Brandy #02-259

Brandy is a 6 year old female. She is a beautiful darker golden; her coat is short at the moment - not much feathering going on which I am attributing to stress from her previous life. Brandy is a stocky Golden Retriever, probably about 60 -70 pounds. She has the saddest, most soulful eyes I think I have ever seen - I can't even imagine what this girl has gone through. But what is amazing to me is that even though she has come out of a puppy mill existence, and that is all she has known in her six years, she is so trusting of you. She wants to be by you and have you touching her. She is laying by me (off lead) as I write this. I truly don't know how I am going to give this dog up to an adopting family. I wasn't sure what to expect when I agreed to foster a puppy mill dog and I am just amazed by this Golden.

Brandy is so loving. She has been by me all day. She didn't know how to climb stairs when I got her home. She now can climb three!!! She didn't know how to eat out of a bowl and I had to feed her out of my hands -- but she is so smart and caught on quickly. When we are outside she stays right by my side. She comes when I call her. She seems to love my Golden, Sydney, and watches her and follows her actions. She doesn't seem bothered by my two cats. She isn't thrilled with my English Pointer, Bertha, though. Bertha is an in-your-face kind of dog. We are working on their relationship.

She has had many puppies from what her figure tells me. I will be (hopefully) taking her to the Vet this week for an exam and spay procedure. I would also like to have her right ear looked at. It seems to have an injury of some kind in the inside canal and a callous/scab area on the outside.

Brandy is such a fabulous dog and will make an excellent companion. I will send more updates as I get to know her more.

UPDATES:

11/23/02:  Another happy beginning....

Brandy 02-259 went home today with a wonderful family and a yellow Lab brother. They are eager to give her a new beginning and teach her what it means to be loved by a forever family.

I feel like I just sent my babies off to college....my neighbors are coming to see if I'm okay, as they see me standing there waving and waving as the cars pull away. :)

Nothing like new beginnings...what an exciting day!

Thanks so much to all of you who helped me to find the right families for both Brandy and Seka.

11/14/02:  Brandy is a joy to have around. She is very calm in the house, but loves to play ball outside. She has the run of my house when I am home, and is gated in the kitchen area when I am gone. She respects baby gates and appears to be completely housetrained. She loves to lay ON something – occasionally tries to fit herself on a cat bed if that’s all that is available. She has gone in a crate for a nap, even without any encouragement. She does very well with my kids, the cats and other dogs. She doesn’t seem to bark much, although that may change as she gets more settled. This girl is so amazing to me, when I think of how hard her first 6 years were, and yet that incredible Golden personality shines through, her tail wags happily and she continues to learn more each day about what it means to be a dog living the good life. Her ears are a bit messy and I am giving her medicine for that. She appears to hear quite well, so hopefully the ear infections of the past have not had permanent effects. She is a very good cuddler, who has been sleeping with me at night (good thing I have a king sized bed and a husband out of town – there seems to be 2-3 cats, my resident dog and Brandy on the bed with me each night!) but is also happy to go find a quiet spot on the floor to take a nap. She loves toys and balls and has figured out where the toy box is – now I just need to teach her how to put things back when she’s done playing!  Some family is going to be extremely lucky to adopt her.

11/10/02:  Brandy has found that although she does prefer the company of other dogs, and dog loving cats, that she prefers the company of one, or two, vs. more at a time... so she's checking out of doggie day camp and returning to a foster family home. Having said goodbye to her camper friends, she's sleeping at my feet, her paws running and her cheeks making those little puffs as she dreams! I'd guess we'll never know if she's dreaming of the great play days she's had...of laying on a couch with her foster family who she will meet tomorrow. ..or of the forever family she's beginning to look for. What do you think?

11/1/02:  Brandy Girl was pretty impressed with the trick or treater's but not so thrilled with her own holiday garb! (We learned she prefers to 'come as herself' ) Brandy is now absolutely house trained, knows which chair is to be 'hers,' and which furniture is not; she's firm, now sleek and strong, and her healthy, happy Golden spirit is beginning to come out without prompting!

Brandy continues to enjoy a good chew of an appropriate item, but has begun to make the distinction between chewable and 'to be left alone' Her separation anxiety (SA) has greatly diminished, but it is probable that it will temporarily re occur when she makes the transition to her forever home. RAGOM will provide a contact person to guide Brandy, and her new family through this period!

An ideal home for Sweet Brandy will have a fence, another dog and or at minimum a dog loving cat, and someone able to, and interested in sharing their heart, time, and energy with Brandy...who would be a good candidate for a basic training course. Remember, she's a puppy inside as she had no previous chance to grow into the wonderful Golden Girl she is well on her way to being!

10/19/02:  Brandy was so lonesome without the company of other dogs that we've treated her to a doggy day camp experience. (It makes sense, since the social relationships she had at the Mill were with other doggies, not her keepers.) It's very close to home, and she is loving it!

