Abbey Black Labrador Retriever Mix Female 5 Years Old ID #2887

March 7, 2021

Hi, Friends. This is Abbey. Yesterday was a very confusing day. It started out pretty great with a long car ride with my foster grandparents. We stopped at a parking lot where we met up with my foster mom and got out to see some new people. I was pretty happy when one of the new strangers took me on a little walk. But it wasn’t meant to be.  After some more hanging around the parking lot I headed back to my foster home with my foster grandparents. But then my foster mom didn’t come back, and my humans told me she had to move away for a while. I’m still OK because I love my foster granddad SO much, but I really do wish I could find my furever home. I am such a very nice girl and I hope someone can welcome me into their family and help me understand that there are lots of nice people and dogs that I can be friends with.

February 28, 2021

Hi everyone! It’s me, Abbey!

It has now been 10 weeks since I was brought up north on a big white bus and got to meet my temporary best friends. I am still patiently awaiting my forever family to come along, but for now, I guess my foster family will do. My foster family just doesn’t understand why they can’t find a home who is willing to love me forever. They tell me over and over again that I’m such a perfect girl and can’t wait until another family out there realizes how very special I am. I’m going to make such a great family dog, hopefully someday soon.

My foster mom is moving to Maryland next weekend and is leaving me with my foster grandparents. I don’t really mind because they always spoil me with extra treats and spoonsful of peanut butter.

A couple weeks ago my foster mom reached out to get me some tutoring because I don’t always act like a polite little lady when I see other dogs. My family brings treats along on our walks all the time now so that they can work on my “training.” I just see it as an excuse to show off my amazing skills and get free food in return. It’s a win-win. I’d love to find a family that is willing to keep up with throwing treats my way, oh uh, I mean my training.

Unfortunately, my dating profile (see below) isn’t getting me much attention. I thought I’d have everyone knocking at my door. I guess nobody is in the market for a beautiful, hard-working, spunky girl who has nothing but love to share. Oh well, my match will come. Or at least that’s what my mom keeps telling me.

February 14, 2021

Since it is Valentine’s Day I have my own wish for my perfect match.

February 7, 2021

What a snowy couple of weeks we’ve had. This Carolina girl absolutely adores the snow! My foster family doesn’t understand why I refuse to get in the bath tub, but will roll around in the snow for hours until my coat is dripping wet. Luckily, I’ve learned to wait on my mat when I come inside until one of my family members can come dry me off with a towel.

Last week I even built a snowman with my foster mom although she did most of the work while I sniffed around the yard.

I went to the groomer a couple weeks ago because I am not a fan of the bathtub and my foster family figured they would leave it to the professionals. The groomer even gave me a special shampoo to help with my dandruff and shedding. Everyone at PetSmart thought I was the sweetest girl, but I was also a little overwhelmed and anxious. I definitely was not a fan of the blow dryer and came home soaking wet (that seems to be a recurrent theme – maybe I’ll enjoy some swimming this summer). I met quite a few dogs at PetSmart and didn’t make a single sound. I even let another dog sniff my bum.

I have officially graduated from the crate, although it is still in a quiet area of the house for me to use as my safe place when I need it. I haven’t been getting into anything at all and I am now able to identify the difference between my stuffed toys and mom’s fuzzy slippers. I have been sleeping on a bed in my foster grandpa’s room and stay silently put all night. Occasionally, I’ll climb into bed with him, but only when I am invited. I will say, his bed is much comfier than my crate.

My family is amazed by what a quick learner I am and how fast I adapt to new routines and they think I’ll do really well with my furever family when they come along.

The other night, my foster uncle came over really late after I had gone to bed. I barked really loud to make sure everyone in my family knew that there was a stranger in the house. Eventually, I realized it was just him and quit my barking instantly in order to ask for belly rubs instead. My family thinks I would make the BEST guard dog.

January 30, 2021

Hey all, Abbey here!

Today was a very exciting and exhausting day for me. My foster family orchestrated a meet-up with two other Brookline foster doggies; Chloe and Weston. I was so excited to get to go for a short little car ride, but quickly realized I was set up! My foster family has been a little nervous about introductions with other dogs because they don’t have a ton of experience, but it went much better than expected! I was a little apprehensive at first and let out a few warning barks before I realized that wasn’t going to get me out of it.

We all took a walk around the neighborhood so that I could warm up to my new friends. Although I never fully relaxed as evidenced by my tail, I did a great job on my leash and became increasingly more comfortable with the occasional butt sniff from Weston. At one point I even laid down in the street for some belly rubs to make Weston jealous.

