Sodona Yellow Labrador Female 8 Years Old ID #2774

June 17, 2020

Sodona, here with another update. I’m now slimmer and trimmer, so I have more energy. Since the weather has been nice, I’ve been spending short periods of time out on the deck with my fur siblings or with the humans. I watch the birds and the bugs, and I sniff all the plants. 

However, I don’t have interest at all in the squirrels, or in the rabbits that we often see on our walks. Foster Mom thinks this is a good indication that I would do well in a home with a cat.  I’m not really interested in chasing anything, not even a ball or a toy.   I like to carry my toys around and keep them close to me in my bed, and I like to chew on my Nyla bones. Foster Mom has been taking me on car rides when she does curbside pickup, and I’m an excellent passenger. I jump right in and out of the car when asked. Did I mention that I never bark? The other 3 dogs that live here bark at things all day long, but not me. I’m the quietest dog you will ever meet. Anyway, I think I’ve learned just about everything I can here, and I’m going to be ready to go to my forever home pretty soon

May 18, 2020

Sorry it’s been awhile since my last update, but I’ve been a very busy girl. Not only am I learning things, but I’ve been doing a bit of teaching too. For example, I’ve trained Foster Mom to put her shoes in the closet every single time she takes them off, otherwise one of them will be with me in my bed. She doesn’t seem to think that’s a good idea, but I don’t know what the big deal is. I only borrow one, and I don’t chew it, I just keep it close to me in my comfy bed.

I’m also teaching my friend Nelson, the black Lab, how to play bow. He didn’t get it at first, but now he’s getting the hang of it.

When I’m not teaching, I walk around the house and investigate new things. I go up and down the stairs all by myself, but generally I try to stay in the same room with the other dogs and the people. I’ve been thinking that when I go to my forever home, I’d like to have another dog as a playmate. And I’d like for my new parent or parents to take me on long walks like Foster Dad does. The traffic still scares me, so we generally walk on the quiet streets where there aren’t many cars. What really scares me is when little kids are running and making noise, and we seem to run into more of them now that the weather is nicer. So, I’m thinking I would be happiest in a forever home that doesn’t have little kids that move fast and make noise. Foster Mom (who never runs out of ideas) says now that I’m more comfortable with things we are going to start working on some basic commands, so I’ll let you know how that goes. Hopefully it involves food.

April 20, 2020

Sodona here with another update from my foster home. I’m happy to report that I’m making progress adjusting to my new life. We had to go back to that vet’s office AGAIN for my final vaccination, and this time I jumped right out of the car and wanted to explore the parking lot while we waited our turn to go into the office. I was very good in the office and the scale said I lost 2 more lbs!! The white coat lady said that my back legs are getting stronger from all the walking, but I already knew that. I’m standing up to eat and drink all the time now, and I eat my food as soon as it’s presented (even if people are watching me). And I can walk up a full flight of steps – I’ve done it 3 times. My foster sister Holly is still presenting me with things she thinks I should play with, and the other day she brought me a Nylabone.

I decided to keep that and chew on it. I even took it upstairs with me at bedtime, but for some reason Foster Dad doesn’t want me to chew on it when he is trying to sleep, so now I only get that in the daytime. I still need the leash to make me feel secure enough to leave these great memory foam beds, but I always stand up when asked and then I’m ready to go. I don’t have to wear the harness anymore – I walk perfectly on a flat collar.  Although I’m still afraid of loud noises, I’m not afraid of the vacuum cleaner because that’s attached to Foster Mom.

April 10, 2020

Last night I went back to the vets’ office to get my stitches removed. Foster Mom thought she could trick me, but I knew where we were going. When we arrived, I decided to get onto the floor or the car and I wasn’t moving. Some of those nice ladies came out to the car to help me decide it wasn’t really all that scary. Once inside the office I was a very good girl.  My biopsy came back good, so I shouldn’t have any more lumps growing on me. The vet also showed Foster Mom how to check my lymph nodes every month “just in case” something decides to come back we will know before it’s a big deal.

