Melia Found Her Forever Home

I have great news!  Melia's new family drove 7 hours, round trip, today to come meet Melia!  They brought Melia's new brother, Max.  Max is a tall, lanky, 3-year old golden rescue.  He didn't pay much attention to Melia and she didn't pay much attention to him.  Instead they were both very interested in getting our attention, but not in a competitive or aggressive manner.   There were plenty of pets, scratches and belly rubs going around! 

As with Doji, it was a bittersweet moment watching Melia leave.  We had Melia for almost 5 weeks and, frankly, I got used to having her around.  But, Melia's adoption means that's one more dog that we'll be able to foster next and one more dog that Almost Heaven will be able to rescue from an untimely and unnecessary death.  AND.... one more family that will eventually find their four legged soul mate.

For the next few weeks I'll be traveling for work.  When I get back, Kirk and I are hosting a fund-raiser for Almost Heaven on Saturday May 5.  We have a one-acre, fenced in back yard and all well-behaved people and their dogs are invited to a cookout and a leash-free romp-n-play.  Jeanne Taylor, pet photographer, will be on hand to take pet portraits and if we get a large enough collection of Almost Heaven dogs-- perhaps we can discuss putting a calendar together for another fund-raiser.  We're asking each family for a $25 donation.  Food, beverage and the portrait sitting will be provided.  If you're interested, please let me know and I'll send you more details.

Until our next foster arrives... I'll provide updates for Doji and Melia and how they're fitting into their new homes! 

If you have any questions about what it takes to be a foster parent for a furkid, please let me know.  It has been a very rewarding experience.  Someone asked me how I can do this and not get attached.  I do get attached.  I get very attached, but when I brought Doji and Melia home, I knew being in my home would increase their chances of getting adopted.  I provided them plenty of hugs and pets, warm beds to sleep on and people to love.  Most of all, though, I hope I provided them with a little security.  And I had a goal-- to find each of them the perfect home.  So far, I'm 2 for 2.  :-)

Melia is pooped!  We took her to the downtown Silver Spring Farmer's Market and she charmed people with her "Adopt Me" Vest and her sweet, complacent manner.  At one point, I was sitting in the middle of the road with my legs stretched straight in front of me.  Melia was rolled out on her back.  The back of her head was propped up on my belly and she was looking up at me as I scratched her belly and nuzzled her head.  That was a show stopper!  We had people stopping to take pictures of the docile creature that was so trusting she would lounge, in your lap, on her back.  We handed out Melia's contact information (the blog address) to about 5 people-- maybe you met Melia today and you're reading this blog for the first time today... you might be her her 2-legged-soul-mate?!?!

We stopped by Living Ruff, a pet store boutique, in downtown Silver Spring to get some seasonal cookies (a frosted purple Easter egg for Melia and a gender-neutral-yellow flower for Toby).  We also got a couple meaty bones to chew on.  She enjoyed listening to the different squeaky toys and I tried to interest her in a tennis ball, but she was too interested in all of the people and the other dog-- a black standard poodle puppy-- in the store.

One of my most proud moments for her was when we were in front of the kettle corn stand.  There was an adorable 4 month old German Shorthaired Pointer puppy, Molly, who was sniffing out any pieces of fallen popcorn.  Molly was adorable and picturesque for a puppy, but Melia stole the show!  People gathered around Melia to comment on how sweet and calm she was!     

The trip completely tuckered them out!  Both dogs came home and took a pretty good nap.    I've been trying to get a video of Melia snoring for a few days now, but every time I hit the record button, she stops snoring.  I have more than one adorable photo of a quiet snoozing puppy! 

If you're interested in adopting Melia, please find adoption information at Almost Heaven Golden Retriever Rescue and Sanctuary.  http://www.almostheaven-golden-retriever-rescue.org/adopt.html

Melia's Fashion Statement

Melia has been sporting her "Adopt Me" vest during walks and outings.  On Monday, a woman named Liz pulled over and asked about her and my hopes soared that she might find her forever home. 

