Weston Silver Labrador Retriever Male 7 Years Old ID #2827

May 29, 2021

We are so happy to share that Weston (aka Bernie) had a great week with another Brookline foster family while were on vacation.

He was a little shy at first, but he relaxed quickly and had a fantastic time. He went on walks and explored the backyard with their resident dog and enjoyed having 2 teenage boys to hang out with.

His vacation foster mom said that he was a wonderful house guest and that he quickly adjusted to being in a new environment. He was a bit hesitant of the new surroundings, but within a few hours he settled right in. Since he is apprehensive to walk on hard floors sometimes, he was happy to have plenty of throw rugs to step on so he can continue his “the floor is hot lava” game.

His vacation foster mom said he got along well with her resident dog and the cats. Bernie played a little with the resident dog with his tail wagging the entire time. She reported that he loved to go on walks and his ears perked and face lit up when he hears the “W” word. He walked pretty well on the leash and was able to be walked with the resident dog by one person.

He was non-reactive to other dogs even when they barked at him from across the street. At his foster vacation home, Bernie loved having his face and ears rubbed and would gently nudge her arm with his nose for more attention.

Bernie has mastered 2 commands “give me a kiss” and “trade”. He will give me his nose when I ask for a kiss. With puppy enthusiasm, Bernie loves to trout off with a stolen shoe or clothing item and knows that he will get offered a biscuit to make a “trade”.

His vacation foster mom confirmed our belief that he’s a very loving, gentle soul who is ready and deserves to have a forever family who can love and spoil him.

May 12, 2021

Weston’s needs in his forever home are:

• a loving and supportive family that understands the trauma a farm dog has experienced.
• a patient family that understands he has not had the opportunity to experience all things dog yet; therefore, there may be unknowns and training needed to help him learn and adapt.
• A family committed to his health, he has hypothyroidism, itchy skin, and a sensitive tummy. These issues are under control with medication and proper foods.
• a safe, secure yard to hang out in, a fence would be preferred.
• a home that is easy for him to navigate with minimal steps and carpeted areas.

May 9, 20201

Weston/Bernie has been feeling a lot better this week. He has slowly transitioned to a new diet and we think it has made him feel better. He has started most of his walks running out of our court and ends most of them running back in. Bernie has been more adventurous and affectionate lately. He is just a little shorter than our kitchen counters and will sometimes do a little jump to see what is up there and help himself to things of interest. If we sit on the floor with Weston/Bernie he will get up and sit in between our legs or do a little army crawl to be closer. Weston/Bernie has also been a little more mouthy recently. When we are petting Weston/Bernie he will sometimes get a little mouthy and try and hold our hands or gently nibble on them, but he is easily redirected with a stuffed animal. He has been really enjoying his stuffed animals and will carry them around and rest his head on them.

We are so happy to see Weston/Bernie doing so well and think he is ready for his forever home soon!

April 20, 2021

Today is Weston/Bernie’s 8th birthday. He celebrated the day by hanging out in the yard, playing with his stuffed elephant, enjoying his smaller meals with extra chicken and going for a long evening walk. He enjoyed birthday wishes from some neighbors at the end of his walk and is now settled in for a restful evening.

He had a pawsome day, except for the silly picture we made him participate in.

April 15, 2021

Weston/Bernie was having some stomach troubles last week and has switched from eating two meals a day to four smaller meals throughout the day. We got in the habit of putting him outside while we get his food ready and then bringing him in to eat and Weston/Bernie quickly picked up on this pattern. He would get very excited every time we put him out back, sometimes too excited to go to the bathroom and would go outside and immediately wait at the door to come back in to eat.

On nice days when Weston/Bernie is in less of a rush to get back inside, he enjoys sitting outside with his foster sisters while they do work.

The nicer weather has also made Weston/Bernie’s allergies a little worse, he takes allergy meds every day but still is a little itchy. His chin and ears seem to be the itchiest part and he is very good at politely asking us to scratch them for him. The warm weather has also meant a thunderstorm the other day, that Weston/Bernie seemed to know was coming about an hour before we did. He put himself in the crate, although he didn’t seem stressed, he did stay in the crate until the storm was over.

Besides going in his crate during the storm, Weston/Bernie hasn’t been spending much time at all in his crate. He has been exploring the house more, hanging out in different rooms, and venturing into the kitchen. He has enjoyed cleaning up crumbs from the floor and grabbing kitchen towels. Although he can walk into the kitchen no problem, he hasn’t figured out how to turn around yet and always walks backward out of the kitchen.

