Ben

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    -Anonymous

GENTLE BEN

The Story:   “Ben” came to the local shelter in SD as a stray.  Nothing was known about Ben.  He was kept on a ‘stray hold’ in hopes his owners would find and reclaim this beauty.  No such luck.  Ben was held for 10 days and no family came forward missing him.  He was then put on the “adoption floor’ of the shelter in hopes he would be adopted (for a few weeks).  It is unbelievable that everyone passed up this magnificent golden in the cage.  He was becoming very depressed and unhappy of course.  So Ragom to the rescue!  He was a definite yes to bring into Ragom and when we went up to visit “Ben”, we just fell in love and had a ‘great warm feeling’ about him.  He of course, did not have a name when he came in as a stray, and he is so gentle and big, the name “Ben” was it.  The following day he came home with us for foster-care.  One happy camper!  We were all happy.

The Facts as we know them:  Ben is approximately 5 years old and neutered.  He is a stocky big boy.  He weighs 78#.  He is a dark red-golden in color and has a magnificent coat, however, he had some horrible large mats, stinky from an infection of the skin, not positive from what, but he is now on an antibiotic and benadryl to get him more comfortable.  He has been to my wonderful groomer, Ronita, who does miracles with these rescue dogs for me!  Now big Ben is all spiffed up, shiny coat, no knots or mats and just beautiful and soft.  Ben is all current on vaccinations, microchipped, frontlined and wormed.  Ben has a ‘tag-lesion’ if you will, on the corner of his right eye (looks like a sleepy goo running down).  We will have this further assessed next week to see if it in fact, probably needs to be removed so as not to get a possible infection and determine exactly what it is.  Ben does know commands:  sit, down, kiss, wait (very very SHORT wait),  and come…… (sometimes) J  He does fine riding in the truck and no problem getting in and out.  He would, if he could, ride up front with you. Otherwise, just fine, watching the world go by, happy to be with his human riding around.  Ben is learning to walk on a leash, better.  Ben thinks he should ‘pull’ and be ahead, instead of next to you.  We will work on that, and of course, learn his name and understand a recall, which I believe we are getting it!  Ben is housetrained completely, never an accident and will go to the door when/if he wants out.  Ben really enjoys being outside, especially on these cool mornings.  We have a nice large fenced in yard which he enjoys.  When we walk, he definitely walks a pretty good pace for a long time.  If you really like a good power walk (or a stroll once he learns to calm down a little) he is great.  Ben is fine around food and toys.  He does great with our resident dog, Maggie (9+ year old Eskie/Border Collie) and super with ALL of our cats!  Totally ignores them.  He likes the cooler linoleum floor in the large kitchen area.  Ben has free roam now and there is absolutely no problem.  He is quite all night.  Will Ben counter-surf?  Yes he will.  I believe he probably had opportunities to do this in the past? This again, is something we will work on.  NO human food, NO begging.  He is a good student however.

The schedule:  Ben’s schedule in this foster home is this:  FM & FD are early to rise and early to bed; we are up about 4:45 am or so.  Dogs go outside potty and after that is breakfast.  Ben is on: ivet canine adult reduced fat with omega 3 & 6.  He eats about 1-1.5 cups in the morning and again 6 pm in evening (not as much in evening, maybe 1 cup.  We do mix food with a small amount of either cooked chicken (for both dogs) or hamburger or small amount of Merrick duck and sweet potato.  He eats best in the mornings (I put his medications in the food) and ok at night, but not a huge appetite.  He is left alone for 4.5-5 hrs.  From 6 am until 11:30 am.   The dogs of course get a good long walk(s) in the afternoons (not in real hot weather).  Again, supper time is about 6 pm every evening.  Our household goes to bed early, around 9:30 pm due to the early morning schedule.  Ben takes snacks very nice.  He enjoys laying on the deck or under a big tree in the shade and really enjoys it outside.  He is not scared of anything (law mowers, weed eaters, vacuums….).  A very gentle, docile boy.

Summary to date:  Ben is learning his name, is housetrained, a total LOVE bug, very typical golden who wants as many pets as he can muster up.  He can stand to lose 8-10 pounds and get ‘in shape’ with walks and runs.  He goes into vet next week to get eye checked so more to come, if/when a possible surgery.  Ben will make a wonderful additional to a home!  I personally would like to see a home with a fenced yard because he enjoys it so, he is fine around kids however, real young ones WILL get knocked over due to his size and giant ‘happiness’ for life.  He does enjoy Maggie our other dog, someone to go in and out with and hang out and snoop in the backyard and follow in the house in case he missed something!  I believe he would love to be a ‘couch potato’ and yes, if he were invited, probably a bed-buddy too.  This is one “gentle Ben.”  We just love fostering him.  Really deserves the best “golden life.”