Max #28 Silver Labrador Retriever Male 2.5 Years Old ID #3106

Max is a 2.5 year old Silver Labrador Retriever that was rescued from a puppy mill and taken to a shelter.  The shelter contacted one of our volunteers and he was moved to a Brookline foster home.  Max has been blind from birth but the vet at the shelter thought he should be evaluated by a veterinarian ophthalmologist to see if there is the possibility for any correction as they think they saw a flickering in his eyes. He did not have that kind of medical attention previously on the farm where he lived. Please read his blog from the bottom up.

November 14, 2021

Max continues to enjoy life and is waiting for a forever home. During the week, he hangs out on his bed while Foster Mom works, and enjoys some good tunes and a bone.

But he is always ready for a good game of find the ball, and is becoming an expert at finding it under the hard-to-reach places. He often entertains himself by rolling or even tossing the ball away and then sniffing around to find it.

We are making a lot of progress on manners and Max has become a pro at sit and is finally grasping “Gentle.” Foster parents’ fingers are thankful. However, we always have to keep in mind that Max can’t see very well, so sometimes he may accidentally grab a little finger even when trying to be gentle.

Max has pretty decent table manners, too! He will always come over to check out how good our meals smell, but we tell him No, and he will lay down quietly while we eat. He has so far not attempted to swipe food off a plate or counter surf in the kitchen. He is sometimes interested in the wonderful smells of a trashcan, so the locked lid comes in handy there.

While Max always appreciates a special treat, he seems more motivated by love and praise than anything else. He is genuinely a happy boy with lots of love to give and will make a wonderful, loyal companion to a special home.

October 31, 2021

Happy Halloween All!

This is Max here to update you on my past couple of weeks.

I got my third bath since I was at the shelter and Foster Mom and Dad say I finally smell better. This one did the trick. I feel like a brand-new dog!

My foster sister Autumn the Cat and I are very interested in each other and I always make sure to check on her when she comes to her side of the gate. Sometimes Foster Mom takes down the gate and Autumn just hides under the bed. I try to visit her under there and then Foster Mom makes me leave the room, sighs and puts the gate back up. I still visit at the gate to see if she wants to see my ball and also to say goodnight before bedtime.

I finally found out what this neuter thing was about. It was not a good day. I stayed overnight at the dreaded vet. I heard the nice lady there tell my foster mom that I ran out of my kennel like a bull and I thought that was funny that she already knew my nickname. They thought I was funny and a big goofball and everything was going swell and then I woke up very confused. Foster Mom and Dad finally came back for me and took me home and said I have to rest for a while. So, I did! I rested and rested and rested…. for a whole day!

I’m tired of resting now and I want to play and they keep telling me no! I’m trying to at least listen about not licking my incision and that’s going well.

I hope I can get back to my fun walks soon! I think I just figured out they’re slipping some weird stuff into my food. Foster Mom says it’s to make sure I heal ok but I got real freaked out because it was stuck to the roof if my mouth and I ran all over trying to get it unstuck. Not cool foster parents!

Today I’m sporting Halloween colors and I think I look good. Foster Mom finally gave up and let me wear this thing backwards cause that’s where it ends up anyway!

That’s about all! I’m already back to my fun self so don’t worry about me! I got to run! They told me people will be knocking on the door soon for candy! That seems weird. I would happily eat all the candy if they were trying to get rid of it! I hope you all have a happy Halloween!!

Love, Max

October 17, 2021

Hi Everyone!

Max here! My Foster Parents have been super busy lately so I figured I would update you all on how things have been. I have lots of fun here and love hanging out with my fosters. They finally got the hint that I am just not a crate dog. Being in a crate makes me super anxious and I just don’t feel it’s necessary. So, a couple of times Foster Mom and Dad have left me alone for short periods of time by myself on my own like a big boy. I don’t like it so much, and sometimes I pace a bit but then I lay down and soon they come back to me. I love to have my people home with me. They say they are going to keep working on this with me, but I don’t look forward to that if it means they are going to keep leaving me.

One-night last week, they went out for a really long time, and before they left, they said I would be hanging out with a wonderful Brookline volunteer that night who would take very good care of me. They said I had to be really good for her, and when she arrived, she let me snuggle right up to her so I figured this would work out just fine. They told me this was better than having me go to a strange place or being left alone for several hours and I definitely agreed. She brought me some really cool gifts and played with me, so I had a pretty good night anyway and made a new friend! And my foster parents got to keep their long-awaited plans for the night and they were happy too!

Then this week, Foster Mom’s sister and nephew came to visit from a faraway land called Tennessee, and I got to meet them! Foster Mom’s sister says she has two small dogs who don’t sit in her lap, so I showed her what a great lap dog I am! I tried to show my foster cousin that too, but Foster Mom said I’m too big and sometimes it’s just too much! I try, but I can’t help it. I like to be as close as possible cause I’m a big snuggly guy, but they say I can be a bit of a bull. I don’t know what that means, but that’s what they call me a lot… Bull. It’s been fun to meet new people though, because I am a People Dog.

