Brownie Chocolate Labrador Retriever Female 6 Years Old ID #2755

June 22, 2020

Hi chocolate fans! I am happy to announce that I am ready for adoption! I have been with my fosters since January 2020 so I know the routine here and while I am happy here, I am now ready for my very own furever home.

While my foster family doesn’t focus on “teaching” me,  they just want me to know what unconditional love it all about, and I am soaking it up   However, being a lab, and because we are smart and all, I have picked up on a few things. I know the word “treat” and I sometimes go running to my foster mom when she yells the word. Once in a while my foster mom will deliver the treat to me and I like that too, as I start to wag my tail like mad when she comes near me with the treat. My foster mom calls it “room service” because I like the treat to be delivered to the room I am in. I am so adorable and this family really likes me. I am hoping I get a forever family who will  enjoy me like the Irwin’s have!!

Sometimes when I am sitting on the couch and a two legged family member walks by, I will lift my head up so I can see over the back. They think that is so precious!!! Speaking of the couch, I do love it so! I often race to beat my foster dad to it so I am sure to have a spot! He tells me to get down sometimes when I am on the love seat, because it is too small for both of us, but I often act like I didn’t hear him until he tells me a second or third time.

Like most labs, I can pour on the charm! One day, my foster dad’s mom (Nanny) was here for supper. Nanny was sitting on the deck with two piles of corn. One pile of corn with the husks off and the other pile with them still on. It wasn’t long before I snatched an ear, but hey can you blame me? Tasty corn on the cob, check. Old lady working on a task, check. I really thought that it was like taking candy from a baby, but that Nanny is quick. She shouted, “Hey, that dog grabbed an ear of corn!” I stopped dead in my tracks and dropped the corn. I was shocked that she was that fast! Luckily, I am a fast thinker and so I did what any other lab would do, and I did an whole body wag! You know, I started with just my tail and kicked it into high gear with my entire body waging! I really pour on the charm and the family just laughed.

My foster family doesn’t like to rename us labs when we come into care as we have enough to learn, being in a new home and all. However, I have been called “Brown-Hound” and “Brownie-Girl” and I have heard them refer to me and the resident female lab as “the farm girls.” The family calls us the farm girls because we grew up on farms. One time, the family was watching TV and I heard a chick cluck and boy did my head pop up! I knew that sound from before I became a member of the elite “Brookline Family.” I digress…the beagle—AKA Alpha Dog, he still calls me “number 7.”

I have been spayed and I just had another surgery. I did well with the anesthesia both times, so I am kind of a champ! The second surgery was for a tumor, so you should know I am a cancer survivor with a great prognosis. I am hoping that although I am a little grey, have a saggy belly, and have had cancer, it won’t scare a family from wanting to adopt me. I heard my foster mom tell my dad that someone special will want me! My foster mom says “Once a Brookline Dog, Always A Brookline Dog” which means I am pretty special.  I am a very lovable lab, so I am certain the right family is out there for me!

I have to secure my space on the couch now as it’s almost time for the family to watch a show before it’s bed time!

Love and tail wages, Brownie

May 22, 2020

Hi Lab Lovers!

This is Clifford. You may remember me from a previous blog posting regarding dog number 7 (aka Brownie). I’m the momma’s boy who can only take so much of these labs (as I am a beagle).

Brownie is getting spayed on Friday, May 22, 2020, which means she will soon be ready for her forever home! I can’t wait! She’s a nice dog and all, but she thinks she lives here! She sneaks in the bedroom at night and lays on the nice dog-bed, which is the nice dog bed because it’s right next to the side where my mom sleeps. That’s my bed, when I am not sleeping next to my mom! Sheesh! This dog!
I think Brownie will be good as the only dog in a house, as my cousin (who is a bichon frise) stopped by and it may not have gone too well. Brownie didn’t snarl or bark at my cousin but her hair was up on her back and she was quickly moving toward my cousin, and mom got scared. My mom scooped up my cousin before Brownie could get too close, but since my cousin is an old girl, she didn’t want to take any chances. What can I say, my mom loves dogs and wants everyone to be safe.

Anyway, some may say Brownie is old looking b/c she has gray around her muzzle and above her eyebrows. She’s not old though as she is only 6. I think people will need to be reminded that she just grayed early. This COVID 19 thing has everyone homebound and my mom can’t get to the saloon, so she is starting to show her gray hair too, but she is still lovable and young, much like Brownie.

I’ll write again, after Brownie’s surgery. Paws crossed that the message is that she is ready to pack her bags!

Cliff

PS…now you know why they call me a momma’s boy!! (Because I love her sooooo much!)

