Trudy's
mother was running stray with her tiny puppies in the
bitter cold and snow in December and January, and a kindly,
concerned woman found that one night three of the puppies had been
left
in the snow in a neighbor's yard in the wee hours and were
crying. She
went down and confirmed the puppies did not belong to the neighbor, and
then took them in--they were about 4 1/2 to 5 weeks old. The two
boys
went to other homes at the age of 6 weeks, and just little Trudy was
left in need of a home. We became aware of her when she was 8
weeks
old and took her into Mikey's Chance Canine Rescue.
Trudy
was
born approximately the last week of November, 2008, and is a happy,
healthy, sweet little
girl! She is a lab/mastiff mix, but was the smallest of the
puppies
that were rescued and the veternarian expects she will probably be only
about 60 pounds when fully grown. She is a beautiful red brindle
with
striking golden eyes, with a very lab-like body and ears,
and coloring
and facial features that reflect her mastiff heritage. Trudy
weighed
10 pounds when we got her, and with good quality large-breed puppy food
has gained 8 more pounds while in our care.
Trudy
has
been living with three of her foster's dogs, and dearly loves
them, especially playing and running with their miniature
schnauzer. The fosters don't have cats, but we do have birds
and small animals (guinea
pigs), which Trudy mostly ignores. Because she's a puppy, Trudy
has good potential to be cat- and other-animal friendly. Trudy
loves all
people, as well, and so far has "never met a stranger"! She is
great
with school-aged children, but presently appears a little fearful
of tiny tots and needs opportunities to meet gentle young
children to
learn they are not to be feared.
Trudy is also a very
intelligent girl, and learns quickly, so it's important that
her adoptive family be able to give her some basic obedience
training,
and not allow her to become bored (and thereby destructive). It
took
Trudy all of 90 seconds to figure out how to remove the treat from her
Kong toy, and she's doing very well with her housetraining (although
still needs some work on not leaving puddles in the house--she WANTS to
go outside, but if we miss her asking to go out, she is unable to hold
it very long). She answers to her name, and comes when she is
called;
walks on a long expandable type leash (although her adoptive family
should keep in mind that Trudy is very much a puppy, and she in no way
"heels" correctly!). She is also crate trained (for sleeping);
and is
learning to "Sit" and take treats gently from a hand. Quite a bit
of
learning for Trudy in just three weeks!
Like most puppies,
Trudy is very frisky, and loves to play... especially with her squeak
toys! She is also a fairly heavy chewer, and
should be kept supplied with various (safe) toys and chews to make sure
she doesn't begin to chew on things she shouldn't. She loves to find
branches and sticks to pick up and
carry around, and would probably love to learn to fetch (we've done a
little of that, and while she doesn't yet release the toy when she
comes back, she did enjoy the running and fetching part). She is
a
very sweet girl, very people oriented, and is happiest when she can be
with you. She would love to be someone's
best friend and companion.. She likes to sleep or sit
near your feet while quietly
chewing a bone. She loves to be petted and is very affectionate,
giving happy
kisses. She is easy to correct and somewhat
sensitive--we do not yell or raise our voices, and one time I
accidentally slammed my finger in the drawer and let out a loud sound
and she ran for the safety of her crate and peeped out at me with big
eyes. With her outgoing personality and innate
intelligence, Trudy has the potential, with the right family, to be
someone's really exceptional and special dog!
Trudy is presently living with her foster family near the
Tacoma/Olympia, WA area. Transport can be arranged for her to
other areas of the Pacific NW. Like all Mikey's chance
dogs, her adoption fee covers spaying and all shots/vaccinations...
although in this little girl's case, we'd want to wait until she's
around 4-6 months of age before the spay. Trudy's Adoption
fee is $275.
Should you be interested in making this little girl a part of your
family, or just in finding more about her, contact us at
[email protected]
Adopted
Characteristics
Health
House-trained
Good in a home with
