AnnabelleJean

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Please welcome little Miss Annabelle Jean to RAGOM!!  She is an absolutely beautiful, 3 ½ year old purebred golden retriever.  She is a perfect 65#, and has a gorgeous light golden coat. She has been to the vet, and is now UTD on all her shots and preventatives, is heartworm negative (yay!), has been microchipped, and is on medicine for a double ear infection. She was just spayed on 8/20/10, and will follow up with the vet in 2 weeks for staple removal.  She was in serious need of a bath and grooming when she got here,  but take a look at her now – what a beauty, and don’t think she doesn’t know it!

Annabelle Jean previously had free roam on a 4 acre farm, but was subsequently surrendered to RAGOM when there were concerns that she and a fur-stepsibling acquired by marriage were not getting along. Since being here, we have only seen some nose curls to the two resident goldens, and that was within the first two days.  She responded extremely well to a gentle “no” each time it happened, and it probably helped that Belle and Bear pretty much ignored these “greetings.” The nose curls really seemed to be more a sign of insecurity than of aggression, and now that she is more comfortable in our house, the curls have stopped. She has subsequently met the non-stop parade of dogs of all sizes that live in our neighborhood, has gone leashed to the dog park several times, and is beginning to interact with the resident goofs quite nicely! 

She still is, however, a bit timid and unsure when exposed to new people, and her new family will have to be willing to gently and patiently work through this with her. She loves to go for car rides, and we’ve been trying to take her with us as often as we can. (Beware – she likes the front seat!) She has had no exposure to cats at our house but had a chance to meet some briefly, and completely ignored them. We have no young children in our house, but she has consistently been very gentle with every child she has met in our neighborhood, and there are a lot of them! She adores my older kids (ages 19 and 15), and especially loves walking and running with them.
 
She responds very well to “Annabelle” or “Annabelle Jean”, and always comes when called in the house. She knows how to sit, and we’ll keep working on the other basic commands while she is with us.  She is a very smart dog, and I truly think she would really benefit from and enjoy some obedience training. She was previously free fed, so we are working on a twice a day feeding schedule with healthier food. She is extremely interested in people food, though she hasn’t countersurfed to date. She has only had one accident in our house, and that was on the very first day she got here. She gives no real signs that she needs to go, other than getting a bit antsy, but goes fairly quickly once outside on her leash.  She isn’t wild about going into a crate, but once there, is quiet. I work from home, so haven’t had to use the crate much, but am still putting her in it when I leave the house. I do, however, think she is well on her way to proving herself reliable with free roam. She has started to sleep with Belle and Bear, who like to spread out in different places on our main floor, but also is happy sleeping on the floor by my side.  She also recently found a favorite spot to nap in a very comfy chair, which is just fine in our house! 

Annabelle Jean has an absolutely adorable personality – she’s very gentle and affectionate, however is also becoming more and more playful, and we definitely can see a special sparkle in those big, brown eyes!  She is a young dog, full of energy, and is beside herself when we go for our twice daily walks. She was never exposed to a leash before, and still can’t go without tugging or walk in a straight line with a flat leash, but she is learning! (She would probably do quite well with a gentle lead, but since she has been making progress, I’ve continued to work with the flat leash.) We have an invisible fence, so unfortunately she doesn’t have the freedom I’d like her to have since she is not trained to it and we live in a busy neighborhood, but for now, she is doing well on a leash and/or tether in our yard.   

I would prefer for Annabelle to have some running room in her forever home, but don’t think a fenced yard would be absolutely necessary as long as she is kept safe and tethered until properly trained to the boundaries of her new home.  From her reaction to the retaining pond out the back of our house, I am also guessing that we might have a swimmer on our hands! 
 
Annabelle Jean is one special dog, and though it will be extremely hard to let her go, I know there is a loving RAGOM family out there meant just for her!  If you think that you’re that family, and have been waiting for someone like Miss Annabelle, please contact your placement advisor! She can hardly wait to meet you!