Sheila #3 Yellow Labrador Retriever Female 6 Years Old ID #2734

December 13, 2020

Sheila continues to slowly learn to trust us daily, and even ingratiated herself into a weekday morning playgroup, consisting of a standard poodle and to doodle mixed dogs. Sadly, Sheila’s amazing internal clock does not realize the playgroup is Monday through Friday only. After pacing and lingering around her foster dad for a about 10 minutes, I decided to take her out. She took me right to the playgroup area, sat and seemed to be waiting for something. No one gave her the memo it was Saturday. Poor Sheila was NOT happy, and can’t wait for Monday.

After several weeks of a bad tummy, the vet suggested we add a simple probiotic to her existing food. After 2.5 days, Sheila is back to normal, and appreciative of this simple solution. We are working on simple commands, as well as trying to get her to venture off the couch, and slowly she is venturing around the house if we give her time.

December 6, 2020

So, Sheila has reached supermodel status this week, not only in our family, but on our family holiday card with our former foster, as well.

The pandemic has taught us to enjoy the little moments that bring us joy, and Sheila’s timid and sometimes pensive face makes us try to silly her up sometimes. Thank goodness for aps to add flair, because no WAY would this sweet girl allow us to put a hat or sunglasses on her.

Sheila spent the week going on long walks, finally taking a treat from our hands and making us laugh with her commandeering of the family room couch. Sometimes she sees us coming, and stretches out to take up the most space possible, hogging the couch. She allows us unlimited scratching and petting, and lets us know to keep going by a simple sniff. Sheila is quite the diva, and really has no interest in anything but couch lounging, eating and walks but she’s taken this week to slowly explore the first floor and checking out the holiday decor.

We are still working on her anxiety and timid behavior, but look forward to having her meet her fur-ever family in the coming weeks.

November 30, 2020

So, Sheila made it successfully through our second holiday together (Halloween and now Thanksgiving). As you can see from the two photos, her favorite hobby being sleeping on the couch…sometimes snuggled in her pizza blanket.

We’ve come across a few pertinent dislikes to add to Sheila’s list: She NOT a fan of cats. Sheila’s foster dad almost threw out his shoulder this morning when they had a close encounter with a neighborhood cat. Sheila showed her first signs of actual disdain for something-growling, barking and lunging at the cat. She’s encountered squirrels, racoon, and even deer without much fanfare, but the cat? Nope. Not a love connection.

Another dislike? Our hardwood floors. We gave sweet Sheila an A for polite behavior, such as never entering behind the kitchen island near the oven or counter surfing. Turns out, she just hates anything not carpeted. It’s the first week we realized she scrambles to get to the area rugs in each room and is probably why she’s not interested in coming upstairs with her humans! The longer you live with anyone, the better you get to know the personality, and clearly Sheila is communicating in her own way. The bright spot? Her tail finally wags when she hears her name, or when she sees her chocolate lab beau down the street.

We are still working on the perfect dog food for her, as she seems to suffer upset stomach easily. We aren’t sure if it’s her nerves or the blend, but we are determined to figure it out. She’s definitely lost a little weight with all the walks, and really enjoys the time outside. We are grateful for this mild fall, and extra time outdoors. It’s so great to see what makes her happy, and we can’t wait to find the perfect fit for this sweet girl.

November 21, 2020

Sheila has made several strides this week, but continues to be hesitant to believe she’s safe. As you can see from the photo, she truly is fully acclimated to living on her couch, and will allow her humans to share space with her, as long as petting is involved.

She needs to know where every member of the family is all the time, but still has no interest in coming upstairs. She started jumping from the couch and meeting us halfway when she sees her leash, which was great progress. Sometimes, she gets spooked and runs back to the couch, but we’re encouraging her progress and are excited she’s beginning to notice cues. Her tail even wags at us some times when we enter the room and acknowledge her. With this pandemic and both high school and college sons remote, Sheila gets very little down time.

We switched her food after several bouts of diarrhea, and found a winner that she destroys in seconds. Sheila requires alone time to eat, and is not interested in going near her food if we are within 20 feet of her, so our family has given Queen Sheila space and time.

This Thanksgiving, we are grateful to be a foster family for such an incredible organization, and grateful for Sheila #3.

November 14, 2020

A week post-spaying, and Sheila is feeling better. She never attempted to scratch the stitches, and while the inflatable donut was not her favorite, the sweet girl never got angry or snappy. She has a stomach reaction to the medication, so once again she conned us into a diet of chicken and rice. As dog food is slowly being reintroduced, sweet Sheila does her best to only eat people food, picking out the dry dog food. Her favorite past time of a steady stream of porch sitting and TV reminded us that Sheila really has had zero problems adjusting to indoor living with modern technology. She’s still doing great on a lead, and is so quiet we often forget she’s watching us as we whiz by her during the day.

