Ariel #2 (10 years old) & Zoey #10 (11-12 years old) Female

March 23, 2023

It’s been one month since Ariel and Zoey were brought into foster care and they’re doing great!  They are both eating and sleeping well.  Ariel’s whipworm has been resolved and she seems much more comfortable.  The recent time change has allowed us to take more walks in the daylight and we’re continuing to make them a little bit longer.

The girls have settled into a nice routine – they’re up between 6:30 AM and 7:00 AM and head outside to go potty.  Afterwards they have breakfast and then a short post-meal nap.  They’ve started greeting the dog walker at the door when he comes in each day and they also meet me at the door when I arrive home from work.  That’s when they have dinner and afterwards, we usually go for a walk.  They go out one more time around 9:00 PM and then they’re good for the night.

Ariel starts out most nights on a dog bed in the family room but sometimes wanders into my room and settles back down on a dog bed next to my bed.  Zoey hasn’t tried the steps to the second floor of the house but she manages the steps from the deck to the grass well.  Their new thing is eating sticks in the back yard which do not fully digest…lol.  So, I’m making it a priority to keep the back yard cleaned up.

These girls are really enjoying life in a home where they’re properly cared for.  They are happy and enjoy all the attention they can get.  If Zoey is getting some love, Ariel is sure to stick her nose in so she doesn’t miss out.  Zoey is always relaxed and just takes life one day at a time.

March 6, 2023

The second week here with me went well for Zoey and Ariel.  I’ve learned that Ariel can be very stubborn and doesn’t like the rain!  When she’s had enough of our little walks, she’ll let me know by just stopping.  There’s no trying to convince her to go a little further.  She won’t start walking again until we turn around and head home.  And both girls seem to have learned which house is home.  Yesterday I took Zoey out for a walk solo because she always seems eager to keep going when Ariel wants to stop.  It was a beautiful day and I think she enjoyed the extra “mileage” we added to our usual routine.  On one of our walks, we ran into a 13-year-old dog from the neighborhood and the interaction went well.  Zoey seems interested in meeting any dog she sees.  Ariel is a little hesitant but if a dog approaches her, she’s fine.  The girls were also well behaved when the gas fireplace repairmen was here and the exterminator.  They just wanted to say hello.

Zoey seems to love tennis balls and has unearthed some that I think have been buried beneath my deck from my previous labs.  She has also destroyed two squeaky toys!  Neither one has much interested in playing but they will participate in a short game with the tug toy.

Their big news was they went to see the vet last Thursday night.  They are in fairly good health.  They each need to lose some weight – Ariel was 104 pounds and Zoe was 86 pounds – but their overall health was good.  Ariel’s fecal test revealed she has something called whipworm.  This is most likely the cause of her loose stools.  She was given a dose of medicine on Friday (3/3) and will receive another does on 3/17.  Hopefully this will clear up the issue and she’ll start feeling better overall.  She scratches at her ears a lot and the vet seems to think she had multiple ear infections.  We’re currently putting some drops in her ears to give her some relief but some of the damage done to the ears is irreversible.  I think her hearing is mildly affected.

I was at a conference all day Saturday and my daughter stopped in to give the girls a bathroom break.  She captured these sweet solo shots!

February 26, 2023

Yesterday marked one week since the girls moved in.  They continue to be very easy to foster.  They have free roam of the downstairs while I’m at work and so far, they haven’t touched anything they shouldn’t. They don’t beg for food while I’m eating, and they don’t counter surf. Zoey met the two black labs from next door – through our fences – and seemed interested. Ariel hung back a little. They had a “social” outing yesterday – to the groomer and it wore them out!

Fortunately, it also made them smell a lot better!

Apparently, Zoey initiated a game of fetch with the dog walker!  He was outside in the yard with Ariel and Zoey had gone into the house only to reappear with a tennis ball in her mouth.  Zoey is able to walk much faster and farther than I originally thought.  I measure our walks by the number of houses we pass.  Today we added a few more homes to our walk and both girls did great.  They’re settling in for a nap now.  If Zoey is the “bed hog”, then Ariel is the food hog!  It took both girls a while to eat regularly each day, but now I keep an eye on them while eating because Ariel will finish whatever is in Zoey’s bowl.  Ariel is having some intestinal issues.  Her stools have been very loose and Friday night she had an accident in the middle of the night.  To her credit, she did try to alert me.  She has a tendency to let out little whines during the night.  The first time I heard her, I came downstairs and spent some time with her.  The second time I heard her, I let her cry it out and ended up having a mess to clean up!  Fortunately, she went on the hardwood floor rather than the carpet.  I won’t take any chances going forward. They see the vet on Thursday and I’m anxious to talk with them about her stomach issues.  Both girls will take all the pets and sweet words that are spoken to them.  They are a joy to have around.

February 22, 2023

These girls continue to make me smile!  As they’re settling in more and more, their personalities are starting to show.  Zoey is why people love labs!  She is always wagging her tail, loves affection and has this goofiness to her that makes you laugh.  We are currently managing with one dog bed and Zoey is the bed hog.  This is not a problem for Ariel because she has proved over and over again, she is able to get on and off of the sofa.  Ariel is the more subdued of the two.  She has these beautiful, soulful brown eyes and when she looks at you, you feel there’s something she really wants to tell you.

We extended our walk last night and both girls did great.  We all need a little more practice with walking two dogs on two leashes but once they get in tandem, it’s a breeze.  Ariel has popped into my bedroom the last two nights which was very unexpected – I didn’t think she could do the steps to the second floor.  She seems to be content with a few pets and being redirected downstairs.  These girls are so easy-going – they’re just looking to give and receive love.  Neither has had an accident in the house and I’ve only heard Ariel let out a small bark one time.  They go to the vet next week and I’m anxious to see how they’re doing.

February 19, 2023

I picked up Zoey (yellow lab) and Ariel (a mix) on Saturday afternoon.  They were great on the 45-minute ride home.  Once we arrived, I took them directly to my backyard so they could walk around and take care of business.

Afterwards, we came inside and they crashed for a while.

Neither one showed much interest in eating but they had had a big day. Given their weight and mobility issues, I’m sure it was exhausting to get in and out of the cars as much as they did on Saturday.  We went out for the last time around 9:45 PM on Saturday night and I didn’t hear a peep from them until I came downstairs around 7:15 AM Sunday morning.  Despite their weight and weakness in their back legs, they are managing the few steps from my deck to the ground.  Zoey takes advantage of using a ramp I had had installed some time ago for my last Brookline adoptee to come up from the ground.  Ariel ate some breakfast, but Zoey still really has no appetite.  I eventually warmed up some beef broth and added it to their food.  Both seemed to enjoy this at dinnertime although Zoey didn’t eat again this morning.

Yesterday afternoon the foster girls met my daughters (both in their twenties and living on their own).  They were super sweet and couldn’t get enough love and pets.  They also met my dog walker who is going to come in once a day to give them a bathroom break since I work outside the home Monday through Friday.  They also enjoyed his attention.  Zoey enjoyed playing with one of the tennis balls that came in the Brookline welcome package but so far that’s about all of the “playing” they’ve done.  They seem to just want to rest right now.  We’ve taken several short walks and they seem to enjoy that.  We’re being careful not to overdo it due to their physical conditions, but I think as they lose some weight and strengthen their hind legs, they’ll love longer walks around my neighborhood.  When they’re awake and on their feet, their tails are always wagging!  I have today off from work and I’m going to be sad to leave them tomorrow.  They’ve already made a place in my heart.