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April 2008:
Magnus
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-------Original Message-------
 From:
Kim
Date: 4/27/2008 11:05:52 PM
To: GRR
Subject: Magnus
At the meeting, he just melted our hearts and came right up to us, sitting next to us, staying by our side. It felt as if Magnus had been waiting for us to come and adopt him before we even knew we were going to adopt. We felt very much like we have known him forever. We picked up Magnus the next day ....which for us seemed an eternity....we did not even want to leave the day we met. Magnus has now been with us for 7 hours 50 minutes and ...yep 32 seconds. We are truly in love with him. He went right up to the door when we got to the house almost as if he knew all along this is where his forever home was. He found his toy box that we had prepared for him and absolutely went bonkers over all the tennis balls and his new squeaky stuffy (he has not de-stuffed it yet) and loves to make it squeak. He appears to be a new to the stairs in the house, he could not find my husband who called his name from upstairs and kept looking around downstairs (really funny like hide and seek). Our two resident cats were not as thrilled as we were to have him home but have decided a good sniffing was in order so long as Magnus was inside the crate. Our first walk went well, we knew he was still working with walking on a leash and we made sure our first walk was a good fun time for him. He met several neighborhood dogs and did so well even when he got excited we reminded him to sit and we waited until he was calm and then proceeded. I am not sure that I have ever met a 105 lbs Puppy that was as well behaved as he is. We do attribute a lot of this to his wonderful foster parents Paula Jo, Mitch and Jessica. They really shared so much with us during the meet and gave us more then enough Magnus goodies to help us with the transition. We look forward to being a part of Gold Ribbon Rescue, as the gift you have given to us and so many more is priceless. I would like it if you could forward this to Paula Jo Mangnus's foster mom. We were so excited that we forgot to get her email address. I will write more with updates on Magnus as time progresses but I wanted to just say Thank You to all of you. I have attached a picture of us with Magnus from our meeting day. Sincerely, Kimberly and Joel |
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update 4/18
Magnus is a great dog with fabulous potential! Of course, there’s still a lot of puppy in him, but he’s doing so well. He’s perfectly housebroken and loves his crate—he’ll even seek it out when he's tired or wants to get away from it all. He still jumps when he’s excited, but is quick to correct himself when we remind him to keep “four on the floor.” He loves training time and has learned many commands well: Sit, Down, Wait, Take It, walking commands, Roll Over (still learning this one), Out of the Kitchen, Find Your Toy. Biggest brag: his outstanding "door manners." He sits and waits before going through an open door. He doesn't even bolt when Sonia goes through; he waits for his name to be called.
He loves children and wants to play with them; loves his foster Golden sister Sonia, too, and spends lots of time with her. After he's played awhile, he mellows right out and often falls asleep. I don't think Magnus had any exposure to cats before he came to us, but our three cats have trained him well—he's very respectful and keeps his distance (mostly). But they’ll sleep right next to him if he's snoozing on the floor, and we even have cats coming over to beg for treats when we're training Magnus—and Magnus doesn’t lose his focus!
Magnus takes treats very gently, and he waits until he gets the OK, even if it's a really tasty bit held right in front of his nose. He's curious about everything, including our cooking. We have trained him to go "out of the kitchen" when we ask, and he goes where he can watch and not be under foot. He doesn't beg.
Magnus returns toys to you & drops them readily. He loves to play catch with string toys, and is even learning to "juggle" when you have two string toys to play with.
Magnus loves grooming (except for toenails—that makes him nervous). He wants to get his brushing while sitting in your lap, which is quite a sight to see.
This wonderful dog is ready for an active family home who will keep up with his training… he’s smart and loves to practice what he knows!
Eighteen-month-old MAGNUS is truly magnificent – in looks, personality, AND size. This gorgeous, healthy boy is B-I-G, but he’s still a puppy. He spent two action-packed weeks at a board & train, where he was a star student and learned, among other things, that a 90-pounder probably should not be a lap dog! Now he’s continuing his education in his foster home.
Lizzie
Hi! my name is Lizzie. No -- not Lizzie Borden (thank goodness!) or Tin Lizzie,
just plain sweet Lizzie!! I am 8 years old, and things have really looked up for
me in just the past 6 months. I was living outside in a backyard when a
wonderful lady met me and decided to help me out. She could see that I wasn’t in
tiptop shape – I had infections that had messed up my fur and skin, plus I was
quite, er, well padded. My new friend got me all checked out and put me on good
food and medications; and then she called GRR.
I really love living indoors, being clean and dry, and being loved—and boy, do I
love to play ball! It is my most favorite thing to do other than eat. I do love
to eat, but seeing as I’m a little chubby, my foster mom has me on a diet. She
says I’m a very pretty girl now and will be even more gorgeous once I am svelte
again! Here’s what else my mom says about me:
When Lizzie came to our home she wasn’t used to being indoors, and the tile
floors and doorways scared her. She’d hesitate for ages before crossing a
threshold! She still had a ways to go healthwise, too: she needed spay surgery
and a lumpectomy (to remove a really large skin tag on her chest), her thyroid
was low, and she’d lost so much of her hair. We slowly introduced her to her new
world. She’s been sweet and loving from the start, but at first she’d growl at
new things—not a mean growl, just an alarmed “grumble” to let us know she was
feeling anxious! But after a week, she got used to her new home—the floors, the
doorways, and of course her foster doggie brother and sister—and settled right
in. Today, she has no fears and prances happily around like she has been here
forever. She is a very well-behaved girl who walks well on a leash, takes treats
gently, and sleeps through the night.
Lizzie is on her way to becoming as beautiful (again) on the outside as she has
always been on the inside. She had a nearly bare “possum tail” a few months ago,
but the fur is growing in nicely there, and over the rest of her body, too. She
is on her thyroid meds, she’s recovered from her surgeries, and now she’s really
ready to chase that ball. She gets very excited about the ball and is always up
for a good game of fetch, but if you aren’t in the mood, she’ll relent -- she
understands the word “no” and settles right down.
As far as grooming goes, she is just perfect. She loves all the attention and
doesn’t move a muscle as you brush her. She’s an angel even for nail clipping,
paw grooming, and ear trims! She seems to understand that we are helping her
look and feel her best.
Do you want a calm companion who is always happy, a friendly girl who likes to
take walks and enjoys some ball playing (in short spurts—she doesn’t have to
play long)? A family cat and other dogs will be fine, too… Lizzie is used to
cats and doesn’t bother them, and she’s very comfy with other dogs after a
proper introduction. If you are interested in adding lovely Lizzie to your
family and helping her continue her transformation into a real red-headed beauty
queen, please let us know!
04/01/08
Success Story:
Well it has been 5 months since Lizzie came to GRR via a ‘Good Samaritan’ who rescued her from a bleak back yard existence. When Lizzie came to us, she was a medical train wreck… but after a lot of TLC by her foster family and GRR, Lizzie has made nothing short of a miraculous recovery. We were able to see Lizzie at her worst, and have been watching her progress over the months. She has blossomed. The weight is being shed one pound at a time… and to date; Lizzie has shinnied down a whopping 25 pounds. Her coat or her ‘wire brush shroud’ has become golden amber and is so smooth. The poor girl had a very severe thyroid deficiency. And with medication, that ‘rat tail’ (i.e. tail devoid of any hair) has really grown in and we are beginning to see the tell tale Golden signs of feathers. She is certainly not the same ugly duckling that joined our other 2 Goldens in December.