April 15, 2020

Hello!  This is Brownie, current couch surfer at the Irwin Household. I am writing to let everyone know that I continue to be a good girl! I think I belong here because I’ve been here for a few months, and feel relaxed and safe. The Alpha resident dog (Cliffy) reminds me that I shouldn’t get too cozy as I am not staying!

Most of what you have read about me in my prior postings has stayed the same: I like toys-especially ones which squeak, I don’t have accidents in the house, and I enjoy daily walks! There have been a few changes too! I don’t growl anymore. I am also in heat, and my foster parents want me to get surgery before I go to my forever home. Foster mom said that it’s not fun being at a house after major surgery when you are still new and scared, so I can have my surgery soon, and feel comfortable to go to a home, and back with people who know me. Plus, this COVID 19 situation has everyone worried, and my foster parents want me to meet my potential forever parents face-to-face, especially if they have a dog already, so I am just chilling here!

I enjoy giving kisses, and I want to snuggle, and cuddle. I like to be cozy, and enjoy sitting on the couch with the family in the late evening to watch a few shows before we go to sleep. As previously mentioned, I like people more than dogs, but if I had a furry sister or brother in my forever home that would be fine.

I get crated when foster mom leaves the house, which isn’t for too long. Since I am created infrequently, and only for short time periods, I decided to be good, and go into the crate without troubles, as long as I get a treat!

My foster parents have a fenced in backyard, and it’s been warm so she lets the door open. I enjoy roaming around in the yard. The resident dogs sometimes bark at the neighbor so, of course, I join in too. Foster mom yells “Treat Treat!” and we all come running in the house. Most times, we let then let the neighbor alone, but sometimes we go back outside to give a few more barks out.

Loves and kisses,

Brownie.

February 24, 2020

Hi! My name is Brownie. Everyone I meet tells me what a sweet girl I am! When dogs are really happy they wag their tale and sometimes their butts, but foster mom says I wag my whole body! She says its adorable and would even melt the Grinches heart!

My foster mom and dad think that I would be fine in a ‘house with no dogs’ or in a ‘house with dogs’, but that I definitely love humans and if I had to pick between a ‘house with dogs’ or a house with a human home a good deal of the time, I’d go with the human. What can I say, I love when people rub and scratch me!!

My foster mom works from home and so she has the best read on me. She says I have really come out of my shell. For example, when I first got here, I went directly into the crate if she left the house, now I don’t want to be crated. But foster mom says that I need to be crated when she isn’t there, which isn’t often, and insists that I get in the crate. So I listen to her as I really want to be a good girl.

Another quality that the family has recently seen is how I counter cruised a few times to see what’s on the kitchen table. One time, I grabbed a dog leash and chewed it when she wasn’t looking. I do like to chew so it’s best to have toys for me. My foster mom says that I probably didn’t have toys on the farm and so now I am enjoying myself, even though it’s usually younger dogs who chew. I don’t chew on furniture or anything like that.

My mom said that I am like the other farm girl dogs they have had in that I am hesitant to walk through doors. I do it because I have to do my business outside, but I need encouraged to go out or come back in, and that I will be okay. By the way, I haven’t had any accidents in my foster home!!! I don’t signal to go out but that’s because foster mom is home and knows to leave us out every 3 hours, as the Beagle will pee in the house!

I really enjoy walks and love going each day! Foster mom takes me during the week over her lunch break and I have lost some weight. I need to lose weight so I can have surgery to not have any more puppies. The foster parents will have me weighed this week and will see how much more I need to lose!

I fit right in here, but Cliff, the resident beagle, said that I ain’t stayin! Cliff says that I may not go to a home just like this one, but I will definitely go to a loving home. My foster parents try real hard to select the best home for their fosters as they want their dogs to be happy and it’s about finding a good fit. Hopefully, there is a family who wants an adorable lab who wags their entire body when happy!

Love and body-wags,

Brownie

February 9, 2020

Hi! My name is Cliff, and I am the alpha dog at our house! I want you to know about Brownie, the lab who has been staying with us the past few weeks. First, you should know that I am a beagle, and a momma’s boy! We’ve had six other foster labs come and go in our house so I call Brownie “number 7” as most of these labs are what I would call a “cookie cutter” dog. If you have a lab or have been around one, you know they are all the same…friendly and lovable (insert eye roll) with tails that don’t stop wagging! Not that I mind these dogs coming to visit, but I tell them that they are not staying.  The two other labs in the house are enough, and my momma only has two hands, and can only scratch so many ears at once.

