Thorman Yellow Labrador Retriever Mix Male 5 Years Old ID #1799

May 25, 2025

Thorman has become quite a different dog since joining Brookline as a very ill boy at the beginning of April.

He was dropped into a crowded shelter, neutered, and developed pneumonia.

Once again, he is living with a cat and learning manners.  Thor is now also developing friendships with other dogs.

He’s in training and he needs to continue this in order to become the best family dog possible.

He will again go to group training class tomorrow in Bethlehem Pennsylvania. This training is available to him throughout his lifetime at no charge. His adoptive family could also choose other training options.

May 20, 2025

Hi everyone!

Thorman had a completely fantastic, exciting weekend, and he hopes you did too.

He’s really coming out of his post-shelter/ illness funk and showing us his bestest stuff!

We’ve continued kitty cohabitation, and while he really wants that “kitty pate'”, he and Jones are now old friends.

Thor was the MVP (pooch) at Lowe’s on Saturday. He was incredibly well-behaved, even as other dogs barked at him.  Many people wanted to say hello to Mr. Handsome.

At home, some of us worked in the yard while the most popular among us napped in the yard.

Thor had a training class on Sunday where he was an excellent student. He made new friends, including the brown dog looking back at him in the photo below.

We’re very proud of this good boy!

(These classes, in Bethlehem, PA, will be available to Thorman and his new family at no charge.)

May 17, 2025

Thorman the Cat Friend?

Imagine our concern after this past weekend with Thor and Mike’s parents’ cat when our son, who is unwell, asked us to care for his cat.

Jones is a dog-savvy cat, whereas Mike’s parents’ cats are not. They wanted to run, and he wanted to chase.

But Jones is getting older and slower, and we expected to have to segregate them to keep him safe from big, young Thor.

Imagine our surprise when things are working out better than expected!

We allowed Thorman to sniff at the cat carrier and kept him on a short lead as he introduced himself to Jones.  They’ve been whisker to whisker several times since then, and while Thorman’s a bit over-interested compared to Benjamin, we think it’s going pretty well!

(Don’t you love it when your kids or pets surprise you like this?!)

Also going quite well is Thor’s training on Take Nice, Quiet and Leave It. Heeling is improving too.

Thorman goes to group training this weekend and next. After which, we think he may very well be ready for adoption!

May 14, 2025

Hi everyone!

Thorman continues to do really well in foster care, and he’ll soon be ready to move on to his forever home!

He has settled perfectly into the house and our routines. He’s such a sensitive and affectionate dog. He will visit me in my home office for snuggles during the work day and loves a good cuddle before bedtime.

Thor’s also making good progress walking better on lead and learning other manners.

He now knows several dogs in the neighborhood, and he likes to stop and say hello to them.

In addition to his two gal pals, he now has a guy chum too.

Back at home, Thorman enjoys a Nylabone that arrived in his Brookline gift box. He’s accompanied here by Blue Ducky who was also in the box. “Bucky” is now his favorite toy.

He actually remembers if he left the bone outdoors. We can almost see the lightbulb go off, then he’ll go retrieve it back indoors!

May 10, 2025

Another week with Thorman the Doorman.

Thor’s doing really well with training on his house manners. He waits at the door for us to enter or leave and to be given the OK to eat.

While nervous at first, he now likes looking out the door during the day. It’s good practice for learning ‘quiet’ as we live in a very active neighborhood. While he initially barked at everything and everybody, he’s now doing very well with this!

While working on those last few pounds, we’ve learned that he likes many veggies, plus apples and bananas. He also likes salmon, but he’s still not crazy about peanut butter! While we offer a variety of fresh food to Thor to learn about him, he is accustomed to a kibble diet. He still loves it and is even excited to have that as a training treat!

Thor’s slowly improving on his leash manners on walks. We discovered that changing the route helps with our ‘heel’ lessons. One thing that’s noticeable is a major improvement in how he reacts to neighborhood dogs and other distractions. A quick ‘leave it’ works on most things that do pique his interest, like squirrels. He ignores most dogs except his new best girl.

Annabelle and Thor have had several meetings through her fence. She’s a very shy former breeder mama. Our Benjamin helped her adjust to meeting other dogs when she joined the neighborhood.