Although Weston/Bernie   has made a lot of progress in the last 4 months, we know he could make even bigger strides if he had a confident dog in his forever home, who could teach him things like how to turn around on kitchen floors.

March 28, 2021

Weston/Bernie has spent a lot of time resting and recovering from his neutering surgery and skin biopsies. With his foster sister who has been on spring break. He loves sleeping next to her and to be petted. Unfortunately, that means she lays on the floor as he still has not learned about furniture.

He is fully recovered from his neutering. The skin biopsy results did not provide any conclusive reasons as to why his hair is not growing in quickly now that his thyroid levels are under control but this week, we have noticed increased hair growing on his sides so we are hopeful that some hair is coming back in.

Weston/Bernie continues adjusting to life off the farm. We believe he will do best in a forever home with another confident dog.

March 9, 2021

Today was a very big day for Weston/Bernie. He had his neutering surgery, a skin biopsy taken and his teeth cleaned. The staff said he was a very good boy, but he was happy to leave their office. Now he is resting in his new favorite spot, the laundry room floor.

Of course, his new spot is right in front of the washer and dryer so he can oversee all laundry, catch anything that is dropped and in true lab fashion run off with a sock. Weston/Bernie is agreeable about trading his laundry findings for a little biscuit. This spot also allows him to look outside too.

Our other foster Chloe went to live with her new family 2 weeks ago. He looked around the house for her the first few days but has settled back into being an only dog. He has lost some of his confidence though.

Weston/Bernie continues to enjoy his walks and sniffing around the backyard.  We know he is going to enjoy being outside with us as the long-awaited spring season rolls in.

February 21, 2021

Well, the snow did not prevent us from getting Weston to the vet.  We were all very happy to hear that all his blood work results came back in the normal range, but the vet is perplexed as to why his fur is not coming back in. A skin scraping showed a bacterial infection so he received a 10-day course of antibiotics, still hopeful that fur will start to grow. Now that his thyroid levels are under control Weston was able to get his vaccines and is scheduled for his neutering surgery the 2nd week of March. I must mention that he was very brave at his visit.

Weston has mastered the art of emptying a Kong. His favorite stuffing is frozen bananas and frozen sweet potatoes. He knows the sound of the pantry door, the crinkle of the dog food bag, and the sound of the treat box. I give Chloe credit for teaching him these important dog skills.

Weston continues to work on becoming a typical dog. When we look back at when he first became a Brookline dog, we can see how far he has come and are truly amazed by what a loving and goofy guy he is. He and Chloe have had a lot of fun in the snow. They interact like true siblings sometimes. It was so amusing when he discovered her scarf and the fun it would be to pull on it, but then quickly lost interest when she didn’t really put up a fuss.

On another important note, we did not feel Weston was his name. He certainly never knew it to be his name as I do not think anyone really talked to him before he became a Brookline dog. Somehow, we started calling him Bernie and now use it all the time.  He responds to it and he is learning to come when called.

February 7, 2021

Weston has had amazing progress this week!  He can now come in and out of the back door completely on his own. To see this dog confidently go in and out of the house on his own is just remarkable. This has greatly improved his life, (and ours) as he now can take a quick potty break any time without us all having to get geared up for a walk.

Unfortunately, the snow last week canceled Weston’s vet appointment. It was rescheduled for today but that is not looking promising.

Weston is enjoying his yard and since he also does not mind the cold, this snowy week has been a lot of fun for him. He gallops around in the snow and has discovered tennis balls.  Weston doesn’t understand the game of fetch yet, but he does love to just carry a tennis ball around in his mouth.

Inside the house Weston now entertains himself with his stuffed toys. I think Chloe helped him with this skill too.  He is very hard on his stuffed toys, he pulls them apart quickly, but he is very open to sharing with Chloe.

Weston hopes everyone is enjoying the snow as much as he is.

January 31, 2021

Weston has had a great week with his Foster pale Chloe. Although he is still not sure about walking on tile, he has followed her into the kitchen a few times.  He now regularly joins us in the family room.

He has gone out the back door into the yard multiple times on his own. We are still working on him being able to come back into the house through the back door. We have a process; he is very agreeable to letting us move his feet in the pattern of coming up the 2 steps as we say “step step” with each movement. This is quite a process as he is 100 pounds and completely leans into us.