Although we are not looking forward to losing our quiet lady, we know she will find the perfect spot to land in when it is time for her to move on. Such a sweet mama with the need for gentle petting and a steady stream of kindness

November 7, 2020

Sweet Sheila has had a big week, with a spay, microchipping and dental cleaning. She’s so NOT interested in the election counts. Her only concern is getting rid of the inflatable donut and foster mom’s cheesy eggs to hide the medication.

The vet attempted the hard cone after surgery and she freaked out when it hit the crate. Luckily, we had a few inflatable collars for her comfort. She was not interested in eating normal dog food for the first 24 hours, so foster mom created a food snob of her. Now, she patiently waits for the good stuff, forgoing dog food. We think after what she’s endured, she deserves a bit of spoiling. We continue to mix the eggs with a little food so she remembers what it tastes like…

Sheila continues to win the hearts of everyone who meets her with her gentle disposition and sad eyes. While she still would prefer to eat alone at night, she will cautiously grab food and eat away from others. She doesn’t seem interested in playing with toys, but will devour a bully stick overnight as we sleep.

The night before surgery, she surprised all of us by collecting various items of our son’s including a blanket, a stuffed animal and even his neck gator (reusable mask) from the counter! It’s the first time she’s been caught counter surfing, but we decided she clearly needed items to sleep comfortably and all got a giggle out of the teeth marks in the gator. At least she feels secure enough in our home to know she’s loved unconditionally.

Stay tuned for her call for adoption once she heals. It’s going to be hard to let her go, but someone deserves her. We are so in love and proud of how far she’s come in a short amount of time.

November 2, 2020

After 1.5 weeks, Sheila is learning lounging is a great way to live. She’s still watching too much TV, but we feel she’s earned the right.

Halloween was a flurry with trick or treaters at a safe distance from Miss Sheila. She enjoyed porch sitting, getting a few pets from adults who couldn’t get enough of her gorgeous eyes and sweet disposition. While she remained quiet and reserved, she welcomed the ear scratches.

She still could care less about toys or treats, but she’s a closet eater at night, enjoying a bully stick when no one is looking.

Sheila has truly won the hearts of fellow dogs and humans alike. We know she’s going to be a wonderful fit for a calm, patient family that enjoys tons of couch time and petting. While she has the run of the house now and can-do steps, she’s really just satisfied being in her family room with her humans. No one can walk past her without stopping for a pet. It’s literally impossible.

Here’s a video we created, to highlight Sheila’s photos and a few video clips. Enjoy!

October 25, 2020

As you can see from the photo, Sheila’s busy resting after a long day of walking, porch sitting, and meeting some friendly neighborhood dogs who respected her shy disposition.

Sheila is adjusting to indoor living incredibly well, with an affinity for daytime TV. She actually went to inspect where the people went when we turned it off-Her curiosity is so fun to watch. So far, cooking shows and Law and Order: SVU seem to be her favorite, and aren’t limiting her screen time just yet. Smile Whatever makes her feel more at home, Sheila Girl is going to get it from the Tully Family.

She’s doing great on a leash, and we are waiting to work on commands until she trusts us more. Right now, we are satisfied with her ability to not pull on the lead, and so far, have only heard her bark once in the middle of the night when something startled her. Other than that, one peep, she’s quiet lady! We’ve made an appointment for spaying for 1.5 weeks, and I’m sure she’ll be on to Netflix series by then while rehabbing from the surgery.

October 23, 2020

It was a gorgeous day for porch sitting, walks with Sheila’s foster boy, and backyard time.

Every day she seems to come a wee bit more out of her shell, but very timid around humans. We learned she will only eat and drink when no one is watching, so we are giving her privacy, and not judging her….we are all quirky in our own way, right?!

October 21, 2020

It’s a been a fast and furious 24 hours for this Amish Former Breeder Mama! One minute, she’s on the farm living in a barn, next she was treated to a her new foster parents. After a long bath at the pet store, Sheila came home to NJ. She’s nothing short of a gentle giant. So shy and curious, she was eager to explore the house and master steps. She did not love the idea of a leash, but less than 24 hour later, she’s working hard. Sheila prefers the men in the family, but spent a lot of time bonding with me overnight. It was a long night of pacing and panting, but she finally ate when she thought no one could hear her in her bowl.

Today, another busy day at the vet, where she weighed in at 77 lbs. After a good ear cleaning and minimal nail trimming, she was pronounced a love bug by the vet staff. Sheila has a gorgeous coat, and the most perfect little face. She is still wincing and cowering when approached, but our family is reminding her she’s got a great future ahead and we will have patience to watch her slowly adapt to being the leading lady in the household. We look forward to sharing more about this sweetheart this week. Welcome to Brookline, Sheila!