Greta Chocolate Labrador Retriever Female 3 Years Old ID #3114

March 11, 2022

Greta is doing great! Today she went on a hike and took a little swim in a pond along the trail. She made a beeline for the water when she saw it and jumped right in. She is definitely a swimming dog!  She was such a happy girl on the trail and in the water…now she is a tired girl.

Sweet Greta had her cardiology appointment last night. She was a very good patient. The vet confirmed her diagnosis from 4 months of age. She has tricuspid valve dysplasia. She is happy and healthy otherwise with no side effects from her abnormality. The vet said there is no way to tell if it will ever affect her. Many dogs with this condition lead a perfectly normal life and never have any issues, while some could develop heart failure at the worst. It is good news that she has had no change and her case is considered mild/moderate but not severe. The vet said that the best thing for her is regular exercise to strengthen her heart – she has no restrictions or medications. It is recommended that she have an echocardiogram every 1-2 years to check for changes but this will be at the discretion of her new family.

Greta is such a wonderful dog. She is smart and loving; energetic and friendly. Greta is good with other dogs and happy to meet everyone. She will be available for adoption next week.

March 7, 2022

Greta had a busy weekend. On Saturday, she finally got to meet Foster Dad who had been out of town since she came into our care. She was super excited when he came home and followed him around curiously as he unpacked and got settled. She even relinquished her spot on our bed so FD didn’t have to sleep on the sofa. 😉

She had a few rides in the car this weekend and rode beautifully. We started walking her with a gentle leader since she was pulling so hard with her harness. We went on a few walks with it this weekend and she is doing really well. She is learning to heel and enjoys meeting our neighbors.

She does counter surf when she smells food and we have to be sure to clear the counter when we aren’t home with her. We are leaving her alone with run of the house and she seems to be fine. She is always super happy to see us when we return and her excitement sometimes overwhelms her. We are working on settling and, as she gets to know us better and becomes more familiar our routines, she does seem to be improving.

Greta is a smart, friendly, playful girl. She loves to fetch with us and play chase with the other dogs. She is going to be such a wonderful addition to someone’s family

March 5, 2022

Greta had a great day today. She really enjoys playing with resident dog Tucker.

Even though she has no restrictions on activity, we are still limiting play until her cardiologist appointment just to be on the safe side. I think they might play all day if we let them!

On our morning walk, she pulled more than yesterday and was definitely more confident and interested in sniffing and checking things out. I walked all 3 dogs together because I was short on time, but will spend some time walking her alone and working with her on leash this weekend.

I had to work this afternoon, so Greta was home alone for the first time. She had the run of the main floor along with Lucky (who usually naps much of the day). Tucker stayed upstairs in our bedroom so there was no wrestling while the dogs were home alone. When I peaked in the window before I opened the door when I got home, Greta was sleeping near Lucky. Everything in the house was fine, but I was sure to clear the counters before I left as she does like to see what she can find (only seems to be interested in food.) She was overly excited to see me when I walked in the door and took a little time to settle – mostly barking and running around, not a lot of jumping up.

The dogs are lying here beside me as I type, tired out from a late-night wrestling session in the living room. It’s hard to believe she has only been with us for 2 days. She is adjusting well and is falling into our routine nicely. She is a very sweet girl.

March 4, 2022

Greta is a beautiful 3-year-old chocolate lab. She came into foster care yesterday, 3/2, and is doing wonderful. I picked her up from Sue and she had about an hour ride back to our home. She was absolutely perfect in the car. She slept stretched across the backseat the entire trip only waking up to stick her head out the sunroof when I opened it at the pharmacy drive thru on the way home.

The introductions to the other dogs went well. Permanent foster Lucky was the first to greet her. He is like our ambassador and is a calming presence for all the fosters coming through our home. The resident dog, Tucker, is young and can be a lot of energy to handle sometimes – but not for Greta! They were running around playing within the first hour. She seemed to enjoy it and even initiated play with him later in the day. She ate well but had a little trouble finding a place to sleep at bedtime. I think she was used to sleeping on the sofa, but the other dogs sleep in our bedroom and I wasn’t ready to let her have roam of the house yet. So… since my husband is out of town for a few days…she slept in bed with me. She settled right away and slept through the night right up against me.

Today she already seemed much more comfortable in our home and with the other dogs. She did great on our morning walk, played more with the resident dog and discovered that she really likes to chew on antlers. She came to us knowing several commands which she is very consistent with and we are working on “go to your mat” so hopefully she will transition to a mat in our bedroom at night (probably wishful thinking since I let her in bed!) Oh well.

Greta also had a vet appointment this afternoon for a checkup and to follow up on her heart murmur. Greta was diagnosed with tricuspid valve dysplasia when she was a puppy. To date, she has not had any restrictions or treatment for this condition. However, the vet would like her to see a Cardiologist to evaluate her condition and confirm that nothing has changed. We were lucky enough to get an appointment with the Cardiologist next week. Greta was a great patient and the vet said that she was in excellent shape otherwise.

Here are some pictures. She is wearing the St. Patrick’s Day bandana that she got in her welcome box in many of the pictures. She says thank you for the goodies – especially the tennis balls – this girl loves to fetch!