Weston is blossoming into a really sweet guy who loves to be petted and he is learning that he gets a lot more attention and petting now that he can follow us around the first floor.

Weston is scheduled to have his follow up visit for his thyroid levels this week and hopefully he will be ready to schedule his neutering so he will be on step closer to finding his forever home.

Weston LOVES the snow. He just went for a 45-minute walk tonight running and galloping with his human foster sister enjoying the sights and sounds of plow trucks and children sledding.

Weston is going to have another great week romping in all the snow.

January 27, 2021

Chloe and Weston, our other foster, are getting along well, they spend their days watching us, following us, and snoring like 2 big bears.

January 24, 2021

Just like most of us right now, Weston has not had anything new to report.

Weston is an easy-going guy who loves to go for walks, enjoys all meals, and even takes his pills from my hand with no disguise on them, he thinks they are treats. He has never had an accident in the house. He loves to be touched and engages (stands when we come into sight and/or responds to our voices) with all of us now as well as neighbors, delivery truck drivers, contractors and cable guys on walks. While he continues to be a good boy and we see more of his silly personality, he still struggles with moving around the house freely like a typical dog.

So, we decided Weston needed a mentor dog. Recent Brookline Rescue, Chloe came to live with us yesterday. It has only been one day, and Weston has made some progress. He now follows us into the laundry room, he went out the back door yesterday while following Chloe (had to come back in the house through the front door though), he ventured into the family room (only for a moment) and last night he slept on a rug in the living room instead of the entranceway. More progress in one day with Chloe than 2 weeks on his own.

We are hoping that Chloe will continue to teach him something new every day on how to be a house dog. Weston seems to enjoy having another dog in the house and we are too!  Listening to the sound of 2 snoring labs just melts my stress away.

January 10, 2021

Weston continues to make progress, and it is when he does the simplest doggie behaviors that our hearts are warmed. He continues to live on the rug in the entrance way, but he gets up to greet us when we come down the steps or into the room.  He has started doing an adorable downward dog stretch when he gets up. His ears perk up when we talk to him and he is so much more engaging.

Weston now comes in and out of the house (95% of the time) without any hesitation and he understands the words “do you want to go for a walk”. He even tried to follow me when I went outside to get a package.

Now that Weston is feeling more comfortable, we are trying to work on simple commands.  He knows no verbal commands. We are working on sit, come, drop it and trade. Trade is for when he has an item that he REALLY wants, we trade for a toy or treat.

Weston went to the vet on Friday for his thyroid follow up. The visit was a little easier for him this time, but he is still not comfortable walking on uncarpeted flooring.  His weight is now a perfect 100 pounds, but his hair is not growing in yet. The vet did say that it will be at least another 3 weeks until he can receive his vaccines and then another 2 weeks until he can be neutered.

I will update everyone when we get the results of his latest blood work.

Happy New Year from Weston!!

December 26, 2020

This past week held lots of firsts for Weston. After a strict 2-week quarantine Weston got to go down to his foster family’s beach house and meet his foster family’s grandmom and her dog Maggie on Wednesday. We were nervous about how Weston would handle being in a new house and how he and Maggie would get along since it would be his first time meeting a dog since he has been with us. Their first introduction was on a walk and they got along right away, lots of tail wagging and sniffing. At the house Weston was relieved when he came in and saw a rug in the entrance way he could lay on, which he stayed firmly on despite us prompting him with some encouragement from Maggie.

On Thursday we took Weston and Maggie to the beach. As always Weston enjoyed being outside and was very intrigued by all the smells and the seashells. He really enjoyed running along the surf and spending more time with Maggie.

On Friday after coming in from his morning walk, Weston surprised everyone and walked right past his rug to say hi to one of his foster sisters sitting on the couch, although he seemed a little nervous to be off the rug it was clear he wanted to be closer to people, so we brought a rug over for him to settle closer to us.

When we returned home, Weston settled right on his rug in the entrance way. While we were unpacking Weston surprised us all again and slowly made his way into the kitchen on his own. Since then, we have put a few more rugs down for him to help encourage him to travel to different areas and have more places to lay down.

Weston seems to like the cold and long walks, thankfully he has a handsome new sweater from Aunt Dee so he can be comfortable while he is outside (he loves to wear his sweater inside too).  And not to be outdone, Sansa the cat, wore her sweater around the house too.