At home Foster Mom and Dad are always saying that I’m “starting to come out of my shell”.   I don’t have a shell, only fur, so I don’t know what they mean. These memory foam dog beds are so comfortable I don’t want to get up from them to walk around the house.   I just stay in one place and watch what everyone else is doing. My fur sister, Holly, keeps bringing toys over for me to look at, but she hasn’t found one I like yet. Lucky for me she seems like the type that will never give up, so I’m sure she will bring me one I like soon.

Foster Dad and I take long walks together, and my back legs are getting stronger and stronger. My food and water are now a couple of steps away from my bed, and I stand up and walk over to the bowls to eat and drink. When my water dish is empty, I pick it up and carry it back to the bed with me for safekeeping. Foster Mom had some cheese the other day and I decided it smelled so good that I would take it right from her hand. That was a BIG step for me, but she was SO happy when I did that.

March 30, 2020

Well that surgery wasn’t so bad.  The lump is gone from my hip, and in its’ place, I have a bunch of stitches.  The lady in the white coat said we won’t know anything else until the pathology comes back from the lab.   But they were so nice to me there.  They really understood how afraid I am, and they said they wanted to make me feel better.   So, while I was sleeping, they gave my teeth a good cleaning and trimmed those long ugly nails that I had.     My paws look so pretty now!    And I can walk much better.

March 26, 2020

Sodona here with an update. Well I should have known something was amiss when my caretakers didn’t deliver my food to me on schedule this morning. Instead of feeding time it was suddenly time for another car ride. Since I didn’t know where we were going, I refused to get out of the car when we arrived. But with the help of 2 extra people Foster Mom finally got me out of the car and into the office. Once I got into the office I walked right over to the scale and everyone said what a good girl I was. And I lost a pound, so now I only have to lose 14 more! In that office there was another nice lady who wears a white coat. The white coat lady said I had to have some x-rays before she can proceed with my scheduled surgery. She is going to remove that lump on my hip that’s been bugging me lately. So, here’s the good new – I passed the chest x-ray test with flying colors. No problems there, and Foster Mom was so happy! The bad news is I apparently have to stay all day at this office with the white coat lady and there is no breakfast in site.

March 24, 2020

My name is Sodona, and I’m currently in training for a new job in a place they call a Foster Home.  I was really good at my old job, which was to make puppies.  I made so many puppies, I can’t even remember them all.  That job was exhausting, and I didn’t get to do anything that everyday dogs get to do. A very nice lady came and took me, and Jazzy away from that place. She took me to a doctor who fixed it so my puppy making days are over.  We stayed with that lady for a while, but then she said she had to go to a doctor herself, and couldn’t take care of us anymore, so she called these nice people at Brookline.  Brookline must have a lot of helpers because I got to ride in four different cars to get to this new Foster Home place.  Anyway, it’s very nice because I have a Foster Mom, Dad, and one fur sister, and two fur brothers.

Although I know my new job of being good companion for a nice family is going to be great. I’m really, really scared about it.  It means I’m around people all the time, and they do all kinds of things that scare me like move too fast, or make loud noises.  So, my idea is to just stay real still in the same place, just in case one of those scary things happen.  I’ve only been here for four days, but I’ve already figured out this place runs like a military installation.  Every day at the same time, we go for walks, and have our food.  I didn’t eat the first two days, but now I’ve decided it’s safe to eat if they bring the plate of food to me.  After breakfast every morning, my fur brothers, and sister have playtime.  Yesterday, I was really watching them closely, and they were having a grand time, but that’s WAY too scary for me right now.  Foster Mom said I have my own toys (whatever they are), and when I’m ready she is going to bring them out for me to investigate.

My favorite thing about this camp is Foster Dad.  He talks to me in a real soft voice, and takes me out for walks four times a day, always at the same time each day.  Honestly you could set you watch with these people!  Also, I have not had a single accident in the house – pretty good huh?  Foster Dad calls me names like pretty girl, and princess.  I heard him telling Foster Mom what a beauty I am.   I don’t think anyone has called me a princess before, but once I get all trained up, I’m going to be someone’s special princess.