Wilson Yellow Labrador Retriever Mix Male 9 Years Old ID #3297

October 3, 2025

Wilson continues to have good days in his permanent foster home.

He went to see the vet last week and, while his mouth mass continues to grow, he still loves to eat.

He’s back on all soft food which he doesn’t mind because Foster dad found very tasty soft treats for him!

He went to the vet last week because he is starting to slow down and show signs of mental decline.

Like a lot of other older dogs,  he is sleeping more and staring into space more often.

They were happy to see him and the checkup was pretty good. For now, we’ll just continue our routine. We now understand that decline may happen more quickly with him than with the healthy old dog.

Our routine is simple but good. We get up, we have breakfast and take our meds. Then we go out to enjoy the fresh air and he takes a nap.

He gets up,  we have a snack,  we go outside and take a walk,  say hi to some dog friends and  come home, take meds and take a nap while foster mom works in the home office.

He falls asleep by the open front door while he’s on watch for foster dad to come home from work.

This is the best time of the day!

That’s because we all go outside together,  we go for a walk,  come home and have Dinner!

At night he gets applesauce when he takes his bedtime meds. It helps his tummy and he thinks it’s yummy!

In between there’s lots of snuggles and singing and sitting in the yard enjoying our time.

He’s definitely slowing down and we know that we’re nearing the end of our time together.

But we’re grateful for the lessons he’s taught us. The biggest of these is to find a reason to be happy every day. Even on days when he’s not feeling his best, Wilson is still a happy dog.

September 1, 2015

Hi All!

Wilson continues to do well in his forever foster home despite his cancer diagnosis and his mass starting to regrow.

He’s been to the vet for a care plan and is currently having fun in the sun and shade.

We continue to walk several times a day.

We play ball and nap in the yard too.

We’re here to say that being part of a family for even a short time is all a guy ( or gal) need.

August 10, 2024

Wilson continues to feel better and has become more comfortable in foster care. We’re seeing more personality and even some naughtiness! We were away from home for several hours and came home to find this:

It seems his renewed chewing ability and an existing paper interest met at my vanity!

Now that we know this, trash cans must be secured, doors are closed, and all tissue boxes are safely stored higher than the tall man can reach.

Post surgery, Wilson is also now able to chew dry kibble which he really enjoys. Because he’s able to do this we gave him a toy and he was really excited for this squeaky owl.

He continues to be great in the house, his walks are fully enjoyed, he lives for meal time and makes the most out of every nap!

August 6, 2025

Hi all, This is an update on Wilson the Wonderful who is now a permanent Brookline Foster pup!

Before we get into that we want to tell you about last night’s exciting adventure! Jones, the house kitty,  snuck out the front door behind me around midnight. He did this because a neighborhood outdoor cat has been tempted him.

Cars are out that way so Wilson and I leashed up and went looking to retrieve him. Wilson had a great time sniffing around in the cool, dark night and best of all …he found Jones the kitty! We were both very pleased to bring him home to safety.

While Wilson continues to be happy and jaunty,  we do have sad news- his mouth mass biopsy indicated Cancer. Because full removal of the mass would require removing part of his jaw and the fact that the cancer is aggressive, it was determined that the best thing for this sweet, old fella is to provide the best life possible for the days that Wilson will spend with us.

While not completely unexpected, we are sad for him. But we go forward with the knowledge that every minute Wilson has is a gift and we will cherish that gift and reward that gift with joy and happiness, cuddles ,meals ,walks ,visits to friend and naps in the sun.

We’ll continue to share tales and photos of our time together here.

This very serious photo from yesterday is titled.

“Patiently waiting for my pup cup”

July 29, 2025

While we continue to await the pathology report on Wilson’s oral mass, we’re working on skincare, fitness, and training. Wilson arrived with hardened and cracked patches on his elbows, feet, and tail. His fur was also lackluster and patchy- especially on his tail. We add coconut oil to his food and massage it onto his rough patches. His color is richer, his skin is smoother, and his tail fur is regrowing, too!

Fitness-wise, we continue to walk early to avoid the heat, and he now feels well enough to play. He loves to chase birds around the yard and to play fetch with the ball, and even tries to get the cat to play with him!

Wilson knows a few commands already, and we’re currently re-establishing these. Our current focus is “sit” and “wait” at meal times. He’s a chow hound but also a good boy who is doing well with consistent reminders.

July 25, 2025

Hi All,

Post Surgery/ Recovery update on Wilson.

He may look a bit weak but Wilson has proven to be 1 tough cookie and has recovered incredibly well.

Speaking of cookies- we will adjust his diet to include more solid (but not hard) food this week.

He’s a real chow hound, so we’re hoping this helps with his satiation. Our current challenge is keeping his face off of tables and counters- he’s that tall!

Behavior wise, we had just 3 attempts at scratching his face this past week. He is corrected easily each time.

