Zoey #9 Silver Labrador Retriever Female 1 Years Old ID#2612

Zoey is a typical happy, loving active one year old silver lab that ended up in Brookline’s care after she was found stray, and her owner was not able to be located.  Please read Zoey’s blog from the bottom up.

August 23, 2022

Wow, it’s been over a month since I’ve posted an update and summer is almost over. I’ve been doing a lot of ball fetching, swimming in the pool and chilling with my foster family, waiting to hear if I’m better or not.  Back in July, my liver ALT level was high, so after a month of special food and taking Denamarin every day, I got my blood tested again.  Although my ALT level has stabilized, FM & FD heard from the vet that now my protein level has dropped below normal.  So I had to wait to get another blood test and urinalysis to check my kidney function and see if I have a malabsorption issue.  Then we all had to wait some more for the results of those tests.  But there’s great news!  All my tests came back normal!  Yay!  FM & FD are so happy I’m healthy, now I just have to work on gaining some weight.  The vet says FM & FD can feed me more.  I love it!

Thats all for now.  Hope everyone has been enjoying their summer!

July 21, 2022

Hi, Zoey here! I just had the best weekend ever! I got to spend it with 4 other dogs and lots of people. I played with the dogs and gave & got lots of lovin from all the new humans I met. So much fun! FM & FD said I was a good good girl all weekend, even through the 8 hour ride in the truck back & forth to the Outer Banks. Easy for me, I slept most of the time!

Earlier this month, FM took me to the vet for a full blood panel, whatever that means. The results came back normal, except for one thing – I have elevated ALT (liver) enzymes. Since I was a stray, there’s no way to tell why this is happening. To help me get better, the vet gave FM Denamarin to give to me every day and wants me on a bland diet until at least the first week of August. Then it’s back to the vet for more blood work, so they can check to see if the ALT level is back to normal.

So while we all wait, I get to swim in the pool, play fetch with FM & FD, play with my FB Enzo, and chill out on the couch in the A/C when it’s too hot to play outside.

July 4, 2022

Happy Fourth of July, Zoey here!  My Foster parents have decided to let me give my own update.

I have been enjoying my time with my foster brothers and foster parents.  Ozzie is a bit of a curmudgeon but Enzo and I love to play bitey face and tug of war.  He might outweigh me by 20 pounds but I have more stamina and perseverance.  The really big news…. drum roll please…. I no longer get crated when my foster parents go out.  They started trusting me, gated in the living room with my FBs, for short trips, but now I am up to 5 hours alone with no barking & no chewing things I shouldn’t.  I really miss my foster parents when they are away (please don’t tell them) and I spend most of my time sitting on the window sill waiting for them to return. My foster brothers warned me I better be good since they don’t want to get in trouble and we all know foster mom has cameras to check up on us.

I now love our daily walks, I get almost as excited as FB Enzo, he does a dozen circles when it is time for our walks.  I love retrieving balls and make sure I always bring them back so we can keep playing.  I’m also getting much better at catching balls too. My new favorite pastime is jumping in/swimming in the pool.  FD says I am the best jumper and I can jump almost 10 ft into the pool after a ball.  They will only let me jump in about 15 times a session so when they stop throwing the ball in the pool, I resort to dropping the ball in myself and jumping in to get the ball.

Last week I got to go down to the Jersey shore and attend a family party. This was my longest trip in riding in a car!  When I first went to live with my foster parents, I wasn’t sure about driving in a vehicle but me and my foster brothers sit back and chill in FD’s truck. I was told to be on my best behavior during the party and everyone seemed to like me and everyone wanted to pet me.  I love getting pets & giving people kisses.

Well, I am pretty tired from all the swimming and ball chasing, so I think it’s time to curl up with FM on the couch.

June 17, 2022

We’ve been having a lot of fun with Zoey the last couple weeks. She loves to play fetch, and we recently found out she loves to jump in the pool to retrieve her ball! She still insists on carrying a ball with her on walks, and loves any and all opportunities to chase whatever ball is thrown her way. 

She is my constant companion when doing chores around the house. I’m not convinced it’s only to be with her people, as she doesn’t miss an opportunity to stick her nose in whatever open door or cabinet which happens to present itself. All the things must be given the sniff test! Once she is sure all has been inspected, she can relax and grab a snooze on the nearest rug.  She continues to coexist peacefully with both of our resident labs. Even though she thinks all the toys are hers, even those they may be carrying in their mouth, she respects their correction if they think she’s overstepped. She is confident and independent, at times perfectly content to play by herself. She loves to empty the toy box and give each toy equal playtime. Other times, she will try to engage both dogs in play, or simply curl up between them when it’s nap time.Zoey’s manners have improved. She has learned to sit and wait before being given her food dish.  She is a quick learner with most behaviors.  It only took 3 No’s to get her to stop bringing toys to chew up on the couch.  She can wait patiently for her turn at taking treats too.  She is learning to tolerate being in her crate for longer periods of time. We discovered that she was barking more than not when we crated her and left the house. We give her a stuffed Kong or a toy that releases kibble when rolled as well as play relaxing dog music.  I’m not really sure if the music works, but we do know that she only barks intermittently and have come home to complete silence, so we are certain she is getting used to being crated.Zoey is one fun loving and smart girl!  She loves being with her people, playing with her toys and snuggling up for some loving when it’s nap time.  

