Maggie, Yellow Labrador Retriever Female, 6 Years Old

Maggie

May 31, 2018

Maggie is ready to find her forever home.

Maggie, AKA Magpie, AKA Maggie Mae is a beautiful, 80ish lbs. yellow Lab. She is currently living with her foster family that consists of her Foster Dad, Mom and step sisters Hope and Gracie, both Brookline farm girl rescues, that have taught her some great dog habits but she is ready to learn more with the help of her forever home.

Magpie is a 6 (?) year-old spayed female. Her background is a little sketchy at best. Maggie Mae was rescued by Brookline after being spied on Facebook. After some quick action by her namesake Maggie P. and Sandy L., she was wisked away to Smoketown where we picked her up. She was a mess when we first met her. Nails so long she was having trouble walking, a limp that made her waddle like a duck, and about 10 to 15 lbs. more than she should have been.  Maggie does look like she did mother some pups, but how many, where, and when are a mystery we could never figure out. She is truly an enigma.  She knows her name, comes when called, and does not seem to have the usual baggage that comes with the other breeder girls that we have had at our house. She did do three weeks of water treadmill walking, which really helped her. Her muscles are much stronger now, but she still has a little limp. Just makes her more fun to watch as she waddles around the house.

She loves to cuddle, get belly rubs, and play outside. By play, we mean waddle around maybe chasing a ball or one of her step-sisters. Maggie Mae will follow you around the house and likes to stay near. She had a tough life before coming to Brookline, but has really blossomed into a great dog. Maggie just wants to please and be loved on. She also loves food, which will make her very easy to train.

Maggie has learned sit and stay and does take treats gently. She comes when called, even if she is chasing a squirrel or trying to meet the neighbor’s dog. She has learned to sit and wait for her food until told to eat. It took a while, but she will now go up and down stairs without any trouble.

Magpie walks on a leash very well. She does not pull but is in no hurry to get anywhere, ever. She does have some bad habits too. Do not let her doggy good looks fool you! She will get into things and still loves to chew stuff. Paper and plastic objects of any type seem to be her favorites. If she is not interested in doing something, she will fall to the floor and turn into 80 lbs. of jelly. Maggie has not lived with any cats, so not really sure how that would go. She has been around children, including a 6 months, 18 months, 10 years and 12 years-olds with no problems, so a home with children would be a plus for her since she loves to run around in the yard and play.

Maggie is a little timid around strangers, but is ok after a little while as she gets to know them. She gets the run of the house while we are gone, but we have learned to keep chewable stuff out of reach. She is “potty trained.”  She has never had an accident in the house.

May 30, 2018

Just a quick update to let everyone know that Maggie was at the vet today to get her stitches out and a checkup after her spay and nipple removal. She passed the test and will be available very soon.

Further update to come later today!

Here is a picture of our family at the local Memorial Day parade. It was taken by a total stranger and just included in her other Facebook pictures from the parade. We must have made an impression!

May 17, 2018

Just want all to know that Maggie’s spay went wonderfully and there were no complications. She did, however, have a nipple removed because it was infected. That part of the surgery also went without a hitch!

She is home and resting comfortably. Well, as comfortable as she can be in that e-collar!

Due to her extra surgery, Magpie will be off the board until she can have those stitches removed, another 10 to 14 days. The excitement of getting her to forever home is on hold for a few extra days!

May 16, 2018

Magpie has a vet appointment tomorrow, May 17, for her spay. She is not looking forward to it.

Mags is really fitting in. She loves playing with her foster sisters Hope and Gracie. He is a very good cuddler too. Will push everyone out of the way to be the one getting the pets. Her tail is like a weapon too.

We found out the last couple of days that Maggie is not a big fan of thunder. When the first thunder sounded, she made a beeline for the corner and cuddled up. Hope and her were cuddle buddies.

Her legs are continuing to get better. She still has a little limp, but she gets around just fine. She is very good with children, as we had two little one year olds over and she let them pull and tug on her with her.

She will be available soon, as soon as she recovers from her spay.

May 5, 2018

Maggie’s legs continue to improve. She has completed her first course of water PT. During her re-eval with Dr Howe-Smith, she showed a number of improvements. Her front leg range-of-motion is now normal bilaterally. She also has equal muscle mass in both front legs. Her rear legs are a little behind. Both have 2 cm muscle growth, but her right leg is still 2cm less than her right. The pain in her hips has subsided and she no longer flinches when grabbed. She is now running, well fast walking, around the yard with Hope and Gracie. She will chase a ball too.