Melia loves to go for walks.  She hasn't learned the word "walk" yet, but when I get out the leash she gets super excited.  She's not much of a jumper, but she runs around your legs in excited circles, so it's hard to pin her down to get the leash hooked.  It's easy for me to walk both Toby and Melia at the same time.  Melia sticks to one side of me, doesn't pull on the leash and keeps pace with the group. 

Melia's People

After knowing Melia for a few weeks, I've gotten a pretty good grip on her personality.

Every dog (and human) prioritizes things differently.  Some dogs clearly put food before all else.  Other dogs put play above all else.  There are not usually Goldens!  Melia has a golden heart.  She values her people above all else in this world. 

When we first picked Melia up, Carol said she wasn't that motivate by food.  At the gas station in Winchester where we met Carol, Melia took no interest in the cookies I brought for her.  The first night with us, she needed coaxing to eat her food-- a dry dog food for "sensitive stomachs" (she was finishing a course of antibiotics) and a little yogurt mixed in.  She has changed her tune when it comes to food! 

Nowadays, she gets a mixture of homemade food, her sensitive stomach dry food and a little yogurt or cottage cheese.  She starts anticipating food as soon as she sees us vertical in the morning or when we walk in the door in the evening.  Her "position" is to sprawl on the floor in the spot where she gets her food.  Once she's sprawled, her eyes follow your every movement in the kitchen as if you are her prey!  If we don't progress to feeding her soon enough, she'll let out a few whimpers to remind us she's there.  As soon as you move to fill the bowl-- a soop of that, a little of this and a spoonful of that... she gets super-excited.  This morning, she reared up on her hind legs with excitement and stood there like a little biped.  Her tail wags out of control and as soon as we start to put her bowl down, her nose is there to greet it.  I call her "Mommy's Little Piggy" because it reminds me of the scene in "A Christmas Story" when the brother of Ralphie eats his mashed potatoes and meatloaf.  Her whole snout is involved with every meal!  On more than one occasion, she's come to us afterward with a few curds of cottage cheese on her nose. 

So, naturally, I thought Melia was a foodie and valued food above all else.  Until this morning.

I was reading in bed this morning when Melia came to the side of my bed for a few pets.  How can I possibly read a book with those super soft ears and those soulful eyes looking up at me.  So, I scoot to the edge of the bed and have one arm wrapped around her back, scratching her belly and the other hand is caressing her soft ears and scratching her chin.  She is in heaven and slowly slumps to the floor in a pile of limp puppy as I continue to pet and scratch her.

From the kitchen, I hear Kirk dishing up her breakfast.  She hears too...  I see her eyebrows flicker a little and she strains her head slightly to the kitchen for a moment.  But she doesn't move.  If anything, she inches a little bit closer to the edge of the bed and looks up at me with adoring eyes, as if to say-- "I choose you."  We snuggled for a few minutes longer before I encouraged her to go get her breakfast before the other beast, Toby, beat her to it.   

Clearly, the Golden Retriever genes dominate.  She values her people above food and all else.  In Melia's world of priorities, food is a distant second, followed by other dogs (Toby) and toys. 

If you're interested in adopting Melia, please complete an adoption application at Almost Heaven Golden Retriever Rescue and Sanctuary
http://www.almostheaven-golden-retriever-rescue.org/adopt.html

Melia's Adoration

Melia loves me.  She loves Kirk.  She loves Toby and she would certainly love you.  There's no question about it.  At this moment, she is curled in a ball at my feet.  Her head is actually resting on my feet as she curled up next to me.  A tell-"tail" sign that she loves you is that her tail thumps wildly until the moment you touch her.  Then her tail rests.  But if you stop-- thump, thump, thump.  It's a strong tail, but feathered like a golden's tail.