I think it worked. My foster mom told me that we are going to start having daily walks with Chloe and Weston. I agreed mostly because I know I’ll get a car ride out of it, but also because I want to prove what an amazing girl I am not only with humans, but with other pups too!

My foster family kept talking about how proud of me they were and rewarded me with lots of treats and pets. Pretty soon afterwards I was curled up on my bed for a snooze dreaming about the next time I get to see my new friends.

January 21, 2021

I have reached my one-month mark with my foster family! I am learning so much every day and continue to prove to my family just how smart I am. I am definitely a woman of routine and will wait patiently at the door when I know it is getting close to my mid-day walk. I have also figured out that if I gives my foster grandpa enough “puppy dog eyes” he’ll sneak in an extra treat. Honestly, he probably needs more obedience training than I do.

This week, I mastered “drop it”, which comes in handy on our walks because my neighbors leave all kinds of goodies on their lawns and I sometimes just can’t resist. I really am such a sweet, well-behaved, loveable girl and I can’t wait until a FURever family comes along and realizes what a perfect addition I will be to their home.

I have been spoiled coming to my foster home during the pandemic because they are home ALL THE TIME. They don’t even give me a chance to get into the trash. The past couple of weeks have been very busy for the humans of the household, which has given me the opportunity to practice my alone time. This is the only time my voice comes out. I don’t love being left in my crate when everyone leaves, but I settle down pretty quickly. During the day while everyone is working, I lay right behind my foster mom’s chair so she can’t get out. I find new spots to take naps, and remind my family when it’s time to take a break for an afternoon walk. My foster family typically engages me in some type of enrichment activity each day and has started feeding me my meals in a snuffle mat to slow me down.

I have made quite a few human friends, and a couple doggie friends. There still are some dogs that I just don’t jive with, especially when I am not prepared or can’t see them coming. I have not come into contact with a single human that I did not love after about 30 seconds of uncertainty. As long as they give me belly rubs, they get a gold star in my book.

Over the past couple of weeks, I had both an ear infection and a parasite in my intestines. I am an absolute pro at taking oral medications, but I won’t let anyone come near my ears even if they temped me with a spoon full of PB. My family tried the sneak attack method, but I’m too smart for that. I’m all healed up now and feeling great, although the ear infection had no effect on my ability to chase a ball around the yard. Ain’t nothin’ gonna break my stride.

I am such a quick learner and am making my foster family fall more and more in love with me each day, but I am still looking for a place to call home for the rest of my life. This is where I use my irresistible puppy dog eyes to woo you into putting in an application for my adoption.

January 3, 2021

Hi guys! It’s me, Abbey. I have reached the two-week mark with my foster family, which means I am one step closer to finding my forever home. I am very attached to my foster mom and she is anxious to find me a family to prevent grief on both my end and hers. I am; however, letting other members of my family put me to bed and get me up in the morning without crying for mom, which is a huge step.

The past week has been a wet one and my foster family quickly learned that I HATE rain. They still try to trick me into going outside to go potty, but I just sit at the door under cover the whole time begging to come back in. When the weather is nicer, I love lounging on the back patio and taking naps under the sun. My foster family doesn’t let me on their furniture, but as you can see, they made an exception with the outdoor couch.

I am a happy and sweet girl, but can be very anxious at times. Mom doesn’t know if it’s laziness, lack of energy, or fear, but sometimes on my walks I will stop and stare for a few minutes without budging until mom agrees to go back home. I love to meet people on my walks, but I do not like when strangers come into my home.

Recently, I’ve been getting into laundry and trash. My foster family keeps most of the doors in the house closed, but I somehow find a way to sneak a tissue or two.

Because I am such a curious girl, I need to be supervised when I am not relaxing on my bed or in my crate. Sometimes I have a serious case of the FRAPs, or as mom likes to call it, “zoomies.” I slip around on the hardwood floors a lot, so my family gets me outside during these times. Usually, I’ll calm down after about 5 minutes and am ready for a long nap.

This week I took a trip to the vet. I wanted to be best friends with the vet until she started messing with my ears and my legs. The vet wound up having to take me into the back to draw my blood because being in the room with my foster mom was giving me too much anxiety. I seem to be in good health overall, but I do have a slight ear infection. I have been giving my family a run for their money trying to get drops into my ears every night.