Anna is now doing that with Thor.

May 5, 2025

Update on Thorman the school boy!

Thor went for an evaluation and training on Saturday morning.

The behaviorist thinks that Thor is 100% lab. We don’t disagree. She also said he’s very minimally aggressive/ reactive. Likely, he was traumatized by being in the shelter, and he needs to relearn that not all other dogs are jerks.

We went with three main things in mind- selective dog reactivity, walking on lead, and taking nice from our hands.

We’ll start on the quick success – He is already taking much better from our hands. We’re working on other commands, too. He’s also responding to “quiet” when he barks a bit at surprise noises like the wind blowing the doggy door open or when dogs walk past our open door.

Walking on lead/ pulling: We’re now using a prong collar, and walks are going much better. He needs periodic reminders to “heel” but does so immediately.

Thor met some professional dogs at training and learned not to respond poorly to them.

By the end of the session, we were all sitting around on the patio talking, and he was a chill little gentleman. We continue to work on that during our walks.

It’s been raining pretty much nonstop since then. However, during the two walks we were able to sneak in, he did not show any reactivity toward other dogs in yards, etc.

We will be going to dog immersive training classes over the next few weeks, at which time we will know better what type of home we should recommend for Thorman’s future.

Weight loss update – he’s lost half of his 7 lbs. goal! We should have most, if not all if the balance off by the time he moves out of our home.

Other good news- Thor is pooping in the yard versus only on walks!  Thor will also now use the doggie door to go in and out. Previously, he only liked to use it to come back indoors.

April 28, 2025

Update on Thor-man the ladies’ man.

Thorman is starting out the week on a great note.

He’s met two female dogs over the last several days, and it went quite well. These were not intentional introductions- we’ll do that when training starts on Saturday- but that makes it more rewarding to see.

Both ladies are shy, laid-back friends of our beloved Benjamin.  They were in their yards, and a planned diversion was cancelled by Thor’s positive body language, and it paid off. These were really good introductions, which made us quite happy for him.

He did bark at an ornamental bear cub statue, but all of our dogs did the same… at least once!

At home, Thor continues to be a very good boy. He is a bit goofy. It’s still difficult to get a good photo of him because he’s addicted to belly rubs, so it always ends up like this:

April 25, 2025

Thorman has completed his entire antibiotic series and is now finishing up his steroid prescription, which was indicated to help clear some dermatitis lingering from his shelter stay.

This has increased his appetite, so we’ve offered more veggies to help satiate him while continuing his towards fitness goals.

To this end, we’ve also been expanding Thor’s walking distance, and during this, he’s shown reactivity toward dogs in our neighborhood. Next week we will meet with a behaviorist to start working on this behavior as well as training on heeling and lead manners. The training sessions will also help to reinforce the skills Thor is already learning well: sit, stay, down, off, come, and no.

This will extend his time in foster care by several weeks, but we believe it will help him be more fully ready when matched with his forever family.

We’re happy to continue to host the sweet Thor. He still shows no separation anxiety, although he is currently a little bit Velcro. He likes to snuggle a bit before settling on his bed to sleep.

He also likes to follow us around the yard, but is now exploring more on his own. He does not dig even as he watches us dig and weed the garden.

Thor is really a gem in the house.

He is fully housebroken but prefers to poop on a walk versus in the yard. He does not counter surf, nor has he gone into trash or laundry or anything like this. He likes to play nicely with his own toys and have his belly rubbed.

He sits near me as I work during the day and either naps between walks around the yard or watches Lucky Dog on TV.

We’ve never had a dog who avidly watched TV.

It’s pretty amusing to watch him do this!

April 21, 2025

Update on Thorman the Resilient!

Tomorrow marks 3 weeks since this fine fella came into our lives.

He’s come a long way. In addition to feeling much better, he’s now exercising and learning manners. While he initially slept on the bathroom floor, he now sleeps either on the sofa or on a dog bed in the bedroom with us. He has free roam and usually starts in the living room and joins us after getting a midnight drink.

When he first arrived, Thor would barely eat anything except cooked chicken. He now also eats kibble, sweet potatoes, rice, and several vegetables. But he still doesn’t like peanut butter (!)

