Fluffy Fostering at Grade Lodge

Hello! Thank you for thinking Rescue.

You've probably been waiting all week for some pictures of our Lucky-Jimmy dog. I've been writing this blog in my head all week waiting for some time to post these pictures of Lucky Jimmy Dog.

Where to start ?

Well, for one Lucky Jimmy Dog is a three year old Labradoodle. If you're into big Labradoodles, this is your boy. He's about 72# but could stand to gain a few more pounds. He's quite tall for a doodle but doesnt realize it. And, oh, yeah, he's all doodle. He's a wild man.

He loves to chase balls and retrieve. He's very good at dropping them and you dont have to fight to get him to drop the ball. Very nice.

He has been trained in the art of sit, down and wait. He does sleep in the kennel at night but probably doesnt need to if you dont have cats. We have three cats here and he finds them quite enjoyable to chase and chew.

He's also a bit of a Nervous Nelly. Perhaps that's because he's only been here at The Lodge for about a week and perhaps he'll settle in better once he's been here a while. He paces and pants like no other and its quite distracting. But even more distracting is the spinning and barking that occur. He spins and chases his tail while barking, LOUDLY! Then stops, waits for his head to stop spinning and spins in the opposite direction. To unwind, I suppose.

Nothing seemed to help to mellow him out. Exercise only made it worse. I've tried Lavender Oil and Peppermint Oil but that makes him sneeze. Though it did help, a teeny bit.

If you've ever had one of those dogs who were wigged out by thunderstorms and puffed and panted until all was done, you'll understand the level he's at right now. You can purchase a T-shirt for your dog called a "Thudershirt" and it fits snugly on the dog and helps him the way swaddling a baby helps her calm down.

I dont have $35 to shell out for a Thundershirt for an extra large doodle. I wasnt even sure that it would work. So, I did the next best thing that I'd been thinking about for a while. I raided my kids dressers. I found an old shirt of Kiera's that she never really liked (or wore) and now is too small. I slipped it over Lucky Jimmy Dog's head and pulled his forelegs through the sleeves and viola! A DIY Thundershirt, sort of.

Here's the thing. It works.

Earlier today, we had a Fluffy Dog Adoption Event over at Tail Waggin Doggy Day care in Hartland. We took the T off and took him over. After the event, we took all three dogs to the dog park for some R & R - You know Running and More Running.

Came home, fed the dogs dinner and waited. Lucky Jimmy Dog would not settle. Puff puff puff. Pace pace pace. Toy toy toy. You get the idea. Ok, seriously dog, enough. I grabbed the T-shirt and pulled it over his fuzzy little melon.

He is currently laying unconscious with his eyes rolled back in his head on the floor. He's relaxed and calm and breathing like a normal dog who ran for an hour at the dog park. I kid you not. Furever family if you're out there, looking for a doodle with a chronic illness, here's your boy.

Whoa, wait, what? Chronic Illness?

Yes, as you read in his petfinder bio, he has Addisson's Disease. I'm sure I'll oversimplify it by saying his adrenal glands are non-functional. He gets a $40 shot once a month and 5mg of Prednisone every day. Easy Peasy. Again, there is more to it than that to be sure but I'm not a vet and I would consult my vet if I were interested in adopting Lucky Jimmy Dog. Really.

The only thing different is that you need to manage his weight and give him medicine. You need to be mindful of his behavior as he will become lethargic when the medicine is wearing out of his system.

Other than that, he's your typical goofy lovable Labradoodle. His papers say that his father was a black standard poodle and his mother was a medium sized yellow lab.

He's mostly black with white hairs and some crazy looking patches of grey around his muzzle and his shoulders and hips. He could probably stand a groom but he looks ok for now. His face was bit out of hand and I took a scissors to it earlier. He did ok for me but there was lots to look at outside. I also trimmed his nails, all but one, he sat down before I finished. Oh, well.

He is completely house trained and just an amazing boy. He would do well in a family with kids (over six, please). He will sit with hand motions and does sit for his meals. He does need a little leash work and we have a couple of socialization issues to work on but its all good. We also need to work on e.a.t.i.n.g. s.l.o.o.w.e.r.r.r.r.r - he tends to gobble his food. We'll start that next week. He's had a lot of change in one week and could probably use a break.

Furever Family, I know that you are out there. He is a wonderful dog and will make an awesome addition to your family, just be mindful of his Addisson's Disease. From what I'm told by friends at the dog park, JFK had the human version of this. How about that? A little trivia for you this afternoon.

Please dont misunderstand me, I'm not in a rush to give him up as he is part Labrador and if you know anything about me, you know that is where my heart lies. There is nothing like a Labrador for a perfect dog.

So you're tired of reading and ready to get to the pictures, well, here ya go!