Adopted: Maggie

Hi, My name is Maggie, and I am incredibly gentle, sweet, and calm!
Quick Facts:

  • Breed: Great Pyrenees mix
  • Gender: Female, spayed
  • Age: 4 years old
  • Size: 55 pounds
  • Good with…
  • Dogs? Dogs? Yes
  • Cats? Yes!
  • Kids? Calm and mature.

History

I was owned by some folks in rural KY who kept me outside 24/7. They never spent any time with me, I was out there by myself all the time, it was very sad. With nothing to do, I would dig holes in the dirt to entertain myself (and also to lay in when it was hot). They didn’t like me doing that, and when they took me to the local high-kill shelter to leave me forever, they told the staff that they were tired of filling in the holes I dug, so they were getting rid of me. Sad story, and I was quite scared at the shelter, but I got rescued by a lovely rescue person in KY who sent me up to join the CDR foster program, so actually the day they abandoned me turned out to be the best day of my life!

Personality

I am very quiet, very gentle, very calm, and very sweet. Even when I am not interacting with you in any way, I exude a sweetness that is quite palpable and that people seem to love. My foster parents want you to know that everyone who meets me comments on how sweet, gentle and lovely I am, and how much they like me and like being near me. Being the shy girl that I am, I don’t know quite what to make of it all, but I think I like it quite a lot!

So, my smiley photos make me seem like an outgoing sort, but actually I am really a shy, quiet girl. When in a new place or with new people, I hide away a bit (like in a back bedroom), but am pretty happy if you come and spend time with me there, talking to me and petting me in a calm and gentle way. Once I settle in, you’ll notice that I am very attentive, watching and studying everyone and everything that is going on around me. This is probably because indoor living is new to me, so there is much to figure out! It was a little overwhelming in the beginning, but I’m slowly getting more comfortable with how it all works. Now, whenever someone comes into the room that I’m in, my ears perk up and I look interested and happy! I don’t initiate interaction with people much yet…I will just hang out in what I decide are my “safe spots,” quiet and calm, but really appreciate when you visit me. I never had a relationship with a human before, so really don’t know how it works. But I am studying and watching, and am starting to get a happy glimmer of what it could be!

Here are my milestones so far! After 1 week, I stopped anxiously panting all the time! After 2 weeks, when someone would come to my “safe spot” and hang out with me, pet me, and talk to me, my fluffy tail would start to “wag-wag-wag!” that showed that I was feeling happy about being visited! And finally, after 4 weeks in my foster home, I made my first affection request—yay! When I was being petted and then the person stopped, I did a little gentle paw thwap on their arm to ask them to pet me some more! Whoo-hoo! Everyone was so excited when I did that!!!!

You’d think that since I used to live outside 24/7, I would be super comfortable being outside, given that is what is most familiar to me, right, but…nope! Not me! I do not like to be outside very much or for very long at all! Which is surprising also because Great Pyrenees typically LOVE being outdoors more than anything. But again, not so for me! I will go out on a brief leashed walk to do my business (I am 100% housebroken, so no worries there), but then I want to come right back inside. So another milestone of recent days is that I was able to do a 20-30 minute walk for the very first time! Prior to that, I was pulling to go back to the house after only being out for a few minutes. Maybe since I had to be outdoors all the time in my former life, I associate outdoors with lonely, bad feelings? Or I had enough outdoor time to last me for a lifetime? The rescue folks say it’s hard to predict if I will come to enjoy being outside more than I do now over time, so we will just have to wait and see. What they do know for sure is that I need to be leashed all the time. With shy dogs like me, the risk of me bolting if something spooks me is high, so to keep me safe, I have to be leashed or in a securely fenced yard at all times.

Cute things about me

  • I recently started doing a little howly/yawning noise when we all get up in the morning!
  • Occasionally I do a cute little head tilt thing which totally cracks everyone up!
  • When I give you the paw thwap to ask you to keep petting me!
  • My smile!

Awesome things about me

  • I am sooooo sweet.
  • I have the softest, fluffiest coat!! And I enjoy being brushed and don’t mind a bath if it comes with massage!
  • Even though people weren’t very nice to me in the past and certainly no one ever took the time to teach me anything, I have lovely manners and am very well behaved.

Things I will need in an adopter

  • Folks who are calm and gentle and sweet
  • Folks who are patient and understand that it might take me weeks or months to feel relaxed in their home
  • Folks who appreciate my calm, sweet, gentle nature
  • Folks who don’t need a dog to play games with them and do lots of activities.

Cohabitation

I’m great with people but prefer calm, gentle, soft-spoken folks. For this reason, I would probably find it too stressful to be in a home with little kids, but gentle, calm older kids would probably be fine! I also might find it too stressful to be in a home with super rambunctious people of any age!

I am excellent with cats, in that I sort of ignore them. Totally nonthreatening to them!

I am fine with dogs and am living with a young male Corgi in my foster home. I don’t seek him out at all, but am comfortable with him being around, and even find it a bit comforting to have him along when we go outside on leashed walks. I don’t like it so much when he jumps around and makes a lot of noise and wants to play, but I’m tolerant!

Favorite Activities

  • Being indoors!
  • Watching you do things and learning to bond!
  • Having you sit with me, pet me, and talk to me!
  • Eating yummy food!
  • Having you say sweet things to me!

Medical

I am a healthy girl, no problems to report at all!

Summary

I am a deeply sweet soul who has had a sad history and who is looking so forward to finding my forever home where I can explore all the wonders of being part of a caring relationship and a caring, loving family. You’ll need to be patient with me, as it takes me a while to trust and to feel safe and comfortable, but wow, will it be worth the wait!

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.

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