Thor’s jumping is pretty much under control, and he waits when told as well. We continue to work on walking on lead, and we’re now comfortably up to two 30-minute walks per day. Each day he has more energy plus he’s more confident and better behaved than the last.

He’s also become more comfortable in our yard. While he would not venture off the patio at first, he now freely roams through the grass. Today, he curiously entered the gated veg. garden on his own and was lounging on the Coolio bed while we did some yardwork.

Soon, Thorman will be able to meet with other dogs.

April 18, 2025

Midweek update on Thorman the Handsome!

Just shy of 2 weeks in foster care and Thorman’s Friday X-rays came back as clear of pneumonia.

He does still have some bronchitis and will start on a steroid today to help finish up his medical treatment.

To celebrate, we took him for his 1st real walk around the neighborhood where he met three young men aged approximately 12 to 15 years old.

Previously, Thor lived with two young men in this age group. This made for a good first introduction outside of the home.

He loved meeting them. They loved meeting him.

We had an opportunity to continue to train on ‘down’ because he’s a little bit of a jumper when he’s excited to see or meet someone.

We’ve also been working on ‘stay’. We were initially concerned about door dashing, but with his increased trust and steady training on Stay, we’re becoming less concerned about that. He now stays when we leave, and prior to getting his meals.

Thorman has also lived with a cat, which sadly was also surrendered.  When cleared to meet other pets, he will be introduced to our son’s cat, Jones.

Jonesy grew up with our dogs and cats, so he’s very comfortable around large dogs and will be a great first new friend to handsome boy Thor.

April 14, 2025

Happy Monday from Camp Thorman, everyone!

We’ve had the joy of finishing up another good weekend with this fine fella.

His Friday Vet visit went as expected considering that PASE had suggested a full month of recovery from the pneumonia.

The vet heard a little bit of noise in his lungs and suggested an X-ray. That should be read tomorrow.

Until then, he continues his antibiotics and his steam treatments.

Otherwise, the Vet said he’s doing well considering he was very ill and hospitalized not long ago.

They sent this silly picture to show me how Thorman charmed the staff there.

The Vet also said “He’s a good boy…with bad manners”.

We fully agree and, now that he’s settled and feeling better, we’ve started working on a few things including Stay, Down and Walking on Lead.

Thor should also lose 5 lbs which is easily doable since he already likes walking and wants to play.

We just have to take it slow as his recovery continues.

April 12, 2025

Thor is doing very well this second week in care.

Healthwise, his cough has fully resolved.

Lingering symptoms are an occasional runny nose and a few eye boogies.

His vet appointment is tomorrow morning.

He also has some energy and likes to roll around his puzzle ball. We put kibble in it around 30 minutes after a chicken soup meal, and he’s drinking only water now.

Thor’s shelter intake form said he didn’t eat vegetables, but we’ve discovered that he will eat sweet potatoes. We will continue to introduce more foods to him.

This could help with weight maintenance as he is a shorter type of fella.

Thor was in a kennel for 4 days at the shelter and then crated for treatment at the hospital. In our home, he has had free roam. He’s proven to be a reliable guest. I work from home, and he’s become, unsurprisingly, a bit Velcro, so we started to leave him alone for 20-30 minutes at a time to encourage trust by showing him that we will return.

Yesterday, he was home alone for several hours, and he was a perfect gentleman!

He was very happy when we arrived home and was quick to give his belly for rubs. He wanted cuddles, which we gladly gave him, along with tons of praise.

April 8, 2025

Thorman is feeling much better.

While we continue the pneumonia protocols, he’s feeling much better and starting to show his personality.

Thor is a young, large boy. On Friday, we’ll ask the vet about his ideal weight ( he’s currently around 105 pounds), understanding that he will be in better shape after he is cleared to exercise.

But he will always be a big dog, and he still has puppy-like energy in him.

Our next priority, after wellness, is to control, but not eliminate, his joyful exuberance.

He wants to jump up on us to greet us but is already responsive to commands to not do so. He will stop from jumping instead; he’ll rub up against your legs. We will reinforce this good response.