Gracie will now need to be spayed and perhaps continue her PT with her new family. As soon as she is spayed and recovers, she will be ready to go! She will definitely make a family very, very happy. Stay tuned for Magpie’s next update. We are waiting to hear back from vet about setting up an appointment for her spay.

April 29, 2018

Maggie, AKA Maggie Mae, AKA Magpie, AKA Don’t Chew That!, is doing great with her therapy. She started at 0.5 MPH for 3 minutes x 4 sets and has worked her way up to 1.0 MPH for 5 minutes x 4 sets. She will be ready for a 10k really soon. She is getting around so much better than when she started with us. She will even run, well that term is up for debate, for a tennis ball. Her limp is so much better too.

We did take her to a meet and greet at the Petvalu in Doylestown last Sunday. There were a few families there just to meet her. Maggie did arrive fashionably late, but not one of the families was disappointed. She was doted on for quite a long time. Her favorite thing was to lay down in the middle of the walkway and try to get everyone that passed to pet her. It worked like a charm. There was one person that walked past and did not pet her. She gave them the, “What are you doing? Diva here!” look. There were even a few people who took Brookline info after seeing her. There is a picture of her at the meet and greet.

Oh, almost forgot, Maggie Mae will now go up and down our stairway. We put some pads down to help her from slipping around. She flies up the stairway, and carefully come one step at a time down.

Magpie is really coming along. She has one more week of therapy and then needs to be spayed. She will be ready for adoption as soon as she recovers.

PS: Maggie helped us mulch today. As you can see from the picture included, she did a great job!

That’s about all we have to report right now. Stay tuned for more from Maggie!

April 24, 2018

Maggie is just one example of the excellent care our fostered Labs receive. Maggie has started her physical therapy at PetPT. She is doing underwater treadmill walking. Well, Maggie is not underwater, she cannot hold her breath. The water is up to her belly or so. She is reacting very well to the medicine and therapy. Her limp has improved and she is getting around so much better.

She also has lost a few pounds, which is also helping with her gait. She has dropped about 5 or 6 pounds since we started working with her. She will be down a dress size, or a collar size, in no time. We feel that her just getting active is the best thing for her.

Everybody that she meets seems to fall in love with her. She has dreamy eyes that just draws people in. Maybe even puts them in a trance.

She still will not go up to the second floor on her own, but we now have some carpeting on our steps that may give her a little more confidence. Maggie wants to go up, but is very hesitant at this time. We will keep working on this!

We did go to a meet and greet this lat weekend. More on that next time. Do not want to give up all her stories at one time.

April 17, 2018

Maggie Mae is really enjoying her new life as a family dog. Her foster sisters Hope and Gracie are doing their best to show her that being a part of a family is so much better than her old life on the farm.

Maggie did see a vet, Dr. Howe-Smith, that specializes in dogs with some ortho problems. He found that she was more than likely kept in a small kennel or cage and due to her not being able to get around freely developed some Otho problems. Among them are some patella problems in both knees that have healed but still are very stiff. She also has some muscle atrophy in both back legs due to not being able to get around freely. Her right front leg is also atrophied and is giving her some issues putting her full weight on it. Maggie has learned to adapt to these issues, but the vet feels that with some PT, water treadmill walking, will really help her get the muscles strong. She is also on some medication to help with any pain and inflammation. Maggie also is overweight and losing a few pounds will also help her.

Maggie is getting used to using steps too. At first she would stand at the top step and whine. You could tell that she had no idea what to do! She would then ease her way up and down with some gentle, or not so gentle, persuasion. She now runs up and down the three steps that she needs to maneuver to get to the backyard. She flies up and down them like a pro now. We are now trying to get her to use the inside stairs. We have wood treads that scare her, so we ordered some rugs to cover the stairs and give her some confidence on the stairs. We’ll see how that goes when we get them in a couple of days. Stay tuned for updates.

Maggie also loves to carry a toy around. She is never without one. Her little pink crocodile is her best friend.

The only real issue that she has is that she does not sleep through the night. She is like a newborn that needs some reassurances during the night. She will start to pace around, but after a few minutes of belly rubbing, she is back to snoring away. 

