Mindy #3 Yellow Labrador Retriever Female 10 Years Old ID #2878

April 7, 2021

Mindy (aka Marvelous Mindy in our house) sleeps through the night, 10/1030p-730a, with no accidents, and is quiet as can be. She sleeps on the main level of the house, in the family room, either on the couch, rug or her bed.

She is the happiest girl in the morning.  She greets me with a happy face, wagging tail and all over body wiggle.  Sometimes she lets out a good morning bark. She knows it’s time to go outside and get the day started! She jogs to the backyard to have a look around and does her business. Luckily, I got this on video this am. She will continue to sniff around and stroll the yard for a bit. We then come in for breakfast.

We’ll go for a morning walk which she loves. I’ve noticed that she walks slower when she is the only dog. When she and her foster brother walk together, she tries her hardest to keep up. Either way she is a joy to walk. No pulling or reactivity.

Throughout the day she will nap or walk around the house and backyard. We are in and out throughout the day so she hasn’t had to signal us to go outside until today. She was lying next to the sliding door that leads to the backyard and she lifted her paw and tapped/scratched the glass. I opened the door and she took off like a shot to chase a squirrel. She then did her business, and came back in a few minutes later.  She has never had an accident. She doesn’t chew or steal items. She will occasionally alert bark. Her foster brother is the instigator because he sees the mailman or Amazon delivery people. They usually bring good stuff to the house J.

She lives harmoniously with the cats and she won’t bother with their litter box or food, or them for that matter.

She usually gets three short walks a day, averaging about 15 minutes each.  In the evening we will play ball in the backyard. She loves to catch tennis balls and play fetch. She will bring the ball back to you and either drop it at your feet or let you take it from her mouth. The ball game doesn’t last too long (5-10 min) and Mindy will let you know that she is done by walking toward the door.

April 3, 2021

It’s been a week since Mindy joined our home, and in some ways, it feels like she’s always been here. She is the sweetest, easy going girl! During the day she is content to be lying close by while I work. She is either a few feet away on her bed, or lying right next to the legs of my office chair. She will almost always get up and follow when I move around during the day. She is afraid she’ll miss something!

Her visit to the vet went well. It was reported that Mindy was the perfect patient. In addition to her check-up and vaccines, she had her long nails trimmed. Mindy’s weight is 86 lbs. and the vet wants her to be around 75-80lbs. Not too much more to lose.  Her bloodwork came back positive for Lyme disease, so she started on a three-week course of doxycycline. She is a great pill taker! We’ve also started her on Cosequin for her joints. In addition to the daily walks, the vet feels she would benefit from some non-weight bearing exercise like swimming. It’s unknown if she likes to swim at this time, but I have a sneaky suspicion she will love water.

After her check-up, we explored the aisles in PetSmart. I told Mindy she could pick out anything she wanted (her reward for being such a good patient). She slowly and methodically looked over the bins of toys and treats and settled on a tennis ball. This girl has simple needs.

Mindy received a box of goodies from Brookline this week. There were some treats and toys, including tennis balls and stuffed squeaky animals. Her favorite was the Nylabone! As soon as she turned away from any of the new items, her foster brother swooped in and took it in the other room. She is unfazed by his childish behavior.

She and her foster brother coexist very well, there is no jealousy or negative behaviors, but there isn’t a lot of interactive play between them due to the age difference. I took Bodhi to daycare one day during the week and when he got home, she was SO happy to see him! She trotted behind him wagging her tail and sniffed him all over. I think she would be fine as an only dog, but she does enjoy the company of another dog in the house.

I’ve noticed that when Mindy sees or hears little kids she lights up. While she is in the backyard, she can sometimes hear neighborhood kids voices and her ears perk up and she looks toward the sound. The other day we were walking and saw a mom with some toddlers. It was obvious that Mindy wanted to go and see the little ones and say ‘hi’.

Mindy is a gentle soul who loves everyone and everything.