She has enjoyed playing with the children who come and go with their family's dogs, and is very gentle with them. She has also shown herself to be trustworthy with cats, and kittens. (She likes to mother the kittens!) Her personality has brightened, and her spirits are high these days...romping through drying fall foliage, rolling in the leaf piles...life is good!

Oddly enough she is also showing us an 'unpacking' behavior that we haven't quite got figured out, but believe may be related to a pattern of 'nesting' as she's never been without a litter until now. She has been 'un packing and un stacking' things, and neatly arranging them on the floor. No chewing, no ripping...just reorganizing them to her liking! (If we can convince her to reverse the process, she'll be a wonderful household helper!!) Brandy will be ready go home from doggie camp with her new family and their existing dog....very soon! Let placement@ragom.org know, if she appears to be a good fit for your family!!

10/7/02:  There are so many good things to say about Brandy, I don't know where to start! She doesn't counter surf, never jumps on people, is very gentle with people of all ages, is completely potty trained, sleeps on the bedroom floor all night, isn't obnoxious about wanting to be pet (although she wouldn't mind it if you pet her all day!), doesn't lick, loves to go for walks, loves to fetch, adores other dogs, etc etc. I could go on and on!

OK, no one is perfect, even sweet Brandy. She has thickened ear canals that currently don't cause problems. The vet thought this was probably from chronic ear infections that were never treated (how could someone do that to a dog??) He thought she might have some hearing loss in the future, but at this point she hears perfectly. Brandy also isn't quite as shapely as she probably once was. After having lots of puppies, her abdomen sags. The vet said it isn't severe enough to warrant having surgery. Besides, once you see Brandy's fabulous personality, it doesn't matter that she doesn't have the form of a show dog. She would win Best in Show at Westminster based on personality alone!

10/3/02:  Brandy is amazing. She has taken to being a house dog so well. She wants nothing more than to be near people and appreciates lots of petting. She has recovered from her spay and hasn't had any accidents in the house. What a smart girl! I think she would do really well with obedience classes. She will now go up and down a long flight of stairs like an old pro. Is brave enough to investigate new things indoors and out. She likes to chew things on occasion, especially shoes, but if you tell her no, she willingly gives it up for a chew toy. She is so sweet and we are really going to miss her when she goes to her forever home.

9/28/02:  Brandy is back from the vet. She was spayed and had her ears cleaned. She had a full exam while there and the vet says that she is in great shape and that Brandy was one of the sweetest dogs that they have ever seen.

Brandy is now one of the pack with concern to my other dogs. She still is very interested in my cats, but she just likes to sniff them, she is not aggressive at all with them. And she LOVES kids. She just gets so bouncy and she shines around them.

She is very mellow. Very mature and well behaved. She doesn't counter surf or jump up on you. She stands in front of you until you pet her. All she seems to want to do is to be by you wherever you are. Loves to be out in the yard with you. Enjoys walks; she stays right with you and doesn't pull on the lead. She sleeps in the kennel in the kitchen at night and is just good as gold until we get her up in the morning. I can see such a difference in her in just a week's time. And her eyes are so much brighter, which thrills me because they were so sad and scared when she came out of that puppy mill. (Can you tell I really like this girl?)

Brandy is now ready to be adopted. She should be in a home that can give her lots of attention and affection (something she has never had before this past week), An older dog would be so great for her, and some kids to play with. Please consider Brandy. She is such a wonderful girl. She deserves to be in a home being loved and cared for. And she will give you so much love in return.

9/25/02: Brandy went to the vet today and she was a big hit. She was as good as gold and the staff really liked her. We had a bit of a problem getting her into our SUV until I tried getting in first and calling her - in she jumped. What a smart girl.

The vet says that she has had ear infections probably for her whole life and they were never treated. As a result her ears have become stiff and her ear canal has become smaller. She still hears everything but could have a problem as she gets older. She is being checked for heart worm tomorrow and spayed if all the blood tests come back normal. She has had many, many litters. The vet says that her tummy area will get a bit smaller after her spay, but she will always be a full-figured girl.

She was so good in the office. She sniffed around, let the vet poke her (she seems very shy when a man approaches her who she doesn't know. The puppy mill person must have been a male), but she let him look her over and even had two shots without flinching.

Brandy is really bonding with my family and so I would love to place her in a forever home as quickly as we can. She is very affectionate, just wants to lay by you wherever you are in the house. She is great on a leash and loves to go for walks with you. She would do great with a family who can give her love and security and maybe an older dog to learn from. She really doesn't know how to be a Golden Retriever right now. My 6 year old golden who I adopted from RAGOM this year is a great teacher and Brandy has learned a lot from her in the short time she has been with us.

One of the great things about Brandy (I could go on and on about her attributes) is that she is past the puppy stage and so gentle and easy going. She is a great companion. Not hyper or mischievous like younger dogs tend to be. She's a keeper.