Well, it is time for bed. Hopefully, all five of us will get a good nights sleep. Stay tuned for the Further Adventures of Maggie Mae.

April 6, 2018

Maggie is fitting in just swell in her foster home. She has really settled in and is becoming one of the family. She loves running, well if that’s what you want to call it, around the yard with Hope and Gracie. The two of them are showing Maggie what a wonderful place she is now in.

Maggie does have a few quirks however. One is that she snores like a freight train. We are thinking of perhaps getting her a CPAP. Number two is that she loves to pull on things. She is always pulling over our coat rack, pulling a blanket off the sofa, or maybe even the entire back cushion. She’s a girl possessed. Three, she is still having a hard time going down the three stairs to our backyard. You have to go outside and cheer her on to go down. She then puts her front feet down, spins her body sideways, and the back legs down one step. She then stumbles down the last two, always landing right side up. She looks like a gymnast who just tumbled but flys back up like she meant to do it. Four, well maybe more than a few quirks, is that she loves to be outside. If our other dogs come in, she just lays out there.

Hope will usually stay out with her. They are two peas in a pod. When she is ready, she comes bounding up the stairs like a pro. She has learned that getting up is the easy part. Five, she does not sleep through the night. Our other two labs will come upstairs during the night and Maggie will start to bark. After a few minutes of reassurance though, she is back to snoring.

We are not exactly sure how she got so overweight. She is not, and I mean NOT, food motivated. It takes her forever to eat. I usually have to call her back to her bowl four or five times before she eats everything. With two other hungry dogs lurking in the shadows, ready to pounce when she leaves, he have to sometimes shake the bowl to get her to eat.

She also loves to play fetch. We throw the ball and Maggie waddles after it, speed is definitely out of play here, and brings it back. We are still working on trying to get her drop it for us, we usually have to wrestle it out of her mouth. She will chase it a few times before just plopping down to rest. I will try to get a video of her playing, it is a hoot!

Her limp actually also seems to be getting better. Getting her outside and waddling around has worked wonders for her.

Well, Maggie is calling so I have to go and cheer her on down the steps. Hopefully getting her back in will not be too hard tonight.

Stay tuned for the further adventures of Maggie the wonder dog.

April 5, 2018

Maggie received her care package yesterday. She was as excited to see what was inside as we were. She loved the soft toys. She has been carrying around the pink gator since we opened the package. She loved it!

 April 3, 2018

Maggie was the round mound of the pound before coming into the rescue. She is still a very round mound, but we found she is 86.6 pounds of pure love! She has no problem dropping and showing her belly for a good rubbing.

Maggie’s background is a little bit sketchy. It was reported that she was a breeder mom, but we, and the vet, think maybe not. My wife and I think she is a covert member of the CIA and this whole Craig’s List thing was part of her cover to find the perfect forever home. It has worked so far!

Besides her weight, Maggie does seem to have a hitch in her giddy-up. Not sure if is a ortho problem or her weight. We do have a vet visit with a doctor who specializes in special ortho problems so he will figure out Maggie’s problems and hopefully give us some solutions to the problem.

Maggie is a real love bug. She follows anyone around when we go from room to room. He butt shakes so much when she gets excited that it appears that her tail is going to actually fly off. That alone must burn a ton of calories. We figure making her happy is all the exercise she may need. Even with a bum wheel and weight problem, she will waddle after a tossed ball and bring it back to you.

Maggie also loves to carry toys around with her. She has taken over all of Gracie’s toys. If Gracie picks one up, Maggie is always right there to take it back from her.

Maggie is very hesitant to go up and down steps. Luckily, we only have three she needs to climb. She goes down one at a time, sideways, stepping down with her front legs and then back legs. Going up is a different story. We found that rolling a ball or toy on the top step helps and she goes up not thinking about the steps. She is one interesting dog.

We also found that she likes to carry a piece of clothing around. She is very good at getting something down off the coat rack or banister to carry around.

We will give updates about her adjusting to her new home and getting ready for her forever home.

March 31, 2018

Meet Maggie.  Roughy six years old, one of our volunteers spied her on Craig’s List and learned she was been in several homes since being dumped a few weeks ago.  This person was open to working with us and these are pictures of Maggie on her way to get vaccinated and to go to her foster home.  Look for updates for her foster as we learn more about this pretty gal.  You’re safe now Maggie!