Gold Ribbon Rescue Adoptables

One quick update on Cooter and a favor. Cooter has adjusted to his new life just fine. He still has an unending energy supply, but between the running and the squirrel chasing, we have managed to calm him a bit. Obedience school was something else, but he trained us just fine. He's improved tremendously on his manners and walking on a leash. He's a lot taller and sorry to say, all that wonderful soft puffy hair fell in one big "poof." We had wall-to-wall dog hair carpet for about three weeks. His hair is shorter and more manageable, and still softer than other goldens, specially around his face. We managed to get him to gain a few pounds and he's now lean and muscular. We should have called him Skidder, he always goes so fast he misses his mark and has to skid back. Hope you enjoy his picture.

Cooter ... The singing group, Los Lonely Boys, sang “How Far is Heaven?”—and they came from San Angelo. We took in a lonely Golden from San Angelo, and he thinks heaven is in Austin! Carter is gorgeous blond, just 15 to 18 months old, with personality and energy right out of the Wild West. His bouncy, energetic way of greeting people is so exuberant that we decided “Carter” might be a bit too reserved and dignified for everyday use, and came up with the more expressive nickname “Cooter.” Now, we don’t mean to imply that he’s “drunker than Cooter Brown” (an old derogatory Southern expression)! We mean that he’s the sort of free spirit who will keep his family endlessly entertained and happy.

Cooter is probably the most gorgeous young Golden male we’ve ever had. He’s over a year older than last summer’s 7-week-old foster boy, Jazz, but his coat has just about the same incredible puppy softness. He’s about 65 pounds of bleached wheat-colored fur ball. We love him. His smile and expressive eyes brighten up a room. He clearly wasn’t socialized in San Angelo, so we’re trying to teach him the finer aspects of life in the “big city.” For example, he is learning how to behave in a house with two older male dogs, and sometimes doesn’t understand why they don’t like it when he sits on their heads! But he’s pretty smart, and is learning quickly. He wasn’t completely housebroken, but after being caught in a couple of instances of random leg-lifting & taught to go outside for that, he is very trustworthy now. We even give him the run of the house when we leave during the day.

He was a little underweight when we took him in. He didn’t know how to eat all his food, and only finished part of his breakfasts and dinners. But with two hungry 9-year old Golden boys finishing ahead of him and eyeing his bowl, he’s learned to polish off his meals. He has started to put on a few pounds and is filling out handsomely. He will be an absolutely gorgeous adult dog.

Cooter loves to walk and run. He romps unfettered in the backyard with our other dogs, but doesn’t pull too much on the leash on his walks. He gets excited just at the sight of a leash. But at home he likes to put his head on your lap and usually will stay there as long as you’ll pet him. Sometimes he just buries his head up against the side of your lap and relishes the quiet time.

He was neutered in mid-January 2006, and has a clean bill of health. He gets along well with everyone we meet. Occasionally he is initially nervous with other dogs we meet on our walks, but he isn’t aggressive. His main bad habit, which we are working on all the time, is jumping up to greet people, and he likes to mouth at your hand to see what’s been in it. We use the squirt bottle technique and whenever he sees one nearby, he goes on his best behavior.

We think Cooter will be great with a family that has older children (older than age ten or so), or no children. He will want lots of activity because he’s so young, so he’ll fit in with active, sporty people who understand his need for frequent walks and swims to burn off all that energy. He will get compliments wherever he goes, and he’ll make his new family so proud of him that it makes our eyes twinkle to think that we knew him when he was just a foster dog!