Brownie is pretty smart. She has quickly figured out that my dad is a softy for labs.   He always loves on the fosters the most. She has also learned to follow mom out to the kitchen, like the rest of us, for treats through out the day. My mom only gives her small ones since Brownie has to lose weight. Brownie doesn’t growl at us anymore—oh and when she did, it wasn’t a threatening growl, it was more of a “l am new here, and trying to figure out the boundaries, and am a little scared so stay back.” My family showed Brownie that she didn’t need to be scared of us all, and is now comfortable in our house.

Brownie loves attention from humans, and is kind to all visitors who come to our house. Brownie also loves toys.  However, she is still learning about what we are allowed to chew on. She accidentally chewed the tags off two blankets, and chewed holes in the teenage boy’s sweatshirt which was lying on the floor. My mom tells him to not leave his clothes laying around, but you know teenage boys! Brownie doesn’t like to get her toenails cut, and she isn’t fond of baths.  I think it’s because I told her not to let the humans wash the wonderful dog smell off of her!

Brownie thinks that she is a card carrying member of our pack.  Brownie hangs out with us dogs all the time now during week days. Momma works from home, and we all hang out in the office with her. Brownie doesn’t get on furniture, which may be because she is too chubby to jump. Brownie does enjoy her walks.  This is great news because the humans want her to lose weight so she can get surgery so she can’t have any more pups.

Over all, I rate “number 7” a 10 as she is a good dog, and deserves a warm and loving home!

Signed, Cliff

January 28, 2020

Brownie continues to do well in our household! She still hasn’t had any accidents! Brownie’s appetite is increasing and foster dad does not need to hand-feed her anymore.

Brownie’s crate is open at all times and she periodically goes in there to rest. She finds comfort in her crate! Occasionally, Brownie drags a toy, leash, or blanket into the crate to claim as her own.

The growling has subsided for the most part, but if she does growl it’s only once in a while and it’s not aggressive. The growl is more like “I am dog, hear me roar” but she hasn’t had any physical aggression with anyone.

Brownie has learned that it’s exciting to “go out to the garage.” As the other dogs who go out there usually go for car rides or walks. Brownie doesn’t understand that a door will close on her nose, so she must be directed back in the house or placed in her crate before opening the door to the garage!

Brownie continues to love people, including teenagers and those who she has just met. We are enjoying Brownie and are hopeful she finds a loving family!

January 20, 2020

Brownie has been at our household for one week! She goes up and down steps with ease. She hasn’t had any accidents in the house and for that we are grateful! Brownie doesn’t have much of an appetite but will eat treats and will permit her foster dad to hand feed her. Given that Brownie needs to loose weight in order to be spayed, it’s okay that she doesn’t have much of an appetite. Brownie drinks a normal amount of water.

Brownie is getting along better with the resident dogs, with just a few growls here and there. Foster mom and foster dad have noticed that Brownie growls when one of the resident dogs goes near her crate. Brownie has a big crate with a fluffy pad, and the crate is open at all times. The crate has been a source of comfort for Brownie as she goes into it even when not instructed.

Brownie also growls when the resident dogs get too close to foster dad as Brownie wants to keep him all to herself!

Foster mom works from home and today was the first day Brownie had free roam of the house. She didn’t really care much about the other dogs and just stayed in the kitchen which is where her crate is located. Brownie would occasionally roam around and would go out to pee with the other dogs when instructed to do so.

We are pleased with Brownie’s progress and look forward to see how she does over the next week!

January 15, 2020

Brownie came to our house late in the evening on Tuesday (January 14, 2020), and the introduction to the three resident dogs was brief due to it being dark outside, and therefore difficult to do a proper introduction. On Tuesday night she stayed in the furnished basement away from the resident dogs but  foster dad (FD), Scott, kept her company.

Today is the second day Brownie has been at her foster home. She is a classic lovable lab! Brownie loves being around people and her entire body moves when she wags her tail! She gives lots of kisses and loves to snuggle. We are quite sure that Brownie had her first experience seeing a big screen tv because when she saw it, she took quite an interest walking up to it and looking in amazement!

Brownie spent Wednesday morning in the basement crated and didn’t let out a peep! She was let out alone throughout the day for pee brakes and then around 2:00 pm she was crated in the kitchen with the one male resident dog who is highly socialized and admired by all, who roamed the house. Around 4:30 our mentor came and helped Scott (FD) do a proper introduction. While there was some growling on Brownie’s part, she stopped quickly when reassured that all was okay.

Currently, Thursday, January 16, 2020, Brownie is crated with the three resident dogs roaming the house. So far, no growling today!

Brownie hasn’t eaten much since she got here, but that is okay as she is quite overweight.

We know Brownie will make a loving dog for the right family. 😊