Amber

Profile

Sponsored by:

Jayne, who feels so lucky to share her life with golden pups, Meryl and Dustin

Please welcome beautiful Amber to the RAGOM family.  Amber was found wandering as a stray and RAGOM stepped up to rescue her when her time was up at the pound.  Our Vet estimates, based on her teeth, that she is about 9 years old. 

She is a beautiful dog but she is also a BIG dog.  She weighed 104 lbs. at her first Vet visit.  She should probably weigh 55 to 70 lbs.  We were afraid going into the visit that her weight might have affected her health.  Dr. Jean told us that her overall health is good.  Her heart is strong, her lungs are clear, and she appears to have good range of movement in her joints.  Her thyroid appears to be working just fine.  She has just packed on too many pounds which need to come off so she can better enjoy her golden life.  She does have some fatty tumors (lipomas) which may need to be dealt with – but only after some weight comes off.  Amber is spayed and up to date on all of her shots. 

In the first week she has been here we couldn’t be more impressed with this big girl.  She is really the nicest dog that we ever could have imagined.  She fit right into our pack of animals – 13 year old Resident Dog (RD) Harley, 11 year old RD Sandy, and two 11 year old cat sisters Twinkle and Sweet Pea.  She loves to chew on Elk Antlers and shares them willingly with the other dogs.  She basically ignores both cats and neither of them shows any fear or concern about her.  Amber was very definitely a family pet in her former life.  She must have been treated well as she is very affectionate and has no fear of humans.  She has had no accidents in the house and is very comfortable inside.  She walks well on a leash (we use a slip leash as her neck is so thick that a conventional collar will slip right off).  Here she is (upper left) with her foster siblings.  

It’s a tradition at our house that our foster dogs learn to use a computer so they can communicate directly with their fans.  So here’s Amber’s first attempt.

Hi everybody, this is Amber.  So far I’m really enjoying it here.  Foster Mom and Dad (FM & FD) have told me that I need to lose weight and that I’ll have to be careful about what I eat and that I’ll need to get plenty of exercise.  I know that I need to do this because I want to be able to move around better and be able to keep up with my foster brother and sister.  I love to take walks but I get very tired very quickly so FD and I have been taking many short walks up to the road and back.  He goes at my pace and I get to stop and sniff at interesting things so I’m having a great time.  Yesterday we took five walks (FD says that I walked a total of almost 9/10ths of a mile!).  When we come back I always like to find a comfy rug or dog bed and relax by lying on my back.  

I get to eat twice a day here.  I get my kibble mixed with a little dollop of canned food (YUM!) and a good helping of celery or green beans.  Even though I’m dieting I feel like I’m getting enough to eat.  Dr. Jean says our first goal is to get my weight to 70 pounds, then we’ll see where to go from there.  I really like my foster sister Sandy.  She looks after me.  She even shared her comfy dog bed with me the other day.  Here we are together. 

It’s been nice talking to you and I’m sure that I’ll get to do this again to let you know how I’m doing. 

– Your friend Amber

FD here again.  At her present weight Amber can’t manage steps so she will need a home with ramps or a maximum of one step and a single level.  We are optimistic that, with weight loss, she will be able to handle steps.  Her forever family will need to be committed to keeping her weight under control so she can have the good quality of life that she deserves.  We’ll keep you up to date on Amber’s progress.  Our grandkids will be here after Thanksgiving Day and we’ll see how she does with kids.  We strongly suspect that she will love them.  She is a real trooper and, if we can get the extra weight off, she will make some family very happy for a long time.  More to come.