Farm to Family – Cassie

Cassie (AKA Prinkle) had been a breeder mom on a farm when she came to us in late January as a foster. The farmer said that she was 7 or 8 years old. At the time, she had broken and infected teeth, a wound on her side, double ear infections, and she was grossly overweight. She had never been vaccinated for anything, including rabies.

At our home, she didn’t want to spend time outdoors and was afraid of any object that looked like a stick or a pole, even a toy Chuck-it stick. Despite it all, she was sweet and gentle, and we immediately fell in love with her, especially our two resident Labs. We became a foster-fail and adopted her.

Until coming to us, Cassie had never lived in a house. The first couple of weeks were hard for her. Stairs were scary, but she figured them out after much encouragement from our other dogs. She was not difficult to housebreak; there were a few accidents but she caught on quickly.

She was very good for her ear treatments, which had to be done daily for six weeks, until the infections were finally gone. Surgeries were in her future – first to clean up her bad teeth and, after that, to be spayed.

In just a few months with us, Cassie has transformed from a shy, fearful and insecure girl into a loving, confident family member. We even took all the dogs to Vermont and she loved hiking in the snow! She has lost nearly 25 pounds, (about 10 more to lose) and is now eager to run and play outside. Fetching tennis balls has become her favorite game – though she still tends to eye the Chuck-It stick with caution.

Cassie is extremely intelligent! But, best of all, she has learned to trust. She is eager for affection and she actively seeks pets and snuggles. Such a wonderful change from the scared farm dog we first met to what is now a happy, loving, active, and very welcomed member of our family. We look forward to many wonderful years with Cassie.