Despite trying to eat used tissues and being under foot during human snack time, my foster family reminds me every day how sweet I am and showers me with endless amounts of belly rubs. I really am a good girl and will make a great addition to my forever family

December 23, 2020

Hey friends, Abbey here! I have now survived five whole days with my foster family and they are learning more about me each day.

Today, my foster mom decided to take me out for a trip to the park. I have been absolutely loving car rides. I also don’t mind all of the attention I’m getting from other cars driving by. Can you blame them when I look this cute?

I am walking a lot better on my leash, but my foster mom still keeps the leash really short so that I walk right by her side. I am starting to leave a little bit of slack in the leash and am not pulling as much unless of course I see someone who could give me pets. I certainly don’t have any sense of “stranger danger.”

Although I will go up to all of my human friends, I do not seem to be a fan of other dogs especially when they are barking at me. My mom walked me by a dog park to see how I would react from outside the fence. I was happy to just watch the other dogs play, but as soon as they got close to the fence and started barking at me, my angry voice came out. Mom is working on finding safe ways to introduce me to other doggies.

My family tried to pull one on me and switch up my food, but it was immediately apparent that I have a strong food preference given that I’m usually scarfing down my whole bowl in a matter of seconds. I am doing a really good job with the “sit” command and will even “wait” by my food bowl until mom is done scooping and tells me I can eat. I am a ball of energy, but I am also very patient with my humans, unless they stop petting me before I’m ready to be done with belly rubs.

Because I am such an excited girl all the time, I am having a little trouble with the uncarpeted stairs. I run down really fast sometimes missing steps and slipping. My family has been limiting my time upstairs and keeping my harness on so that they can help guide me and slow me down on the stairs.

December 22, 2020

Hello all! It’s me, Abbey. My foster family STILL thinks I’m the sweetest girl in the whole world. They heard my voice today for the first time. There was a deer on my neighbor’s lawn that I did not like, but it turns out he was just a Christmas decoration. I also barked at my foster Uncle today when he came to meet me. How dare he enter my house without knocking. Fortunately, after about 2 minutes, we became best friends and I got lots of belly rubs.

My foster mom let me off my leash in the fenced-in backyard for the first time and I did a lot of exploring in the snow. I even started to dig a hole and got my paws all dirty. Mom wishes I found some buried treasure.

I went for a car ride today and LOVED it.

I wasn’t a huge fan of my walks today. There was a really scary big yellow bus in my neighborhood and I pulled mom right back home after I saw it. I definitely enjoy being in my safe backyard more than my walks.

I love rolling around on my foster mom’s expensive rug, watching out the window at the back door, and of course cuddling with my blue blanket.

Today I ripped apart my new cow toy, but mom was excited that I was actually playing. I was a lot more energetic today than I was yesterday.

My foster mom had to go to the doctor today and left me home with my foster grandma. I ran around the house looking for mom and she thinks I was experiencing separation anxiety. I was able to calm down in my crate, which has become my safe space. I am a really happy girl and my tail is always wagging, but my foster family can tell that I am a little nervous at times.

December 21, 2020

Hi guys! My name is Abbey I am 60 pounds and my foster family tells me that I am the sweetest girl in the whole world. My first day was a little overwhelming, but I’ve settled down and have started learning my new routine. There is nothing that I love more than belly rubs and my soft blue blanket.

My foster mom bought me a bunch of awesome toys, but I would rather lay around and nap. I show interest in other dogs, birds, squirrels, and storm drains, but I really just smell and listen. In fact, my foster family hasn’t even heard my voice yet.

My clueless first-time foster mom got me a harness that I DID NOT like and I pulled like crazy on our walks, but she was able to borrow a Freedom Harness from another foster mom and I am doing so much better with that.

My evaluation says that I am quite the jumper, but my foster family hasn’t experienced any jumping. They are working on getting me to stop begging at the dinner table and walk straight rather than weaving back and forth across the street. I don’t know any commands, but my foster mom is working really hard to teach me “sit” and “stay”. My family has me on a potty schedule, but I did have one accident in the house today although mom thinks it may have been on purpose.

My foster mom has realized that I eat my food really fast. Foster mom is working on getting  me to slow down so I don’t have an upset tummy. I also have very itchy ears and skin and keep nibbling at my feet. My foster mom switched up my food tonight in case I was having a reaction to my new food.

I am a total sweetheart and I can’t wait until I’m ready to find a FURever home that will spoil me with love and attention!