March 30, 2021

Day three with Mindy and she continues to be a terrific house guest. She has quickly figured out the comings and goings of our household and has adapted to our routine. We continue our daily walks which make her so happy! We walk a little further every day to build up her strength and stamina. Mindy, Bodhi and I go for a quick walk and then bring Mindy back home to rest. I then take Bodhi for an hour long walk and come back home to get Mindy for her second walk. While we were out for the hour, Mindy sat by the door for a bit and patiently waited. She then moved to the front window. As I approached the house, I saw her looking out.  She spotted us and her face lit up and her tail started wagging!!

In addition to exercise, we are watching her food intake. We didn’t change her kibble but we have changed how much and when she is fed. She is now served a cup and a half of kibble for breakfast and dinner.  She has a good appetite but doesn’t inhale the food like many labs. There is absolutely zero food aggression or guarding behavior. I have placed my hands in her bowl while she eats and if my resident lab shows interest in her food, Mindy is nonplussed with him. I have been placing her food dish on the step between our family room and kitchen and I think she would benefit from an elevated feeding stand due to her age.  There are signs that she may have been given human food in the past. Every time the refrigerator opens, she perks up and looks with wanting eyes.  I have offered her baby carrots, blueberries and some banana. They have all been politely spit out on the floor.

We play catch with a tennis ball and she is the proudest girl when she catches it!! We celebrate with lots of clapping and “good girl Mindy!”.  She will do a little dance or hop with her front feet for more.

There was a BIG rain storm on Saturday with high winds and loud downpours. Mindy wasn’t bothered a bit. She lay on the kitchen floor while my son was cooking. She was more interested in hoping for a dropped morsel than any old rain storm. We’ve also watched for her reactions to loud noises and there are none.

She has an appointment with the vet on Tuesday for some vaccinations and overall health check-up. I’m confident she will be a perfect patient!

March 29, 2021

Mindy continues to be a perfect house guest. Her entire life has changed in the last two days, and she remains stress free and happy. Mindy was surrendered to Brookline along with her three furry siblings due to family changes. One of Mindy’s goals is to lose some weight. We will find out exactly how much she weighs at her vet visit on Tuesday. The guess right now is 90 pounds. The extra weight, along with her older age, hasn’t done her joints any favors. She is slow to get up but once she’s up, she is ready to go! We have been taking her on a few mini-walks every day. We don’t venture very far in case she gets too tired.  When she walks with her foster brother, she tries to keep his pace and wants to be in front of him or directly at his side. She will actually do a little jog to get to the front. When we walk her solo, she is content to follow her human or stay right by your side. One thing is for sure, she absolutely LOVES walks! It’s hard to get out the door without her now. We love Mindy’s ‘can do’ mental attitude!

Mindy can climb up and down a step or two but we have not allowed her upstairs or in our basement. In all honesty she just looks at the flight of steps and doesn’t want to try them.

March 28, 2021

Mindy is a 90 lbs

Mindy had a busy day yesterday! She handled everything like a pro. She hadn’t been in a car since she was little, and after some boosting to get into the SUV, she was a perfect car ride companion. She didn’t make a sound, she sniffed the air and looked out the window and we shared some apple slices on the hour-long car ride. Once we arrived home, AKA Mindy’s FH, she was eager to get out of the car and check out her new surroundings.

She met her new foster bro, Bodhi, and we all went for a little walk. She and Bodhi became fast friends. Mindy walks very nicely on a leash, albeit slow.

Next stop was the backyard. Mindy said “WOW, look at all these toys!”. She became very playful when she saw the balls and tried her best to run faster than Bodhi to retrieve them. She won’t be winning races anytime soon, but it was sweet to see the puppy in her come out to play.

Once inside the house, she found the couch and took a little rest. Who can blame her, she was tired from all the activities and it wasn’t even 11am yet!

She met the resident cats and she paid them no mind.

We gave her a much-needed bath and ear cleaning which she tolerated with grace. She smells great and her fur is so soft.

Friends of ours came over for a visit, and Mindy was so happy to meet more people. Her tail was wagging constantly and it almost goes around like a helicopter when she gets really excited. She laid down next to our friend’s feet and just soaked up all the love and attention she was getting.

She ate her dinner like a champ and didn’t have any accidents in the house. She is a lovable girl with the sweetest face and eyes. She fits in so well; you almost forget she is here.