He’s starting to alert bark when someone walks close to the house, He has a little bit of a howl in his bark which is cute. He easily corrects and goes back to his bed.

He continues to be good on lead and loves going for walks and meeting people. We walk further each day and only occasionally stop for a break. He’s up to 3 twenty-five-minute walks a day!

He’s also met neighborhood Golden girls Eva and Annabelle.

These former breeder mama was good friends to our beloved Benjamin and welcomed Thorman too. He spent a few minutes with Annabelle yesterday and he seemed a little smitten!

July 16, 2-25

Where’s Wilson (been)?

It’s been an exciting and interesting few weeks for Mr. Wilson since he left the shelter and joined our family.

We foster parents went on vacation 2 weeks ago and Wilson also went on vacation with a wonderful Brookline family who kindly offered to Wilson-sit during this time.  While there, he enjoyed his time with 2 other parents and 2 young ladies.

We could tell from the many photo updates that he had a wonderful time and really enjoyed his time with all family members. He continued walking well on lead with the girls and lost a few more pounds. He spent summer time outside with the Mom and Dad who took awesome photos of him, too.

His fitness regime continued and he’s now at a very good weight of 110 lbs! Quite a bit of this remaining weight is due to the multiple lumps he’s earned over his lifetime. They don’t seem to bother him, but he should be kept fit and trim to keep some weight off of his long legs.

While that was his exciting time, the interesting part is that he had the mass in his mouth de-bulked today. He also had his teeth well cleaned and a several of the yucky ones removed. In addition to confirming his excellent weight, the vet said he was a very good guy and handled the surgery like a champ!

Wilson is now back in his foster home bed after happily having his first meal since last night. He will enjoy another week of soft food before transitioning onto bigger and better things to eat. We think he may then also enjoy playing with toys at that time.

We received his Brookline welcome box when we returned home from vacation, and he retrieved a felt tug toy from it. Unfortunately, we had to shelf it because he had not yet had his mouth fixed but we know it will come out to play very soon. We look forward to seeing if he enjoys other fun things like tennis balls or squeaky toys too.

Wilson will be in recovery mode for the next week or so.

Please wish him luck in his continued journey to wellness and stay tuned for more episodes of

Where’s Wilson?

June 28, 2025

Mr. Wilson’s latest adventure.

Wilson went to the vet on Tuesday. We moved up his appointment because the growth in his mouth broke open, and he was unable to rest well. Even with an infection, he was a dream patient. He was very well behaved for his entire physical exam, X-rays of his mouth, an ultrasound of his belly, ear cleaning, and nail trimming.

His ears were good, as was the ultrasound. His nails were starting to curl in, and now they’re a healthy length. He’s also down over 5 lbs. due to increased exercise and multiple, small high quality meals each day.

Wilson was prescribed an antibiotic and some pain meds for his mouth. Our goal is to schedule surgery as soon as we can.

He was feeling much better with the meds and the cooler weather today. A 6-block walk over 20 minutes, it was his furthest outing without getting overheated. He also hung out for a few minutes with our good friend Finn the Black dog (we also have a Finn White dog).

June 23, 2025

The first day of Mr. Wilson’s New Adventure:

Nine-year-old Lab mix Wilson was at ACCT for a very short time, and I think this, along with the fact that he’s a super chill guy, has meant a rosy start to fostering him.

While there for just 3 days, this big boy left a big impression. We felt like celebrity parents with the number of folks wanting a farewell picture of our new fella. 24 hours later, and he’s already comfortable in our small home, fenced-in yard, and busy neighborhood.

Wilson is eating, drinking, snuggling, and sleeping well. He met the cat and it’s like they’ve always known each other. Jones is a bit of a bossy orange cat, and Wilson seems oblivious to that. He also met 3-year-old yellow lab Simba who is a bit of a nutter. Wilson said Hi through the fence, but was satisfied with that as he was on a walk (!)

He’s very into his walks. This is great because we need to build up strength in his back legs. Because of weakness and extra weight, he tires easily, so we are going one large block at a time while offering rest breaks. We’re doing this multiple times a day, as well as walking around the yard and the house.

Last night he was a little anxious, but he got onto a dog bed and settled in. He slept for several hours, then moved to the floor, stretched out a bit more, and slept for the rest of the night. It was definitely better than we expected!

Wilson’s been completely reliable in the house. While he’s very food motivated and has sniffed out some plates on a table and goodies on the counter, he has not tried to take anything. He lets us know when he needs to go outside or when he wants a cuddle.

We had two noisy things occur today- the vacuum and thunder.  He was suspicious of the vacuum (but not scared or grumpy) and actually slept through the worst of the thunder.

With the exception of his various medical needs, for which we have an appointment on 6/30/25 to start assessing and addressing, this may be a very mellow blog because Mr. Wilson is a sweetheart and a gentleman!