Gemmy Yellow Labrador Retriever Female 4 Years Old ID#3534

Meet Gemmy!  Gemmy is a sweet four year old farm who has finally finished her days of breeding.  Please read her blog from the bottom up to learn more about her time in foster care.

January 30, 2025

Gemmy continues to worm her way into our hearts. We all love her especially our dog Boomer. They love going out for walks together.

If he’s sniffing something, Gemmy comes along and forcefully hip checks him out of the way to get her own personal sniff in. She continues to slap him in the face to get him to play with her.  She loves sleeping in her bagel bed at night by the side of the bed and wakes me up by bopping me in the eye with her nose @6 am.  If I don’t move, she puts both paws on me until I get up.

Gemmy’s test results came back as negative for Lyme’s and heartworm so we’re very happy. She went to see the vet for an an exam and eye stain today.  Unfortunately, both her ears are very infected so she had some medicine put in to make her feel better. Her left eye has entropion of BOTH upper and lower eyelids ( a condition where the eyelid is turned under causing friction of the lashes with the surface of the eye) . This poor girl must be in so much discomfort and pain. Depsite all this, she was a favorite at the vet’s office and so very sweet. She gave the vet kisses as the dye was being put into her eye. Gemmy  will need eye surgery but the vet is uncertain whether both lids need to be done or just the lower lid, which is much worse. The vet will perform her spay on the same day as the eye surgery at the end of February.

January 27, 2025

Gemmy continues to impress and amaze!  This beautiful girl was not too excited about the Eagles’ incredible win last night and slept through it next to Boomer with her stuffy under her chin in the bagel bed. No amount of (my) yelling woke her up. She is sooo very chill.  We decided to see if Gemmy would sleep upstairs in the bagel bed and she went up with no problem, paced for 15 minutes, then settled in for the night. I had to wake her up and disrupt her very loud, deep snoring at 6:30am when I woke up. She ate a nice breakfast and was much less scared of cars and trucks on her morning walk. In fact, she stopped to meet the trash guys and they now love her.

She also met a neighbor’s small dog and made quick friends.

Gemmy was very calm at the vet this morning for her testing and immunizations. They loved her! I was able to get a video of Gemmy in the snow this morning but she was too busy following me to run with Boomer.

January 26, 2025

What can I say except this girl was named appropriately-  she is a true GEM!

Gemmy ate her dinner last night relatively slowly (for a lab) without being skittish about noises or picky.  She enjoyed eating in the kitchen with Boomer, who is gladly showing this farm girl the ropes. Gemmy has adapted so well to living inside. We had a roaring fire all evening and she really enjoyed staring at it and was not afraid of the popping noises. She was curious about the television and appeared to be watching it. She met some new human friends last night and was the perfect lady. She didn’t jump on anyone and didn’t beg at the dinner table. Instead, she laid her beautiful big block head on each leg for pets and hugs. After dinner, Gemmy went to the back door asking to go out. She deposited an impressive mountain (it was HUGE- it cast its own shadow!) and was so happy to get praises and treats for going outside. She has not had a single  accident indoors.

Last night, I went upstairs to put laundry away and she bumped her nose into me to let me know she had climbed the steps! We have 14 non-carpeted steps and I was shocked she attempted them on her first night. Going down the steps was very scary for her. No amount of coaxing or treats worked so I planted her front legs down each step until we got to the bottom. Then we did it again with front-clip harness and support front and back. By her 3rd time, she came down on her own. She’s a GEM.

Gemmy was restless and pacing later in the evening as expected with dogs pulled from their former lives. By 11 pm I asked her to lay down so she settled in a bagel bed. She came over to me through the night to make sure I was still on the couch and was so happy to get hugs. She slept until 3 am when she woke me to go outside to pee.She ate a great breakfast and then we went for a nice, long walk. She did beautifully with a front-clip harness with no pulling. She loved walking with Boomer and body-checked him when he was sniffing something she wanted to get closer to. Passing cars and trucks made her nervous but I pressed her up against my leg and held her and she was fine. A few hours later, we went out to meet our 2 neighboring dogs. Gemmy loved their new puppy and doodle! She and Boomer chased each other through the snow and she produced another mountain (see above). She helped me stack a half cord of wood and was happy to go in for more treats.  We started working on Sit, Stay, and Come commands. Stay tuned for tomorrow’s adventures. GO BIRDS!

January 25, 2025

This morning, with the help of Mike, another Brookline volunteer, we pulled Gemmy and Sparky, two beautiful female breeder mamas off the farm.It was impressive how much the farmer’s children loved the dogs and showed them affection. It was heart-warming. I asked of them if he wanted to hug the girls before we left and he said he already did that this morning. Both dogs are wonderful with children of all ages and other dogs.Both girls walked nicely on their leashes and rode calmly to the meeting point with Sparky’s new foster Mom. They snored most of the way and I had to wake them when Sparky’s foster Mom arrived  to take her new foster Sparky home.  Gemmy met Boomer and there was so much happy tail wagging. She examined the entire yard and did a nice long pee outside. She only hesitated for a few minutes before coming in the slider to examine the entire first floor of the house. Gemmy is a very friendly, gentle, and easy going girl. She takes even the smallest treats with her lips and so calmly and gently. We gave her a much needed bath and washed her twice. The farm smell is nowhere near gone but it’s much better than before! We can’t wait to learn more about this lovely girl and to snuggle with her.