Hi! My name is Bozeman, and I am the sweetest, friendliest, most chill dog around!
Quick Facts:
- Breed: Black Lab mix
- Gender: Male
- Age: 6 years
- Size: 47 lbs
- Good with…
- Dogs? Yes!
- Cats? Yes!
- Kids? Not yet tested but probably!
History
I landed in a pretty rough, high-kill shelter in rural Kentucky. I was running out of time (you know, we black dogs are always the last to be picked at the shelters), and then they found out I was heartworm positive. Uh-oh. It’s a fatal disease if untreated. For dogs who have families, it’s not so bad. They go to the doctor and get treatment. But for us homeless, family-less dogs, it’s a death sentence. Most shelters don’t have the resources to treat it, so with more homeless dogs than they know what to do with, dogs with medical issues are the first to go. So, that was going to be it for me. But, the best thing happened! The staff loved me so much (they said I had the best personality!), so they worked hard to get me to a wonderful KY rescue woman who got in touch with Cayuga Dog Rescue. I got rescued, took a long car ride, and joined the CDR foster program! My foster home is super awesome, I can hardly believe it!
A note on my name. Bozeman is a gorgeously beautiful town in Montana, and since the rescue folks think I am a gorgeously beautiful dog, we all thought that would be a fitting name for me!
Personality
I am a very affectionate guy! I love to give kisses, and I love cuddling, which my foster parents say is super cool and fun of me. I love being invited up on the couch for cuddling, and sometimes I like to fall asleep on the couch right next to you! If you forget to keep petting me, I will gently remind you by nuzzling my head under your hand. I really like to be in the same room as my people and will follow them around wherever they go (though NOT in a needy or anxious way). I am fine when left alone though– I just hang out on the couch all day, and haven’t been rascally at all (well, except when I realized that I could fit through the little cat door and I ate all the cat food he-he!). I love to sleep smack in the middle between my foster mom and foster dad. I snore very gently, which they find endearing, don’t hog the covers, and sleep like a rock!
I’m pretty calm for a 6 year old! I like to walk around in the fenced yard (I know how to use a doggy door and love it!), and I like going for short leashed walks too. I’m not supposed to get too much exercise for a while (see medical, below), but the short walks seem just fine for me, energy wise. I’m pretty calm for a 6 year old!
I’m not really into playing with toys, nor do I play with other dogs, but I really dig bugs! I follow them around, watching all the buggy things they do. My foster mom says my eyesight must be pretty great, as I can even follow tiny little bugs!
I don’t mean to brag, but I seem to be pretty smart! I figured out right away that I’m not allowed in the kitchen here, even though my people always forget to close the gate. I also learned very fast that my foster parents want me to wait until I get invited before I should hop up on the couch, so now I wait very patiently for the invitation. I know “sit” and sometimes “lie down” and I like working for treats, so I will try and learn anything you want to teach me if you’ve got the treats in your pocket!
My fur is silky soft and my foster parents say that it is odd that I have no doggy smell at all! They say I am odor free!
Cohabitation
I am awesome with people! I love my people and I love hanging out with them and giving them kisses. The shelter in Kentucky said that I was a little scared of people at first, but I think I was probably just scared of being in the shelter, because since being in NY I love meeting new people and I am very friendly! I made fast friends with everyone at the vet clinic too, and they all said how much they liked me too!
I’m good with cats (who don’t tease me by running)! I’m living with 4 cats right now, and I’m great with most of them. There’s one cat that teases me by running away, and of course that makes me want to chase him. So I would say that I am good with dog-savvy cats, but that I’m likely to chase cats that run away. One of the cats cuddles with me and that’s pretty funny!
I’m good with other dogs! There is a chocolate Labrador in my foster home– his name is Benny and he’s cool. I haven’t shown any interest in playing with him, but we share a bed sometimes and check out the fenced yard together. Benny is blind, and so doesn’t have a sense of personal space. Sometimes he gets too close (right up in my face) which makes me grumpy and I will growl a bit at him. I don’t really understand “blind” –I just think he’s having bad boundaries! We’re good though, and as time goes on, I think we’re making a very nice friendship. I’m a flexible guy–I would be happy living with another nice dog, with cats, or being your one and only!
Favorite Activities
- Following the people around!
- Napping on the couch!
- Cuddling with the people and the white cat!
- Going for short-ish walks (about 20 minutes)!
- Going for car rides!
- Following bugs!
Medical
I am heartworm positive, so I have a little bit of treatment ahead. Right now, I am on antibiotics (phase 1 of heartworm treatment) and monthly heartworm pills to kill off the heartworm babies. In mid-November, I will have a painful shot in my spine that will make me feel pretty crummy for a few days (really achey, like a bad flu), but then ok after that. I’ll have another painful shot a month later, and then I will be done! For a few months after the shots, I am not allowed to exercise too much (no running, no playing, no jumping around), but since I’m a pretty chill guy, that’s not a problem for me. Once that’s done, I should be good to go!
I also have some kind of old injury in one of my back legs. I don’t put much weight on that leg and the vet said that I don’t have much muscle there. I’m headed to the specialists at Cornell soon, so we’ll know more after that visit about what is going on!
Otherwise, I am in great shape!! And in a few months, I should be tip-top!
Summary
I’m a friendly, calm, loving dog just looking for my forever family to cuddle and hang out with forever!
If you are interested in adopting me, please fill out an online adoption application and live close to Ithaca, Syracuse, Binghamton, Rochester, or Elmira. We do home visits on every applicant, and can’t do home visits where we don’t have local volunteers.