There is a cat that lives here, too, and I am not sure about her. She lives on the other side of a gate in our house, and we sometimes sit at the gate face to face, but because I can’t really see her, it’s kind of scary. I can smell her and I can hear her, and sometimes I try to say Hi and she makes a hissing sound. Foster Mom says I’m a big boy and I probably scare her. I think she scares me more.

I’m also unsure about this room called the kitchen. I mean, it’s where I eat, and where I have to go to get to the backyard, but it’s a very uncertain place. Foster Mom and Dad spend a lot of time in there, but there’s always plates and pans clattering, and there’s this big machine that gets really hot and makes a POOF sound sometimes and startles me! So, I am not a fan of this kitchen place, and Foster Mom says that’s ok because I wait outside of it and don’t get in the way all the time.

Mostly I am a really happy boy. They say I even smile when I sleep! I love some good naps, but I also love to play. They say some dogs get the Zoomies, but I prefer to jump around in circles and love to dance around with Foster Dad.

And then when he tells me enough, I know we’re done and I’m still happy.

I hope you all will tell your friends about me. I’m a really fun boy, and I will be looking for my forever home sometime soon. My Foster Parents say I have to get neutered first. I don’t know what that means yet. I guess that’s all for now. I gotta go… I haven’t counted all my tennis balls yet today!

October 5, 2021

Max is a big, goofy, loving boy who wants nothing more than to be close to his people. Sometimes the closeness can make it difficult when you are walking around the house and he wants to know your every move. Even when carrying something that makes noise to indicate your location, he would prefer to attach himself to your leg to be sure. But mostly during the work day he will curl up nearby on the floor and will wait patiently for breaks in the day when we get to play.

Max’s favorite game is still Find the Ball. He is not great at giving the ball back and thinks it’s really funny to drop it when we say “drop” and then swipe it back up really quick when we go for it. Max is very serious about his tennis balls and likes to make sure they are all accounted for. If three are lying in the middle of the floor but the one he wants is missing, he will go on a hunt, sniffing under all the furniture to find it. It seems like each tennis ball has its own unique quality, and he knows which one he is in the mood to play with. And once he finds the one, he wants, he walks around with a proud little hip-hop and his head held high while he chews on the ball until it’s nice and soggy.

Max enjoys our evening walks around the neighborhood. This has actually done much better than we anticipated. On his first walk Max was hesitant and stopped several times in the middle of the street in stubborn fashion with feet planted and legs stretched out. But once he learned that we do go back home, he was all for adding this to the daily routine. The grass around the sidewalks is sensory overload for Max with all the smells, so we have been practicing our leash manners in the street where he is learning to stay between us. We will take breaks for a few minutes of sniffing in the grass so he can enjoy some of the neighborhood smells. The quiet neighborhood is nice for Max. The only thing so far to intimidate him is a couple of parked cars, but we can easily coax him to pass.  We have passed by a few dogs, walking several yards apart, and passed houses with dogs barking from the fence or front door and he doesn’t even notice. For the most part he does really well. And no vision needed… when we start getting close to our property, he starts pulling and directs us right up our front yard to the house.

Max has not been marking in the house for the past week, and is now walking to the back door to signal he needs to go out which is fantastic news! Max is also starting to do better lying down for the night. Thankfully Foster Dad is a very early riser because Max starts to get antsy super early. Hopefully, he will soon adjust completely to a regular sleeping schedule. He has not been alerting us to lights and shadows he sees in the middle of the night for several days so this is also a wonderful improvement and hopefully means he’s feeling more comfortable in his surroundings. He will, however, often alert us if a certain blanket is hanging suspiciously in the wrong spot of the sofa, or if the ceramic dog in the corner of the room seems to be up to no good.

Max is certainly entertaining to have around. He provides us with daily laughs and endless snuggles and smiles. He will steal your heart with just his facial expressions!

September 24, 2021

Max is doing well adjusting to our home. He has proven to be a sweet, lovable, big baby, who loves to be close to his humans. And sometimes “close” means right against your leg…. while you’re walking. So, we have been working on helping Max to gain a little confidence. Max was so thankful for his very special gifts from Brookline, including his way cool Snuffle Mat that he is getting very good at finding treats in!

He was also so happy to find some brand-new tennis balls and plays “Find It!” very well. He will only try to find the ball that he’s currently playing with, so if he passes two other ones along the way he pays them no attention because he knows those aren’t the right ones. And when he does finally sniff it out, he comes trotting back with his head up and a big proud smile!

