Ruthie #2 Black Labrador/Collie Mix Female 3.5 Months Old ID#3310

Ruthie came to Brookline through a collaboration with Justice Rescue.  Ruthie is a very happy, go lucky black, 11 week old puppy who along with her littermates was pulled from a PA breeder due to poor living conditions.  Please read her blog from the bottom up to learn more about her time in foster care.

Ruthie is now available: https://www.petfinder.com/dog/ruthie-63704379/pa/warrington/brookline-labrador-rescue-pa06/

May 2, 2023

It’s been a cold Spring in Central PA so we’ve been kept inside a lot this week.  After being off her food for a few days (still not sure why), this was ok because it gave Ruthie a chance to rest up and get back on her feet.  And get on her feet she did!  She has gained some needed weight and is now full of pep as a result.We had one day that was nice enough for Brian to mow the lawn and she helped with that.  Ruthie was not a fan of Mr. John Deere, nor of Ms. Leaf Blower, and observed from a safe distance.   She’s learned that she doesn’t actually mind the rain and the snow (what’s that about?).

Ruthie’s going back to the Vet on Friday to get her final round of shots, to include rabies, and to get microchipped.  We’ve started a pool on how much she weighs!Because we wanted to get a little weight on her, we’ve been feeding Ruthie four times a day, with her last feeding at 8 p.m.  As a result, she’s still getting up during the night but she’s become a real pro at running outside, during her business and running right back in, getting a snack, and going right back into her crate.  We’ve got the whole exercise down to about 4 minutes.

We continue to work on basic commands, and this week we actually left Ruthie a couple of times while we ran errands, typically for 2-4 hours each time.  She’s in her crate, hanging with the big dogs.  So far, so good.Somebody better adopt this dog quick, because she is becoming a fixture in our house.  Ruthie is going to make some family a fabulous family member!

April 26, 2023

How time flies when you are having fun!  Hard to believe Ruthie has only been with us for 10 days.  She has certainly settled into the rhythm of our house.  She continues to do a great job sleeping in her crate. She typically goes to bed around 9:30, will get up anywhere between 2 and 5 to go potty, and then settles back into her crate until 6-7 a.m.  I suspect that very soon she will be sleeping through the night.

I think she likes getting up with me, before all the craziness with our other dogs begins.  She joins them for a morning walk before coming in for breakfast.  She will play in the kitchen but very often after breakfast she will just go into her crate and have a nap.  But by mid-morning she is ready to go outside and help with yard work.  Lunch and then another nap, and more yard work.  She is playing extremely well with our dogs, is not intimidated by them at all but is also respectful. Ruthie has been in the car a couple of times over the past week and has done very well, no throwing up in the car!  Yay! That has given her the chance to meet several new friends, all of whom feel in love with her.

But the real newsflash of the week is what Ruthie has not peed in the house for several days.  She is at the point where she will sit at the back door and wait for you to notice her.  She is not yet signaling beyond that but still we think that is awesome for such a young puppy.

April 19, 2023

This baby girl is a charmer! Tuesday night she went to bed around 10:30, slept until 5:30, let out a little chirp to let me know she needed to go out, did her business and got back in her crate until 7. Tuesday was chilly so it was mostly an inside day.  After breakfast Ruthie read the paper with Brian while I went to the gym.  She went to the vet to get weighed and checked for worms (she was negative), and she’ll go back next week for her new puppy visit and to get caught up on her shots.  She did great on her car ride, did great walking into the vet where she charmed everyone while we waited for her test results.  There was one man in particular who fell victim to her charms and I made sure to tell him how he could contact me.  Seems like each day she has peed 1-2 in the house, but overall she is doing a fabulous job of taking her business outside.  After all that, slept with Parker (well, really ON Parker), while we watched tv before bed. Another great day!

April 17, 2023

So to pick up where we left off yesterday, Ruthie had a great first night in her crate.  She lives in a house where everyone else needs to get up during the night, humans and animals alike, and it seems like everyone is on a different schedule, but she did great with it all.  Needless to say, she did not pee her crate!  She slept until about 6:00, we made coffee, and then went for a sunrise walk, while the others slept in.  This morning, she hung out in the kitchen chair for about an hour and a half, while Brian had breakfast and read the paper.  After breakfast she had the chance to meet Mr. Vaccuum Cleaner, no issues there.  This afternoon she slept in her crate while I caught up on emails.  And finally, after a wrestling match with the big dogs she had a brush and looks more glamorous than ever.  Just sayin…

April 16, 2023

We never suspected that our first foster pick up would feel like a clandestine adventure.  We met Cecilia from Justice Rescue at 6:00pm in a dark hotel parking lot to pick up Ruthie.Ruthie is an 11 week-old lab/collie mix, but really she is just a great dog.  She settled into the crate and seemed to sleep for most of the ride back to State College.  She did throw up, but at least she didn’t do THE BIG ONE!  As soon as she got home, she met her three foster siblings, Mason, Parker, and Captain, and was smitten with them.After a bath, Ruthie went into her crate for some lunch and a rest. After lunch she helped Brian do some mulching, had another snooze and then helped me with weeding in the garden.  During all this time outside, she was just amazing, leaping and jumping in the air, exploring, taking it all in.We do have to warn people that Ruthie suffers from wiggle butt. She just can’t help herself.  After all this yard work, she took a nap in her night-time crate, just getting the lay of the land.  Now she is learning about cocktail hour.  Something good always happens during cocktail hour.  After an early and busy day, we all plan to hit the hay pretty early tonight.