Lil' Girl
In April 2005, I rescued a Cocker mix, Sweetie, who seemed a bit overweight. On May 2, 7 puppies were born!! Oh my. Six have been adopted and Lil Girl is still hoping for the perfect home. She’s now 3 years old, 50lbs and resembles a smaller black Lab. I don’t see any Cocker in her at all. She’s very shy so that has hindered her adoption. She needs a quiet home and gentle humans to help her gain confidence. She’s confident with me but doesn’t seem to trust anything outside the house. Because of her shy nature, I’m looking for a home in central NC so I can be within driving distance in case she needs help. She’s very intelligent. She knows the commands sit, shake, lay down and crate. She’s sneaky too. If she wants a toy another dog has, she’ll get a decoy toy and act like it’s the best toy. When the other dog drops the toy to steal hers, she’ll run over there and get the toy she really wanted. I’ve recently started jogging with her. Lil Girl wears a backpack that holds her collapsable water bowl and my cell phone and keys. She heels even though I’ve never taught her that command. I never taught her the lie down command either. She just learns them on her own. What a cuddle bug too!! She sits next to me on the couch and she sleeps on my bed. She’s very careful not to move much in the morning because she knows I like to sleep later than she does. She’s up to date on her shots, spayed, on heartworm and flea preventative and is an indoor dog only. Smaller children tend to be scary to fearful dogs so she should go to a home with older children or adults only. Are you the perfect home for this special little girl?
Poncho
Our newest foster addition is Poncho. A lady not too far from Raleigh contacted our rescue group saying she had an injured Cocker. I called and realized it was an urgent case so I picked him up the same day. Poor thing was living outside and was covered in ticks. A couple of the ticks were grape sized and actually fell off while we were inside the house doing the owner surrender. The injury she mentionedlooked like Poncho was "scalped" on the back of his neck. It was fist sized and infected. The owner said she was "doctoring" it with saline solution. She suspected a horse kicked him but I think maybe he got caught on barbed wire. We found wire in one of his leg's matted fur. We took him to the emergency vet (it was a weekend) and they said he needed surgery to remove the flap of dead skin and fix the area. They also suspected he had ringworm so he went into quarantine. We picked him up Monday (his club med racked up $800). Dr. Sandy Grant and the staff at Lake Wheeler veterinary clinic took over from there. They dressed his wound, treated his ringworm, shaved him, pulled the ticks off, neutered him and vaccinated Poncho. They gave him excellent care and when we visited, we could tell he was bonding with the workers. We picked him up about a week and a half later. Total bill so far is around $1200. He's now at Kent's house where there's no other dogs. The emergency vet lost his ringworm culture so we'll never know if he had it or not. Poor guy.
Now to brag about Poncho. He's a puppy at 15 months old. He's clumsy too - tripping over stuff and missing the couch sometimes. He loves his stuffed toys especially the one that sounds like a duck. His former owner said he gets along well with other dogs, cats, children and even roosters. He likes to be next to you and will follow you every where like he's attached to you with velcro. Poncho is always ready for a walk too. He likes to smell where bunnies hide. He'll hop through the weeds like a gazalle because he's so excited about bunny smells. He's beautiful w/ striking black and white markings. If he rolls over, he looks like a Dalmation on the underside - many spots. He'll be adopted quickly because he is young, beautiful and has so much love for anyone - human or animal.
Poncho's helpers:
**Lake Wheeler Veterinary Clinic works with the Cocker Spaniel Adoption Ctr. Without LWVC, I don't know how I could have done it financially.
**$300 was donated by Dianne Rohrbaugh in PA. Donated in memory of Misty.
To make a donation toward Poncho's expenses, go to the dogsitting page and click on the donation link. You can pay by credit card or paypal. Note that your donation is for Poncho.
For more on how to adopt Lil Girl or Poncho, go to www.cockeradoptions.org