Tootie-in ME!

UPDATE 1/28/08: Tootie is turning out to be a pretty mellow puppy. If she gets a nice walk, or some outdoor play time, she's content to kick back and relax with her people in the house.

Tootie might benefit from living with a reliable, older dog, She seems very willing to go along with whatever the other dogs in the home are doing,

Update 1/17/08: Now that Tootie has settled into her foster home, her foster mother has a lot to report. She is generally a very happy dog. Her shyness towards the foster family is gone. She has a puppy personality but she is not hyper. Tootie enjoys playing quietly with toys or snuggling with people.

After getting plenty of exercise inside and out with her family's resident dog, Tootie has already gotten down to a healthier weight .

The cat walks around Tootie without hesitation as you can see in her picture. She seems very cat safe. He can run away from her and if she follows at all just a word and Tootie will "leave it". Their first official meeting the two sniffed each other, Tootie licked him in the face and then went to play with more interesting things!

Tootie's foster family has twin infants who are learning how to use their voices, so there is a lot of squealing, squawking and crying in the house. Tootie is unaffected by any of it, although sudden loud banging will have her seeking shelter in her crate.

She also seems uncomfortable with certain unfamiliar noises, such as the crinkling of shopping bags, which she is overcoming slowly. This is common with rescue dogs.

Under supervision Tootie has been allowed to sniff both babies and aside from licking their hands she is not interested. She seems to find their toys more interesting than the babies themselves. Since the difference between "dog" toys and "baby" toys is pretty vague, puppy proofing is necessary!

Tootie is crate trained and responds to "In your house" by going into her crate the majority of the time. She is trustworthy in the house even though she is not 100% housebroken. She does have the idea of housebreaking and will be very easy to finish training. She still sleeps in her crate at night.

An affectionate girl, Tootie loves to come on the couch and just snuggle, and she loves having her belly rubbed and giving kisses. She knows "sit" and is learning the sign language command to sit without words.

Tootie seems extremely smart, and once her initial shyness at a new situation is overcome she will make someone a phenomenal family dog!

Update 1/16/08: Hi, folks, it's me, Tootie! Just wanted to let you know I've decided that cats are nice. Check out my new photo, and keep reading below for my foster home's report.

Update 1/13/08: Tootie just arrived in Maine yesterday, and she's settling right into life at her foster home. It's as if she knows she's a lucky girl to be here. She even likes the snow.

Tootie knows how to sit, and she's working on coming when called and going to her crate when asked. Her foster mother says she seems smart and trainable, and they have started to work on house training. She's fairly mellow on her leash, especially for a young dog with no formal training.

Tootie has a timid streak. She's not sure about all new people and things, and her foster family will be working with her so that she can learn that people are trustworthy.

Tootie bonded almost instantly with her foster family's resident dog, an adult male retriever mix. She's shown no food aggression and loves having him for company. Her foster family thinks Tootie might do well in a home with another dog. She seems to draw confidence and reassurance from her canine friend.

Tootie is curious about the resident cats and the family's infant, but she hasn't yet made any attempt to interact with them. It's quite possible she'll become more inquisitive as she becomes acclimated.

Tootie is just under a year old, and a bit too chubby at 60 pounds. Her foster mom says that Tootie will get lots of exercise, so she will probably slim right down to a healthier weight.

Stay tuned for more updates soon. Tootie's foster family thinks that she might be wiped out from the tough trip north, and they're excited to see her true personality emerge.

Update from Tootie’s foster mom 12/16/07: Tootie is awesome! She was born in the end of March, so she is around 10 months old, and probably as big as she is going to get. She is just slightly taller and longer than our own lab mix, Libby and weighs about 60 pounds, so I am told. She is also well filled out - you could almost call her a little chubby. I have found that this girl has a healthy appetite.