Max has also been a very good boy having guests in the house. Over the weekend he got to meet his foster grandparents and welcomed having new people to give him treats and pets. He even got a brand-new stuffed dog that he loves to have around and is still intact several days later! Today Max is a little confused because there are guests in the house, but we are all barricaded in the living room, and they came to paint in other rooms, not play with him. But although he is curious, he has been mostly quiet and cooperative.

Max’s biggest hurdle is nighttime. It seems that even though Max is mostly blind, he can still see some sort of shadows and light, and in the dark, little beams of light from yard lights, moonlight, and alarm clocks will play tricks on him in the middle of the night and he will wake up barking at what he thinks is something in the room. Although we can’t control the outside, we have made sure to cover the alarm clocks in the bedroom. The past two nights have been the best so far with Max only being slightly startled by something as we are going to bed and we have been able to settle him down within a couple of minutes. Foster Dad made Max a comfy spot next to his side of the bed where Max will now lay for most of the night, so we are hoping this is a sign Max is adjusting to his surroundings and feeling safer every day.

Unfortunately, the bad news is that it was determined by an ophthalmologist that Max is not eligible for cataract surgery due to his retinas not being healthy enough. So, there is really nothing that can be done to improve Max’s vision. This was discouraging for us to hear, but Max doesn’t seem too discouraged. He really is a happy sweet boy.

Keep watching for more updates. Max is scheduled for neutering in mid-October and then will be looking for his forever home. This boy is going to be such a wonderful companion!

September 14 2021

Max is working hard getting used to his surroundings, and is starting to understand “Watch!” when he gets too close to a wall or table or chair, and “Step Up” and “Step Down”. Sometimes he will freeze up when trying to get his bearings but for being here less than 3 days he is doing well. He has had a couple of accidents in the house, but we are hoping it will be an easy fix because it is more marking, and he is starting to understand it is not appropriate. Two things Max has had absolutely no trouble finding are his water bowl, which he likes to drink almost all at once, and the sofa. And since he spends almost the whole day fumbling on the floors, he deserves the break.

We are working on figuring out the sleeping situation. I’m sure if Max had his say he’d be all snuggled up in bed since he’s such a cuddly guy, but that’s not such a great idea since he can still startle easily.

For his safety, it would be best for him to stay in the crate when unsupervised, at least until he has a better handle on his surroundings. But so far, he rejects that idea, and whines most of the night. We’re hoping to figure this out quickly so we can all get a good night’s sleep.

Max had his first vet visit today and he did so well. On the ride there, his curious nose snuck up on the console until he was up and leaning between us, seemingly watching out the windshield. He was so patient at the office and stayed still through the whole exam, letting the doctor pull some hairs that were stuck in an old cut under his eyelid. Everyone told him what a good sweet boy he was and what a wonderful patient. On the way home, Max took his perch between us again and was nothing but smiles!

And once we got home, he took both his pills in his dinner without a second thought. Way to go Max! Stay tuned for more info on this handsome guy!

September 13, 2021

Sweet Silver Lab Max was transferred to our care this weekend and is currently learning the ropes in our household…as are we. It was determined that Max is blind, with possible cataracts, and most likely has been since birth. Max can be kind of like a bull in a china shop, so we need to work on some consistent communication to help Max navigate around furniture and doorways.

Max will wander around and then stop and try to figure out where he started, turn in circles, and when he hears our voices, he comes happily sliding back to us. Yes, sliding, because the poor guy has a second challenge in our house with the laminate flooring. He is a bit bow-legged as well, and if we walk away, he scrambles to get up to follow, and looks a little like I would at an ice-skating rink.

But when he finds us, he’s coming in hot, crashing into our legs with a full body weight lean and happy wagging tail, and loves to stand on our feet so he knows we’re there!

We know for sure that Max does not do well living with other dogs. It seems like he sees light and maybe shadows, and this can cause him to startle easily if he doesn’t know who is in the room, so we have to keep remembering to make our presence known.

Max is also getting used to some new things like the TV, which to him must sound like there are 5 other people in the room. He also picks up voices on the other end of the phone and that will stop him in his tracks, too!

Max loves, loves, loves, human affection and has tons of love to share.

We are looking forward to sharing this adventure with him and hoping for some good news as we learn more about his condition.

September 12, 2021

Max was calm on the ride home and was very happy to rest his big head on my arm the entire ride!  He LOVES to kiss, nuzzle, plow into, and give and receive lots of affection.

Max took a stroll in the backyard and then worked his way around the first floor of our house. He did some bumping into things but didn’t take long to be able to negotiate both the ramp and the flight of 6 steps in our backyard. the 2 steps in and out the door, and the entire first floor! He ate dinner really well with no fuss and was able to find the water bowl nicely.

Max settled nicely last night and slept peacefully through the night on the floor. He was shown all 3 dog bed choices but preferred the floor.

His eyesight will need to be evaluated to see if anything can be done to help this lovely silver boy.