We are all proud of Weston and are so excited that he has started to get the hang of being an inside dog.

December 18, 2020

Weston has made so much progress this week and we are just thrilled.

The laundry room was not a good place for him as he had to go down 2 steps to get outside. It was just two so we got him down those steps one last time and we walked him in the front door.

After another 2 days of pushing and pulling him in and out of the doorway he started to go out the door with very little hesitation. After another day he was able to come in the door with minimal coaxing and assistance most of the time.

On Wednesday he climbed up 2 steps all by himself to lay on a rug. He will not venture off the rug, but he does now react to our voices and gets up to greet us when we approach him.

Weston is starting to really enjoy his meals; he takes his pills with sardines and lets us put in his ear medication with no resistance.

Every day he gets a little more confident on his walk and today he enjoyed the snow.

This sounds so insignificant but for a dog who has never lived in a house this progress is huge!

Last night he stuck his big head into the family room, while feet still planted on rug. I think he will be sitting with us watching TV soon.

December 11, 2020

Weston has been with us a week today. Progress is still being made in baby steps. On his Monday evening potty walk, he actually walked back into the garage with no hesitation. It was a big moment.  He then started walking out the garage door with minimal hesitation.  We also noticed that he is aware of and perks up when we talk to him. On Tuesday he turned and looked at me when I said good morning,

Tuesday, we took him for his first vet visit. This was his first time through a doorway that was smaller than a garage door and inside a structure that had real flooring and walls.  It was very stressful for him, but he was a VERY good patient.

Weston is a big boy weighing in at 109 pounds. Both of his ears are infected and swollen, the vet techs were able to clean them out and hopefully, he will feel the relief of the drops soon.  The vet did a blood test and it confirmed what she suspected; Weston has hypothyroidism. He will need to be on thyroid medication for the rest of his life, but his hair will grow back and he will be a healthy handsome dog again.

Last night was a big night. My daughter’s cat went into the garage to meet Weston, the introduction went fine, Weston didn’t even get up when she came into the garage.

We also moved Weston into the house. We set up his crate in the laundry room, he has not ventured out of that room yet.

Weston has been enjoying his walks and pets, at times I think he is smiling!

December 7, 2020

Weston has spent the past 72 hours adjusting to being off the farm and we are taking it in baby steps.

Weston has still not made it through a doorway, but yesterday he made it to the second step at the back door.

He has no problem going through the gates in the yard but finds walking in and out of the garage a scary process.

He is not food motivated, only ate a few training treats and sardines the first day. He didn’t eat breakfast really the second day but ate some kibble and sardines for dinner. Today he ate all his breakfast and I am hopeful that he will eat dinner tonight. Thinking he may only have been given one meal a day in the past, but either way, he is not eating a lot.

He currently lives in our garage (it has carpet and space heaters) since he will not come through a doorway into the house and sleeps in a crate in the garage. It takes a lot of coaxing to get him into a crate but he needs to be in the crate during the night so he is safe.

Today I was able to get him out of the garage on my own which is huge progress.

We have taken him on 6 walks, I cannot say it was easy or graceful, but for a dog who has never been on a leash, I would say the walks are successful. Weston enjoys being in the yard but does not know how to play with balls or toys.

He loves walking in the leaf piles, which I don’t understand how he likes to climb up the piles of leaves but can’t climb up 2 steps to get into the house.

Saturday night one of his foster sisters gave him a sponge bath. Afterward, she brushed him and we learned that Weston enjoys being pampered. He became so relaxed he looked to be asleep on his feet.

Weston has his first vet visit tomorrow afternoon, looking forward to starting his journey back to a healthy dog.

December 4, 2020

What a big boy.!

He did great in the car for the ride home, but we realized he was not going to get out of the car to go into the dog wash station.

He stayed in the van inside the garage for about 30 minutes before he decided to back out of it, never saw that before.  He did not want to come into the house so we took turns watching him in the yard and then we were able to move him into the garage. So, I am working in the laundry room with the garage/house door open and 3 space heaters going.

We learned right away that this farm boy is ready for lots of rubs and hugs, Weston LOVES to have his face rubbed. The joy on his face says it all.

This guy needs some medical attention and lots of emotional support, but I know there is a big loveable sofa sitting guy in there, it is just going to take some time.