She gets along famously with our lab mix, and seems to prefer the company of other dogs similar to her. Tolerates smaller dogs and cats pretty well too, but hasn't had much exposure. She takes a while to get to trust new people, but when she does, she really loves their company! She loves for us to sit on the patio and just rub her belly. :)

She is also very playful! Tootie loves to play in the mud - which has made for several big messes I have had to clean up! :) She also likes to pull all of the old towels out of the dogloo serving as her bed and drag them all over the yard. Too funny! I just put them back in and let her drag them out another time. She seems to be fully housetrained now (though she will probably need a refresher course when she gets to her forever home). I get tickled at her when she greets us very exuberantly in the mornings and have several pieces of clothes in the laundry with big muddy doggie prints on them due to her enthusiasm to see me - thank goodness it is our knocking around the house clothes and rags! This girl wants nothing more than the company of a good family with a calm even lifestyle (because of her timid personality) and lots of love and belly rubs. Oh, and probably to come in and sleep on her owners bed after playing in the mud (she has wormed her way into sleeping on the bed with us!) Ha ha! We will miss Tootie when she goes, but she is a great dog and really deserves a good second chance!

All known information is listed here. If it is not listed here, then we do not know if this animal is good with cats or kids. Before sending an inquiry, please read our "How To Adopt Page & FAQ" pages of our website. http:www.almosthomerescue.net."

Or Click HEREto visit our site.

This dog is available unless it is marked as Pending, meaning "pending adoption".

If this Dog is marked Urgent, it is because the Arkansas shelter where he/she resides is overfull. Please do not ask local shelters to take this dog in, there are many reasons why they cannot. Please also do not send us letters about why we euthanize, AHR does not euthanize, but the shelters we work with do. We are a rescue and we pull as many dogs as we have foster homes and funds for. We, like the shelter, do not have unlimited resources. Please, please: foster, adopt or sponsor a dog to help save their lives.

FOR PUPPIES: HOMES CONSIDERING PUPPIES MUST BE PREPARED FOR:

FLEXIBLE SCHEDULES FOR POTTY TRAINING-THEY CAN ONLY "HOLD" IT FOR ONE HOUR PER MONTH OF AGE.

CRATE TRAINING FOR THE NEXT 10 MONTHS TO KEEP THEM FROM CHEWING EVERYTHING IN SIGHT.

SUPERVISION WITH CHILDREN, AND OBEDIENCE TRAINING.

SOCIALIZATION-A GOOD DOG MUST BE EXPOSED TO ALOT OF STIMULUS AS A PUPPY SO THAT NEW PEOPLE AND ENVIRONMENTS DO NOT INTIMIDATE THEM AS ADULTS. THE MORE POSITIVE EXPERIENCES -IN AND OUT OF THE HOME- AS A PUPPY, THE BETTER.

HOMES THAT WANT TO HAVE GOOD DOGS, MUST BE PREPARED TO PUT THE TIME AND EFFORT INTO TRAINING A PUPPY. IT IS ALOT OF WORK!!! THEIR BEHAVIOR AND STAGES ARE EQUIVILENT TO A 2 OR 3 YEAR OLD CHILD. IT TAKES A FULL YEAR TO HAVE A CALMER, WELL ADJUSTED DOG! PLEASE DO NOT CONSIDER ADOPTING IF YOU HAVE NOT THOROUGHLY THOUGHT THROUGH THE PROS AND CONS OF A PUPPY...SO MANY PEOPLE END UP RETURNING THEM IN 3-5 MONTHS BECAUSE IT IS CHEWING, JUMPING AND HYPER. THIS IS NORMAL PUPPY BEHAVIOR.

PATIENCE, CHEWIES, SOCIALIZATION, SUPERVISION AND OBEDIENCE TRAINING IS A MUST!!

. We pay a Transportation Service from Arkansas to bring the dogs to New England. The adoption fee is $250.00 for altered dogs. $350. for unaltered puppies, with $100 refundable after spay/neuter. All Senior dogs 6 years or older have a reduced adoption fee of $200. This includes vaccinations, spay/neuter and transport from Arkansas to Maine on a USDA approved transport with a Health Certificate. All dogs are quarantined 14 days prior to leaving Arkansas. All dogs will be tested for Heartworm prior to adoption. Almost Home Rescue will process your adoption. Applications can be found at www.almosthomerescue.net and can be e-mailed attention of Jill to wynne_ahr@yahoo for this particular dog. Click HEREto visit our site.