Hi! My name is Violet and I am the sweetest girl!
Quick Facts:
- Breed: Black Lab mix
- Gender: Female, spayed
- Age: 7 years old
- Size: 55 pounds (but thin)
- Good with…
- Dogs? Yes
- Cats? Yes!
- Kids? 10+ calm
History
I used to have a family, and lived with other dogs, but my owners ran into hard times, couldn’t feed us very well (I was very skinny) and eventually had to surrender us to their local shelter in Kentucky. That was very sad and also very scary, because I heard a lot of people say that the shelter was overcrowded and that older dogs never get picked for adoption. I just hid my head under my paws and waited for the end to come.
But wow, how life can change on a dime! The shelter staff saw what a total sweetheart I was, and when CDR contacted them with an opening in their foster program, they said that I was the one they should take! So they did! And now, after a very long set of car rides, I arrived to my incredibly fabulous foster home in central NY and life is more amazing than it’s ever been!
Personality
I am a super sweetheart! I am a tiny bit shy until I get to know you, but once I see that you are kind and friendly, I warm up to you like the sun! My foster mom says that I am gentle and loving and loyal and incredibly sweet. She says it’s hard to believe I am 7 years old because I love to dash around the fenced yard and am quite playful! I bring toys over to my foster mom and she tosses them for me and I go and chase them and bring them back!
I love to be near nice people, and am so happy when you want to talk to me, hang out with me, pet me, massage me, or give me belly rubs!
I really like affection. When I want some, I will come and nudge your hand with my head (this means, “please pet me?”) or will lay my head in your lap and give you deep soulful eyes, or will “ask” for petting by making little whining sounds. I also love snuggling up next to you on the couch—my foster mom says I LOVE the sofa. I am so well-mannered about it though, before I hop up onto the sofa, I lay my head on the edge of it, giving my “sweet” look, with tail gently wagging, and then I wait for my foster mom to pat the sofa and tell me “okay!” I know the routine now and I’ve also learned what “ready for cookies?” means! Yum!! My foster mom is teaching me “gentle” as far as taking treats and I’m doing well with that.
I am a wonderful mixture of calm/ relaxed and playful! I love to go for leashed walks and love playing with the male dog in the fenced yard at my foster home. And though I love my outdoor time, I’m a homebody at heart—I am always happy to come back inside and hang out there! I also love my squeaky toys—they are so much fun!
Here are a bunch of awesome things about me:
- I am totally housebroken!
- I don’t mind getting a bath at all—I even got into the tub voluntarily when my foster mom called my name and I also like a nice gentle brushing, which is good for my coat!
- I am wonderful in the car—I just sit calmly, looking out the window and taking it all in!
- I was a very good girl at the vet clinic even though it was filled with strangers and I was a bit worried about what would happen!
- I am brave about loud noises—I didn’t mind the vacuum or the thunderstorm that happened after I arrived!
- I am a great sleeper! I hop right into my wonderful dog bed on the floor next to my foster mom’s bed when it’s bedtime, sleep through the night, and wait for my foster mom to get up in the morning before I do! She says I am very polite that way (heads up though, she gets up pretty early, so can’t swear this would be the case if you sleep late)!
- I’m a bright girl, and know Sit and Down and Come (sometimes!) and Speak!
- I love meals and snacks! I was very skinny when I first arrived from KY, so I’m getting 3 meals a day for a while to help me put on weight. I love every bite of every meal, and am thrilled to be getting all of this lovely nutritious dog food! My favorite snacks are mozzarella sticks and cream cheese and Old Mother Hubbard brand biscuits!
Cohabitation
I am wonderful with people. I am a bit shy/nervous at first and bark at people who I don’t know for a few moments when they first come into the house. My foster mom gives them cheese to feed to me, and once they do this, and I have a few minutes to get used to them, then we become good friends! I need to meet people a few times before I feel safe with them, and then no more barking when they come! And I don’t bark at people, even strangers, when we meet outdoors, my barking is just when strangers first come into the house (and it’s just for 30 seconds!).
I have an awesome foster brother dog!! He is a Yellow Lab and he is very handsome and fun. He’s a bit younger than me and is very energetic, so I was a little overwhelmed by him for the first few days (he loves to jump and hump!), but once he learned that I’m girl who likes things calmer and gentler, he toned it down and then we became fast friends. In just 2 weeks, we have become totally best buddies, and we hang around together all the time and play chase in the yard a lot!
However, I do not like to have other female dogs in my house! I’m ok meeting them outside, but when it’s my territory, that’s a no go. I cannot live in a home with another female dog, and shouldn’t have female dogs visit to my home either. My foster mom has an old female dog who comes to visit a few times a week (she is also best buddies with my foster brother dog), so I just spend those times in the bedroom with some toys. Problem solved!
I’m very good with cats. There are 2 in my foster home and I am fine with both. One of them I like particularly, and even clean his ears for him! Super cute, I hear!
Favorite Activities
- Snuggling on the couch next to you! Getting attention and petting!
- Going for walks! Being buddies with my foster brother dog!
- Food and snacks! Getting enough food so I’m not hungry all the time!
- Soft dog beds! Squeaky toys!
Medical
I am in very good health, and will be in even better shape once I put on a few more pounds, which I am happy to be doing! When I was surrendered to the KY shelter, I was absolutely covered in flea bites, had scratched myself something terrible, and was missing big patches of fur. The vets say that I am allergic to flea bites, so you can imagine how terrible that must have been for me! Don’t worry though– I have been treated for that and the combination of flea medicine, mild baths, and nutritious food is already doing wonders for my coat! I’m much more comfortable and much of my fur is growing back in! Yay!
Summary
If you are looking for an extremely loving, loyal, sweet and gentle girl, I am the one for you. I would be fine as an only dog or sharing my home with another dog as long as he was male, and cats of course are also just wonderful. I’m hoping for a person or family who has a lot of gentle love to give, and will promise to take good care of me for the rest of my life.
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.
