Hank #4 Black Labrador Retriever Mix Male 1 Years Old ID #2848

December 3, 2020

Hank is hitting the five-week mark as a Brookline foster, and is still longing for that forever family to find him.  He’s had the experience of seeing his first Christmas tree assembled and decorated (and, sadly for him, barricaded off to prevent any Hankian temptation).  He does like to get into some things he shouldn’t.

He’s turned into an excellent wildlife warden–no deer, fox or groundhog can get within 500 yards of the place without being told off in no uncertain terms.  His eyesight is so acute that he can spot them long before I do.  At such times Hank’s bark makes clear that he’s part hound.  You can close your eyes and picture him dashing along on a fox hunt with the rest of the pack, instead of just running up and down along our fence line.

Daily walks in the park maintain his slender waistline.  Many interesting sticks, leaves and clumps of grass must be examined, and sometimes tasted or rolled on along the winding woody paths.  Every willing dog must be greeted, or at least given a searching stare if they’re too far away.  And disc golfers must be closely critiqued on their technique as we pass.  Hank has a wonderful erect posture as he sits watching something—almost regal. Luckily his bursts of energy are followed by periods of quiet naps, when I can hardly tell he’s in the house.  As soon as the sun goes down and he’s had dinner, he’s done for the day.

Unfortunately, he did have one inhouse accident the other day that marred his spotless (pun intended) record since November 14th.  It was likely Foster Mom’s fault.  He kept coming over and nuzzling me, and I thought he just wanted to be petted, since he’s very affectionate.  Apparently, he was saying–hey, let me out!   We continue to work on reducing excited mouthiness/nibbling.  This may not be fully educable until he’s out of the presence of his favorite chew toy, resident dog Nina.

November 24, 2020

Hank is happy to report that he’s had no inhouse accidents for the past 10 days–not bad for a young dog who never saw the inside of a house until he arrived here 3.5 weeks ago!  Limiting his water intake to the high end of what is recommended for a dog his size seems to have done the trick.

He’s waiting for his forever family to reveal themselves.  No applications were received from already-approved Brookline families for this handsome and friendly 1 year old, who looks forward to brisk walks, roughhousing and playing tug-of-war with other dogs, chasing his ball and Frisbee and any unwary squirrels, chewing sticks, and trying to stay out of inhouse mischief.  This young boy who has a whole year of fun to make up for and forget his past as an unwanted Mississippi stray.   So, Hank is now posted on Petfinder to widen the net to find that perfect match.

November 16, 2020

Lab mix Hank (Brookline #2848) is now available for adoption to already-approved Brookline families.

Little more than one month ago, Hank was a stray roaming the environs of Meridian, Mississippi– hungry and lost.  He’s since packed on some needed weight to become a sleek, but still slender, 53-pound healthy young boy, approximately 1 year old.  He looks, and sounds, like there’s an echo of hound mixed in with the lab.  For any of our waiting families who’d love to have a puppy, but can’t bear the thought of those 3 a.m. potty outings, razor sharp little teeth, and two weeks in a cone after neutering, Hank is the perfect solution!  He’s a late-stage puppy, full of fun, energy and mischief– affectionate and intelligent, and already neutered and up-to-date on all his vaccinations.  His short, black coat is low-shed, which is always a plus for whoever does the housework.

Once adopted, Hank will need continued training to restrain those puppy impulses of chewing up things we’ve rather not have chewed, curbing his desire to jump on people to say an enthusiastic hello, and enforcing his potty training to avoid the random liquid accident.

He’d do very well with an active family with kids over 5, who could take him on adventures and give him plenty of exercise during the day.  Perhaps even under 5 if they don’t object to be jumped on and licked.  Hank is friendly with all the dogs he’s met so far, and is a dedicated rough-houser with canine playmates.  An equally active resident dog would be a big plus as a wrestling companion for this happy boy.

November 12, 2020

Hank has been with us 10 days now, and is enjoying this warm Fall weather! Perhaps it reminds him of Mississippi.

I’m cautiously optimistic about his potty training.  After starting strong with no accidents, the first two days he was here, he started averaging a daily oops of the liquid variety several days in a row.  He does consume a LOT of water.  He’s never had an accident overnight, so I suspect the piddling during waking hours is a combination of overexcitement and the ingrained habits of his previous life as a stray.  I’ve started crating him for brief periods to let him settle down and to try to train those bladder muscles. He’s now gone a whole three days with no accident!