He knows to sit and will lie down.

He returns to us in the yard when called and willingly follows inside.

This fella sits to wait at mealtime but eats too fast. We will try a slow feeder bowl, but for now, we’re just breaking up his meals into small courses. This also works for sneaking in his meds!

We introduced kibble, and he liked it, so we put the kibble in a puzzle ball to help keep his mind stimulated and slow down the intake of the kibble. Thor is smart and curious. He figured it out right away and enjoyed using it.

He’s really a good dog- smart, sweet, house-trained, pretty obedient – have we mentioned how handsome this guy is too?

April 7, 2025

Thor continues to do very well with this pneumonia recovery.

On Thursday and Friday, he showed a great amount of improvement in both his health and heart!

Thor ate and drank broth freely and took his meds more easily.

He pooped and he slept through the night with just the occasional throat clearing.

He wags his tail when seeing one of us and asks for pets and attention.

He now likes resting on the sofa and continues to use his bed to sleep at night.

He is also more comfortable in the yard. He now bounds toward us in the grass where he was at first hesitant to leave the sidewalk and hardscaping.

We still need to keep him calm, but it is exciting to see him so excited about seeing us.

Thor does appear to be mixed with Golden Retriever, which was noted by the Shelter.

His coat looks fantastic from the daily steam baths.

Unfortunately, he does not like to have his picture taken.

Perhaps the 2 tween/teen boys from his former home overdid the selfies with him?

We continue to work on this because we can’t wait to show everyone what a gorgeous dog he is!

April 5, 2025

Tuesday and Wednesday in Foster care showed small improvement in coughing, sneezing, and wheezing.

He’s still waking up several times at night to clear his lungs, but he chose a dog bed after we covered it with his towel, so he’s resting more comfortably in between.

Thor’s respiratory recovery is moving in the right direction. My current concern is nutrition and the fact that he hasn’t really pooped.

He did not eat for 4 days in the shelter and had can prescription food at the hospital, which he only accepted at home on Monday night. The massive amount of antibiotics are likely causing his gut issues, and we struggled on Tuesday to get him to eat anything.

He reluctantly ate some boiled chicken and finally drank chicken broth, which would help with hydration.

Thor was house-trained. He sits by the door when he needs to go out to pee, and we continue to reinforce that with a lot of praise, which he responds to with a little waggy tail.

Thor also willingly walks into the shower with me. We do two 15-minute steam treatments per day. While in there, I’ve started to bathe him. This good boy has let me touch his face, neck, feet, tail, and rear end.

We’re building trust, so we go slowly. Increased anxiety will hamper his pneumonia recovery.

After 2 days of this, we can see that he has a very nice coat and beautiful coloring.

It is a dark golden yellow that fades to a creamy butter shade. I think he’s actually starting to sparkle!

April 4, 2025

Thorman is a Male, 5-year-old (DOB 2/19/2020) Yellow Lab Mix

Thanks to the tireless efforts of Brookline volunteers, Thorman was rescued from a shelter this past weekend.

The stress from being abandoned and being neutered was overwhelming for him, and he became very sick with double pneumonia.

He survived because Brookline intervened, and he was taken to the hospital for emergency care on 3/29/25.

‘Thor’ was an owner surrender to ACCT in Philadelphia.

He was adopted as a puppy by the surrendering family and lived with the Mom, Dad, and their 2 young adult male children. Now, 13 and 18, they would have been 8 and 13 when Thor was adopted at 4 months old. He also lived with 1 female cat.

Both pets were surrendered due to no fault of their own.

On Monday, 3/31/25, he was released from the hospital and joined us for a 1 hour drive to recover in our care.

Thor was surprisingly good in the car, considering his illness. He intermittently fussed and panted but was easily soothed.

Upon arrival home, he investigated our home and the enclosed yard. After dinner, we learned that this boy is incredibly smart and adept at spitting out pills.

At bedtime, he did not want to use either of the 2 dog beds and chose a large beach towel that we put out on the carpet for him.

Even medicated, Thor coughed much of the night. But he came to me for comfort, which is wonderful considering his change in situation.

End of Day 1 Impression: Thorman is a good boy. He is quite sick but a very good boy.