I wanted to let you know that Miss Willow is an absolute sweetheart, she's doing great, and is now adjusting to her new home. Here she's taking a rest in her crate with her new buddy! She just loves that darn frog!
In spite of the fact that she was obviously abused, as evident by her severely frightened behavior of everyone and everything, she's coming around and is learning the ropes. This behavior is very unusual for a labrador, as they are such outgoing and friendly dogs by nature. My previous labs were also transfered from shelters and foster homes, and they never exibited any of these symptoms. So Willow was definitely damaged in some way. She's still quite shy and untrusting of strangers, but somewhat better than she was a month ago. For the first week she just hid under the furniture, so I got her a crate and that helped. And even with the fenced property, she wanted to take off if given the opportunity when let outside, so I kept her on a lead for the first couple of weeks. But now she's warmed right up to me, and learned to stay on her own property when off the lead, with minimal observation required. She's also become very good at coming when I call her, and is now no problem in this regard at all. So if she does start to wander a bit, she comes right back when called. She's learned how to open the front door on her own to come back in the house when I let her out to run, or to do her business. Now we need to work on her closing it too. She's trying to learn how to play (it's painfully obvious her previous owners never played with her at all in 8 years!), and she's also learning to swim. The first time she jumped of the dock into the pond, she sank and floundered. I believe she thought the water was solid, not liquid. A lab that can't swim is pretty much unheard of, and tells me she was never worked with, or allowed to go in the water. Very sad indeed. But much better late, than never!
She now loves to go for rides in the pickup and the car, and has learned not to enter, or leave the vehicles until i say 'okay'. Same with going through the entry doors in the house when she's with me. She will now sit and wait until I say 'okay' and then she'll go through. A very good girl indeed, and very smart.
She was diagnosed with a pretty bad kidney infection on her senior vet exam, and was put on heavy anti-biotics for two weeks. The vet was concerned that she may have already been into kidney failure, but after the medicine program her blood and urine tests were normal. So she's now healthy, and the vet said she's just fine. Thank goodness, as she's already been through enough in her life.
She's now on a healthy, restricted diet to keep her this way, and to keep her weight normal. So I think she'll be around for a long time yet.
I'm really dumb-struck how someone could have a great dog like Willow, and never realize how very special she is! I'm so happy she's here with me, and she now seems pretty happy too! One can't ask for more than that!
Thank you for what you do!
Regards,
Rob Frye
Kingston
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