Hank is an exuberant dog, full of fun and mischief, and quite affectionate, especially when cuddling on the sofa.  He goads resident lab Nina into fierce playtimes.

Thankfully no broken skin, bones or ligaments yet, but she was probably responsible for a big lump on his cheek that is now receding in size.  We take daily hour-long walks in the park to burn off some of that energy, with Nina panting along behind.  He loves to explore trails, and if he wants to linger and examine some nice nasty smell and I want to walk on, he’ll plop down in the grass and refuse to move.  Other than that, he’s fairly good on a leash.  He’s intensely curious about everything he sees, and friendly with everyone he meets, including dogs.  He recently met two toddlers, and while not exactly gentle (I was holding his halter for safety’s sake), he licked their little outstretched hands and got some delighted squeals for his trouble.

There were nearby fireworks on Saturday after the election results.  Hank found them noisy and annoying, and voiced his displeasure.  He’s a good watch dog– barking an alert when he hears a delivery truck or unusual noise.  Also, a prodigious snorer and dream-runner.

He’s a little too interested in helping me drive the car, so we got doggy seat-belts to secure him in back, and he’s busy chewing his way through those.  Some tougher ones are on order.

The vet thinks he may be a bit younger than 1, and may have a little growing still to do.  This makes sense given his very puppyish behavior (mouthing, chewing up toys and shoes, etc.).  I could swear he’s taller now than when he first arrived.  He’s good with ‘sitting’ and we’re working on learning the ‘down’ command, but it’s slow going so far.  Nina’s presence complicates things.  If she’s loose near him she tries to horn in on lessons.  And if she’s shut in the house, he keeps running to the door to be near her.   Hank now weighs 53 pounds, a gain of 10 since his rescue on 10/14.  The vet says this is a perfect weight for him, though he seems a little lean to me.   He’s got a handsome, short black coat (practically no shedding–a bonus), with random flecks of white, as though he got too close while someone was spray-painting.

Hank will be a perfect match for an active, adventurous family– with an equally active young resident dog to wrestle and romp with, or a very tolerant older dog to teach him what familiarities are allowed and what isn’t.

November 2, 2020

Young former stray, Hank, was rescued by a kind volunteer in Mississippi and temporarily fostered, neutered, and brought up to date on vaccines before his transport North to Brookline’s care.   He arrived at his Brookline foster mom’s home on October 30th, to join resident lab Nina and me so he could begin to learn what living in a house is like.

This handsome, slender lab mix (possibly part hound from the look of those ears and long legs) is around one year old, according to the MS vet, and weighs about 45 pounds.  He needs a little plumping up, and is happy to oblige by digging into his meals with gusto.  There’s been no inside accidents in his three days here so far, and he sleeps by himself on the couch in the family room with only a little minor complaining when Nina and I leave him behind to go up to our bed.  To add variety to his nights, he sometimes goes on scavenger hunts and deposits any small items he finds around the room to proudly display for me the next morning.

He quickly mastered walking over thresholds and going up and down stairs, and is doing well on learning to ‘sit’ on command.

Hank is affectionate and loves pets, but is a little too mouthy and jumpy, so we’re working on showing affection without teeth or paws.   He sometimes nibbles on me or Nina like he’s eating a row of corn off a cob–most amusing.   He has to be where he can keep an eye on us.

He’s had his first bath and first walk in a park.  He objected to the bath, but was fascinated by the sights, sounds, smells, and people in the park.  Hank discovered that playing fetch with a ball is so much fun, especially in the mud!  He’s an energetic dog, and could use a little more exercise than he’s getting around here so far.   The rain on 2 of the 3 days he’s been here hasn’t helped.  He and resident dog Nina get along most of the time, but he’s a little bit country, and she’s a little bit rock-n-roll, and they do get too rough in making those differences abundantly clear to each other.   Both are trying to establish dominance, and so far, it’s been a draw, with foster mom wading in as referee.

With a little training, and a little more experience, Hank is going to make a great pet for a family who wants an eager companion for all their adventures.