Tamera Yellow Labrador Retriever Female 5.5 Years Old ID#3543

Please join us in welcoming adorable Tamera to Brookline foster care!  This cute English style lab spent the first 5 years of her life as a breeder mama but has now been surrendered to Brookline where she will spend some quality time in foster care learning how to be a house pet and adjusting to her new lifestyle.  Please read her blog from the bottom up to learn more about Tamera.

August 3, 2025

It’s hard to believe Tamera has been in foster care for 2 weeks now.  On the one hand, she has learned so much so quickly that it feels like she’s been off the farm for months already.  But on the other hand, time flies when you’re having fun and her joyful cuteness has made the last 14 days zip by in a flash!Tammy continues to be a pretty easy houseguest and has been doing well with her housebreaking.  The accidents happen infrequently and she seems to understand that we expect her to relieve herself when we go out to the yard.  Hopefully we’re getting to the point where no accidents will happen at all.  Yesterday she did her first #1 while she was on the leash, so that’s a nice milestone. And an important part of being a house pet, of course.

She likes to go for walks and gets excited when FM and FD put their shoes on and grab the leashes.  When she’s on a walk she doesn’t tug or pull, but she’s still not all that aware of the space she takes up and tends to bump into the legs of whomever is walking her and can be prone to unexpected short zooms forward, which makes for a challenge for us humans on two feet trying to walk with her.  Hopefully she will just need more time getting used to the right way to behave on the leash and we will continue to work on that with her.

Tamera takes a lot of cues from her foster sister Ruby and followed her lead this week by getting up enough bravery to hop onto the couch in FM’s office to relax during the work day.  She snuggled up with Ruby and napped away the afternoon. She will definitely do well with a resident dog companion when she gets to her forever home. The weather this weekend has been amazing after all that heat, so Tamera got to visit a few local spots like Ironbound Farm for a nice outdoor lunch and Wild Fern Brewing where she hung out with us on the patio and met lots of people and their dogs.  She is a bit nervous if anyone gets close up to her face, but once she has a moment to consider things she lets new friends pet her.  She enjoys meeting dogs and managed new encounters without any dramatics.  FM and FD told everyone about Brookline and hope that maybe they’ll become volunteers, donors or adopters.

This morning we jumped back in the car and went for a sunny hike and a picnic brunch.  Tammy enjoyed the hiking and posed for a pic or two by some nice wild flowers to show off her photogenic side. When we got home Tamera received her foster dog gift box from the amazing BLR volunteers.  She now has a cute bandana, a soft purple blanket, some shiny new tennis balls, a licky mat, and some new toys and treats!  She loves her new stuffed lion toy and is currently having a nap on her new blanket (on one of our doggie beds which she also recently decided she enjoys).  Thank you to all the folks who put so much love into these gifts! Quite a big week for this cute yellow girl!  Stay tuned for more updates soon!

July 28, 2025

One week away from her former life as a breeder mama and Tamera has been doing a great job at decompressing and adjusting to life as a house pet.  House training is going well, even if it’s not a linear path and she has a few scattered accidents.  We think she is now getting the hang of our routine so we think that will help finish up her potty lessons.  Earlier on we spent some long stretches with her out in the yard waiting and waiting and waiting for her to go to the bathroom… but those waits are now short and she seems to be grasping the importance of relieving herself when we head outside.  She’s not an A Student yet, but she’s earning a B+ now.She is eating well and takes her antibiotics enthusiastically when wrapped in a slice of wadded up American cheese.  She seems to be getting a taste for treats but has zero interest in things like fruits or veggies.

She follows her foster mom (FM) around with giant cartoon hearts in her eyes and is always a bit surprised when she leaves the room or goes downstairs where Tamera is not invited.  Foster dad (FD) is not taking it personally and is working on earning her devotion as well.That interest in all-things-FM did come in handy when Tamera learned to walk upstairs to our second story only two days into her time here.  She just had to get to FM!  Coming down was harder, and FD carried her down a few times before beginning to stop halfway, sit and place her on the steps aso she could creep down the rest slowly – and two days later she goes up and down like it’s no big deal.

She also jumped into the car for us all on her own after several days of needing a boost and we took her over to the local pet store for some socialization.  She was a bit shy meeting the store staff, but not too anxious so we think she’s going to be good with social interactions with some added practice.  The big headline from the pet store was Tamera’s disciplined perusal of the rawhide chew aisle.  She sniffed at each tasty item but didn’t lick or bite into any of them.  Such a good girl!On Saturday we took her to the Delaware River for a hike and a chance to get wet at our favorite doggie swimming hole.  She followed her foster sibling Ruby’s lead and went into the water, but stopped short of any real swimming.  It was a good first water visit on a hot day! We very much enjoyed the first week and are having the usual feelings of satisfaction when you see a farm dog begin to transform into a pet.  It’s magical when you see them relax and “get it” during the early days.

July 21, 2025

Tamera then spent the rest of her first day meeting her new foster family and exploring the house.  She ate her meals well and took her medication then was very tuckered out after such a long day and slept well all night.

Her second day brought a surprise when her new foster family was called out of town unexpectedly, so Tamera was picked up by another Brookline foster volunteer family for a temporary stretch and spent day 2 with them.  She met her new resident dog foster sister and looked around the new yard and house.After a few walks down the block and some yard time in the hot weather, Tamera was pretty tired so she settled in for some naps.When dinner time came she ate her kibble politely and even stopped to chew her food like a well behaved girl instead of vacuuming it in like some labs do.  She had no accidents in the house and eventually took cues from her foster sister and went #1 and #2 outside.

Her second night off the farm was a bit more restless with her waking up, trying to push through the dog gate and playing with toys in the dark of night while foster mom slept (or tried to sleep) on the couch with her. Maybe her afternoon naps gave her too much energy to settle down.  We’ll try to get her a bit more exercise before night 3.Today she did wind up with an accidental #2 on the carpet, but she’s just now learning what she’s supposed to do here, so it was cleaned up and she’s getting more time outside to hopefully encourage her house training.

After a full day with Tamera, we are happy to report that she’s a very sweet and relaxed  girl with a cute level of curiosity about her new surroundings which will definitely help her get passed the mild level of nervousness she is displaying.  She has a tail that is quick to wag and has already become very focused on her temporary foster mom.  She is clearly a gem of a pup and we’ll have plenty of fun hosting her and helping her begin her new adventures.

Stay tuned for more!