Cookie #5 Black Labrador Retriever Female 13 Years Old ID #3546

December 27, 2025

Little Ms. Cookie has come a long way in the last three weeks. 🍪 She is starting to show off her social side.  She no longer wants to be alone. Instead, she seeks out company.

I had several guests to the house this week.  Cookie 🍪 greeted them at the door with curiosity.  She was a perfect host. She did not get too close or impolitely sniff them. She just watched and approached slowly when they came in.  When pets were offered, she accepted them graciously.

After everyone sat down, Cookie 🍪 made herself comfortable, lying down next to the person she most wanted to pet her.  She did try repeatedly to help herself to the goodies on the coffee table. Cookie 🍪 was a good girl and stopped what she was doing when I said no. She did abscond with some bread, but that was it.  Not bad when she is surely not used to having food at her level.  Throughout the evening, Cookie 🍪 was calm and relaxed. I rewarded her goodness with a chewy that she enjoyed.

Cookie 🍪 is also eating much better and finishing nearly every meal. Even though she gets almost twice as much kibble as her foster sister, Cleo, in addition to whole milk yogurt on top, Cookie 🍪 only wants Cleo’s bowl.  I’m not sure why she thinks it’s better, but it’s very cute.

The ice storm this morning did not make it easy for Cookie to go outside and do her business, but she managed. Occasionally Cookie 🍪 shows a bounce in her step. That happens when she is already up and moving. Standing up is often challenging for her.  She sometimes gets stuck and needs help. Usually this happens on the hard wood floor, but I also noticed this when she was on a rug.  Cookie 🍪  is on several arthritis medicines and supplements to help make her comfortable.

This little treat is showing her personality more and more.  She just gets sweeter and sweeter. The person or family that wants her will be very happy and lucky to share in her sweetness.  🍪 🍪 🍪 🍪 🍪 🍪 🍪 🍪 🍪 🍪 🍪 🍪 🍪 🍪

December 20, 2025

Adjusting to a new life is not easy at any age, but for an older dog, it can be especially hard.  Losing her person and having her life upended has not been easy for Cookie 🍪, but she is adjusting and coping.

Cookie 🍪 is interacting a bit more with her foster mom and her furry foster sister. She now follows foster mom around downstairs. She no longer avoids her furry sister whose tail is  constantly wagging.  Several times, that tail almost knocked Cookie down.  Ms. Cookie 🍪 now seems to know what to do and stands side by side with her sister or approaches her for a sniff. Cookie’s 🍪 favorite interactions involve treats. She is excited about food and will focus on whoever has it. She doesn’t always clean her plate at mealtime, but there is always room for a treat. After all, she is a smart Cookie. 🍪

When she came into foster care, Cookie 🍪 had a full panel of bloodwork. The great news is that it was all good. Not bad for a 13-year-old. The vet started her on pain medicine and supplements because of arthritis in her hips.  Cookie 🍪 walks with a wide, stiff stance and can be very cautious as she moves. Because she continued to show signs of discomfort, she had a second vet visit this week.  The vet felt that the pain meds are effectively treating her pain, but believes that Cookie 🍪 remains uncomfortable and tenses a lot.  She added another medication to try to help make Ms. Cookie 🍪 more comfortable. Cookie is showing a bit more bounce in her step.

Cookie 🍪 got a box of goodies from Brookline this week. When foster mom opened the box, Cookie 🍪 left no doubt about what she wanted. She took the chewy and left the room. She chewed for close to an hour before she reappeared. Yummy! Thank you,  Brookline!

Cookie 🍪 is ready to find her new home. She needs to be in a calm household with a strong routine. Unlike her foster home, Cookie 🍪should be in a home where she doesn’t need to climb stairs to be with her family, and where the floors are not slippery. Most of all, Cookie 🍪needs to be in a place where she can decompress and accept all of the love she deserves.

One look at Cookie’s 🍪 sweet, earnest face and you can’t help but be captivated by this dog.

Cookie’s  new family will be rewarded with the sweetest of treats. 🍪 🍪 🍪 🍪 🍪 🍪 🍪

December 14, 2025

It’s now been a week since Cookie 🍪 came into foster care. It’s been a lot of change for her. She had no way to prepare for such a radical life change, and yet she is adjusting to a new life.

She has made significant progress since last week when she was very scared and confused. Cookie 🍪 spent much of the week sleeping and resting, which likely helped her to settle. She is showing some interest in Foster Mom (FM) and her furry Foster sister, but she still mostly keeps to herself. She is also able to go up and down stairs, although FM has never seen this. Cookie 🍪 prefers to mysteriously appear when no one is watching her.  Ms. Cookie 🍪 is very independent.

At first, she barely touched her bowl. This morning, Cookie got excited when FM was preparing her breakfast and she cleaned her plate for the first time. Cookie 🍪 also likes cookies.  FM needs to learn to stop referring to treats as cookies…she can hear Cookie saying, “aw Mom, those aren’t cookies, I am the Cookie in the house! “ 🍪 🍪 🍪 🍪

Cookie 🍪 had a few accidents in the house, which is to be expected. She is learning how to communicate with someone new and needs to find her voice. Her eating has improved a lot.

Cookie 🍪 is a sweet and gentle girl. One look at her face and she gets right into your heart. You can’t help but to love her. 🍪 ❤️ 🍪 ❤️ 🍪 ❤️ 🍪 ❤️

December 8, 2025

Meet Cookie.🍪 True to her name she is sweet and snack sized. Cookie is a 13-year-old lab mix who weighs in at 45 pounds of goodness.

Recently Cookie has fallen on hard times. Since she was a puppy, she lived with one person who loved her. He was her person in every way. He became seriously ill and is in hospice. 😞 Cookie lost her one and only. 😓 As if that wasn’t devastating enough, she also spent the last month in a kennel, a place entirely unfamiliar to her. 😞

This weekend Cookie came into foster care.  With so many changes and so much loss, poor Cookie is confused, scared, and in grief. ☹️ She needs time to adjust to calmer, more loving surroundings, to catch up on sleep after being in a noisy kennel, and to get used to her foster mother and foster sister. She is reportedly very friendly and a lover of people. 😁 Having already made baby steps in the right direction, I have no doubt that with time and nurturing, she will be showing those traits in abundance.😊

Cookie went to the vet this week for the first time in a long time.  She was a good girl in the car and during the visit. She is currently being treated for a urinary tract infection and has started on medication for arthritis. She is otherwise healthy.

While Cookie will reveal herself more in due course, there are a few things that are immediately very clear. She is sweet, compliant, gentle and housetrained. She will make an excellent and unbeatable addition to everyone’s holiday cookie selections. 🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪

Cookie will check in once she gets some well-needed beauty sleep. 💤