander around the yard with her 10 year old Golden foster bro but she seems even more attached to her 9 year old Golden foster sis. Both her foster sibs are very kind and non-dominant/non-threatening dogs and seem to enjoy showing Shelly ‘the ropes’ about the wonders of her new life and lifestyle. She will need a dog (or dogs) with their demeanor in her Forever Home.  We are told she was good with kids but have not seen her interact with any. I suspect she would be fine but since we haven’t actually seen her around any we would need them to be kids over the age of ~5-6 years old. She is a very gentle and non-obtrusive dog but she does occasionally jump on people when she first meets them, in pure excitement. It is certainly not a ‘four-off-the-floor’ projectile jump like some Goldens are renown for and actually, she is very easily corrected and seems almost apologetic for having forgotten her manners when you ask her to get off. What we have observed is that Shelly has a strong prey drive so she needs to go to a feline-free home. She will also need to go to a home with a structurally fenced yard. In exchange for these concessions she promises to make sure your yard is free of squirrels, possums, bunnies and even geckos….in short, something rarely seen in the Carolinas…a Varmint Free Zone!

Her coat isn’t the greatest right now as you can see in the pictures…her last litter of puppies was born only 4 months ago so she is still blowing her coat (losing all of the dead top coat). When all is said and done, her body and tail will look a little more like a lab than a Golden for awhile. However, as any experienced Golden owner knows there’s a lot to be said for that as we enter the Great Golden Molting Season when golden fur tumbleweeds take over our homes! All of the dogs from this breeder have come to us with their coats in this state and all have re-grown a beautiful, luxurious Golden ‘head of hair’. Also, the discoloration you see by her ears is the result of medication from minor ear infections. The ear infections have resolved and the medication residue will ‘be resolved’ at her upcoming Spa Day! In short, she is MUCH cuter and prettier than in her pictures and she will be even cuter and prettier in just a few short months.

What is absolutely clear from being around Shelly for even a few minutes is that she absolutely ADORES people. You’ll see in several pictures where she is standing gently beside her foster mom with her head in her lap, just over-the-moon with being loved and petted. She is a very ‘polite’ dog…not pushy or in-your-face but a Velcro dog nonetheless. Even though there is a little ‘snow on the rooftop’, don’t let her age full you. She is quite spunky and energetic for her age and our vets said she has excellent range of motion and no signs of arthritis in any joints (which is obvious when you see her running around the yard). Despite this, she has clearly reached the maturity level where she has an appropriate appreciation of an afternoon nap and a lazy evening watching movies with Her Person. She is a wonderful combination of “energy when you want it and calm when you want that”. Shelly pretty much just lives to serve…whatever people want, she will do her very best to make it happen.

Shelly’s Forever Home will need to be one where:

• there is another kind and dog-loving resident dog
• has a structural fence
• ideally where someone is home at least half or the day or so (she SO loves her People Time)
• is feline free

Shelly is absolutely loving her new life. She loves to amble around the back yard with her nose in the air, smelling all the intriguing scents in her new world (and keeping an eye out for a rogue squirrel or cat stupid enough to enter her kingdom). She also likes to sun bathe on the deck…in short she is finally allowed to be a dog and enjoy herself. She spent the first 8 years of her life as a ‘commodity’ or source of income and we have promised her that those days are in her rear-view mirror. Her future will hold soft sofa and dog beds, the best of food and all the love she hasn’t had before.

Check back for updates from her foster family