June 1, 2022

We have learned a lot about Zoey this week! She continues to be curious, very sweet and super energetic.  Since Zoey came into rescue as a stray, we do not have an exact age or birthday, so we have decided her birthday is 6/1/21.  She has long gangly legs, a long body and she needs to put on 15+ pounds. She is also very nimble, and can walk on the back of a couch like a cat.  Zoey and our Enzo play bitey face throughout the day, and although curmudgeon Ozzie won’t play inside he allowed her to briefly chase him around the yard. This girl does not like to stop moving, but when she does, she will crawl up on FM’s lap and zonk out.  Her favorite activity is chasing balls, and playing with every toy in the box is a close second.  She will carry a ball in her mouth throughout most of our walks, only occasionally dropping it to sniff what must be something wonderful.

On our walks, Zoey walks fairly well on leash and is mildly curious when seeing other dogs.  She has met our neighbors dogs and all went well.  We can tell she really wants to run and play with the younger of the dogs and we can’t wait for her to get the all clear after her spay.  What really gets Zoey going on our walks is people playing tennis.  All she wants to do is go inside the tennis court and chase all the balls!  We have a hard to redirecting her to focus on the walk.  We’ve also noticed there have been a few occasions when her foster fur brothers are busy sniffing, she will plop down in the grass and start chewing in her ball.

Zoey is potty trained, but has had a couple accidents in the house. FM has underestimated how much water she’s taken in and has just waited too long or has not read her cues for going out.  

We think she has also been crate trained. She was in the crate for the first time today for about 3 hours and did fine. Once a peanut butter stuffed Kong was placed in the crate, she went right in without hesitation and has been in and out of the crate throughout the day with no issues. Breakfast and dinner time are major sources of excitement for Zoey, so we have been working on Sit/Wait for a few days now. Sitting is no problem, it’s the Wait that needs more work.  We will be doing the same work when letting her out of the crate, as there is the same level of excitement when we came back today. We have discovered she is a counter surfer, and are working on teaching her this is not acceptable. She gets it when we are watching but “forgets” when we are not in the room. Zoey has had some basic command training in her past life.  She is familiar with Sit, Paw, Come, Down, Leave It and Drop It, all with varying levels of consistency.  She is extremely treat motivated and learned Down in a 15 minute training session. She also has great recall both in the house and in the yard.  She is very smart, and will go and test all the gates in the yard to make sure they are closed.  Zoey wants to be the center of attention and we along with our resident Labs are teaching her proper manners.Zoey is very good natured and smart.  She wants to please her people and makes great eye contact, sometimes with one of the cutest head tilts.  She will make someone a great companion, in a home with or without a resident dog.

May 28, 2022

Day two for Zoey was even better than Day one!  She got lots of yard time with FBs so FM & FD could get some yard work done.  She was also left alone with the resident labs for short periods of time and everyone behaved and got along well.  Zoey has also shown she can keep herself entertained by playing with toys and tennis balls.  She is walking pretty good on the leash and loves carrying a ball in her mouth on our walks.   She slept through the night last night with no issues, once she settled on her bed, on the floor, next to FM & FD.

We have started working on basic commands, Sit, Wait, Down and Off.

May 27, 2022

Zoey has been curious, very sweet and super energetic.

First order of business after her Rescue Ride and meeting the two resident labs was a much needed bath.She was recently spayed, so we had to keep her from engaging in rambunctious play with our resident labs. Both Enzo & Ozzie at first didn’t know what to think about this silver ball of energy, but she took their cues and quickly fit in well.  She loves playing with all the toys, but her favorite has been tennis balls.  She’s also enjoyed gnawing on the XL antlers.Miss Zoey has no boundaries with FM & FD at present.  She will respond to Sit & Shake for a hot second, then it’s on to the next distraction.  She is quickly redirected, wants to please and is treat motivated, so we are confident she will pick up manners quickly.Zoey had no accidents in the house, was able to settle (mostly) and sleep upstairs on a bed on the floor and has worked hard taking cues from FM, FD, as well as Ozzie & Enzo.  She has definitely made herself at home, a very good first day for this foster!