30 Aug |
Posted by Rob Oliva
Rescue Dog, Treeing Walker Coonhound
Everyone, meet Ivy.
Ivy is a rescue dog, currently available for adoption through Animal Friends Rescue Project. This one is extra special to us because she is OUR foster dog, she has been living at Dawg Gone It for several months now. She is about a year and a half old, and she weighs round about 40 lbs. She’s spayed, she’s vaccinated, all good on that front. She is mostly potty trained, but still has the occasional accident, so someone would need to work with her on that. She is also learning the difference between dog things and human things, i.e., what she can chew on and what she can’t. She’s still a puppy, so someone needs to teach her things.
She has been living at Dawg Gone It waiting for her forever home, and she is more than ready to meet her new parent(s). The problem is that she is SHY. She goes to adoption events, and she stands out for being so stinkin’ cute, but she is standoffish. New spaces and new people make her clam up, and so she doesn’t get adopted because people can’t see her true self.
And so, we’re going to show you what we see, because at this point Ivy has become very comfortable at Dawg Gone It, and we get to see her sparkling personality.
Ivy LOVES to play, both with other dogs and with people. She just needs time to open up, but once she gets there, she is tons of fun. She is so excited for play time every morning, and she has lots of best friends that come in to play with her. Izzy and Artemis are two of her besties, but she is a mid-sized dog that plays on both big dog side and little dog side, and she gets along with everyone.
Here she is with some friends.
We’ve been taking Ivy home recently to work on potty training and to let her get used to some different environments so she is more comfortable outside of Dawg Gone It. In doing so, we’ve discovered even more about Ivy and her hobbies.
For example, Ivy is cat friendly. Look at this video of her with our cat, Baxter, when we took her home.
That video shows her being fine with cats, but she plays with him a little bit too. Every time we try to take a video of that, she stops playing and starts looking at the camera, but we promise it’s true. She pokes at him and sniffs him and he whacks her in the face repeatedly in a playful fashion. Super cute. Here’s a short example, but then she figures out we’re watching.
Ivy is obviously dog friendly, and she loves to play, but she has a relaxed mode to her as well. She likes to curl up nearby if the humans are having dinner or watching TV. Looks like this.
Ivy is good in a car. She usually lies down and just hangs out. However, in this photo she sat her butt right on our dog Rufus.
It was cute, we wanted to show you.
Ivy is about a year and a half old, so she is a floppy, goofy puppy when she feels comfortable enough to be herself. She enjoys playing make believe. Exhibit A:
Yes Ivy, you’re a bandit. Good girl.
Exhibit B:
Oh no, it’s the terrifying Ivy-saurus Rex!
Ho-ho! You really had us going there, Ivy girl.
Exhibit C:
Ivy, that’s a picture of Rufus…
Ahem, anyway, Ivy enjoys activities! Here she is out wine tasting.
She enjoys the art of dance. Here she is dancing with Stephanie, who is on the other end of the camera.
She’d also be an excellent running or hiking companion for the right person.
Ivy’s ears are a work of art. They are big, floppy, and SO SOFT. Once she trusts someone enough to let them touch her, she enjoys ear scratches.
Ivy is an amazing dog. You just can’t see all of these things at first because she is so shy with new people and in new places. She needs someone patient enough to let her be shy at first and then lure her out of her shell and make her feel safe and loved, and once she has that she will blossom into a true best friend. Until then, she’ll continue to dream of the day that she’ll find her person, wherever he or she may be.