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Last night, I woke to a steady rumble in the middle of the night.  It was Melia snoring at the foot of the bed!   
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So far the only thing Melia seems to fear is Kirk or I being mad at her.  She passed the thunderstorm test and can face the crackle of the fireplace with bravado.  The other night some wicked thunderstorms rolled over the house.  Toby snuggled in closer to me and slept in the crook behind my knees.  He whined a little and was only settled when I reached down to pet him.  Melia, on the other hand was dead to the world.  Her whining didn't start until we started slapping the snooze button.  And on cold evenings (the few we've had lately) we have a fire in the fireplace.  Toby hides from the crackles and pops in the bedroom, but the pops don't seem to phase Melia.  However, if I give her a sharp "no, Melia" when she puts her nose in Toby's food bowl, she'll immediately retreat or come to my feet with the most pathetic and remorseful look a puppy can have!

Melia with kids

 

These are photos of Melia in action chasing Toby around the yard.  She's not the most graceful creature on the run, but she's darn cute.  We were curious when our friends came over last weekend for a little outdoor cookout.  Our friends have three daughters:  9 years, 6 years and almost 2 years.  The girls have grown up with Toby in their lives.  Before they came over, we warned them that we didn't know what Melia's history with children was, but she's a little skittish with new people.  We made sure they understood that she maybe be very playful with Toby, but she may not want to play with them.  I was very curious to see how Melia would react to the kids...

She started off the day by hanging close to us.  It took her a few minutes to warm up to the new group of people.  It wasn't long before she was submissively throwing herself at the kids' feet and happily being petted.  True to herself, she wasn't very playful with the kids.  She wandered amongst us and found found a spot on the ground not to far from the fire pit to be near enough to us to know she wasn't missing out on any fun.  After awhile she trotted back in the house and took her spot on a snuggle bed.  I think the activity (we're a pretty mellow group-- including the kids) was a bit much for her and she just needed to excuse herself to find a quiet spot.  The kids would go in and check on her on occasion and she would follow them out to the yard-- as if her curiosity (or the smell of hot dogs) would overwhelm her insecurity and she just HAD to see what was going on.  

All in all, it was a great day.  Melia got along well with everyone and happily received pets from everyone in spite of their age or size.  She showed no sign of aggression with the kids, and her tail thumped wildly when, at the end of the day, I found the two older daughters and their mom snuggled up with Melia in her dog bed.  They were scheming on how to convince Dad to let them bring her home!   

Although Melia passed the kid test with flying colors and no aggression, she may be best suited in a smaller household that is settled into a routine.  I think she would be happiest with a small number of people (and dogs) who show consistent and predictable behavior towards her.  She loves having Toby to keep her company and to play with, and she's fascinated by the miniature schnauzer that lives next door.  They meet at the fence, nose to nose, and I can tell Melia is just dying to play with her.  However, there's another dog on the other side of the house that barks wildly and aggressively at her and she'll cower at my side even with the safety of the fence to divide them. 

If you're interested in adopting Melia, please contact Almost Heaven Golden Retriever Rescue and Sanctuary at  http://www.almostheaven-golden-retriever-rescue.org/adopt.html

Melia's Gaining Confidence

We've let Melia roam free during the day and overnight this week.  So far... no issues!  At night, she's been sleeping on the dog bed in the bedroom.  When we start moving around in the morning, Melia will start circling around the bed, letting out her signature whimper with a mighty strong tail thump.  On a couple occasions she has jumped up on the bed, but we've been nipping that one in the bud.  I think she's learning that beds are off limits.

We've also started obedience training.  She is so eager to please that she sits automatically, without any command, at your feet.  She eagerly takes her cookie, but will walk a few feet away to eat it in private-- thus, the treat consumption probably isn't associated with the command.  I'll have to work on this... maybe smaller, better, easier to chew treats.

Also, I learned today that Melia LOVES to be brushed.  I started brushing her and she stopped, dead in her tracks, mid-stride and stood there until I finished.  Her coat is kind of like a lab's coat--it's a little more coarse than Toby's and not nearly as much hair as a typical Golden.  The good thing is, she's not much of a shedder. 

She's also gaining a little independence.  She's still a velcro dog that is eager to please who is looking for her two legged soul mate.  If you're interested in adopting Melia, please complete an adoption application at http://www.almostheaven-golden-retriever-rescue.org/adopt.html