Hi, I am Maya, and I am the cuddliest, sweetest furball around!
Quick Facts:
- Breed: Newfoundland
- Gender: Female, spayed
- Age: 3 year old
- Size: 108 pounds
- Good with…
- Dogs? Yes!
- Cats? Yes!
- Kids? Yes! 4+
***Maya is not a CDR dog and has not been evaluated by CDR. Maya’s family is only taking applications from people who live within 90 minutes of Ithaca, NY.***
History
My current family rescued me from a Newfoundland rescue up near Lake Ontario. I was a wild, untrained young pupster at that point, but they saw how loving and wonderful I was! I’ve been living with them (3 young kids and mom and dad) ever since, and I have grown up so well with their loving care and attention and training! It’s been beyond wonderful for us all to be a family together. But, here is the sad part…mom and dad are no longer living together, and mom had to go back to work. With her long work hours plus taking care of the 3 little kids, no one has the time to do all the things with me that they used to love to do. We used to go on great long walks and have fun playtimes, and sit together and do training and well, just have a lot of fun. But now I’m home alone most of the time, and it’s sad for all of us. It’s breaking their hearts to look for a new home for me, but they want me to have more attention and fun than they can give me, and be a happier and bigger part of family life.
Personality
I am super sweet! That’s what is most obvious and most deeply true about me…true to my Newfie breed, I am a sweetheart of a lover! I am affectionate, cuddly and I love affection and belly rubs! I also love to play with my squeaky toys…a lot!!!. Whoever came up with the whole squeaky toy was genius!!! They are SO MUCH FUN! I can also sit and chew on bones for hours, and my peanut butter filled Kongs make me super happy!
I have wonderful enthusiastic, happy, joyful energy! I love people!!! When my family gets home from being gone for the day, I am so excited, they say it’s a joy to behold! I also get really excited when new people come to the house, and consider it my job to let them know how welcome they are! I like to jump up on the gate and greet them with drooly kisses, although I’m trying to learn to just go grab a toy and greet them without sliming them!
I love children, and I really enjoy running around the fenced yard and playing catch with them! When they are excited, I am excited (and when they are relaxed and chill, then I am relaxed and chill). I love watching over them and making sure they are safe and happy. We are saying that I shouldn’t live in a home with kids under 4 only because sometimes I get so excited playing with the kids that I forget how big I am and/or to slow down my running in time to avoid colliding with them, and have on occasion accidentally knocked over a toddler! I felt REALLY bad about it, and went and laid immediately, but still, given how playful I am, it’s best for me not to be playing with the tiny ones!
I am a smart girl! Check out the video of my doing training stuff with the kids! I am really good at doing sit, stay, and down (but mind you…only when there are treats involved!!). I REALLY LOVE (high value) treats like cheese and chicken and hot dogs, and will listen and learn and do pretty much whatever you want me to when you have them to reward me!! I would love to learn tricks and new things!
I haven’t been off leash much, but have terrific leash manners. I do great on leashed walks and listen to my family really well. I can also go on short jogs (I especially like short jogs in the woods!). I love the water so much– when I find a puddle, or a pond or a creek, I will jump right in and play!
I enjoy going to the dog park when there are dogs around that just want to run and play chase. I don’t like dogs that can be aggressive! Once an aggressive dog bit my ear, and that upset and scared me a lot! I feel protective of myself around dogs that can be rowdy ever since, so prefer being around really friendly nice dogs please!
I don’t bark much. I will bark mostly only in two situations — 1) if a stranger comes to the door and 2) if I am in a room full of rowdy children yelling and running around. For the latter, it seems like I think it my job to sort of patrol the area and bark a bunch! It’s not clear if I’m trying to be the “cop” and keep them from getting too riled up, or if I am joining in their rowdy play.
I like to take long naps on the cold tile floors of the house in the summertime, and sit outside in the snow during the winter days!! If you had a fenced yard, I would be very happy, and if you lived near a creek or a pond, I would be VERY blissed out and happy~ I love swimming, being in the woods, and in the water. I am not so into city life, and would be unhappy living in an urban area.
My fur is long, so I need regular grooming, especially after we have been out hiking in the woods!
Favorite Activities
- Playing with my squeaky toys!
- Cuddling up with pillows!
- Catching balls with the kids!
- SWIMMING! (have I mentioned I have webbed paws and am an amazing swimmer?)
- Making sure the kids are ok! I will follow them around, from place to place and keep an eye on them!
- Going for rides in the car!
- Long hikes in the woods (on leash)! I have wonderful leash manners!
Cohabitation
I currently live with three children (including a toddler) and two cats (one indoor one outdoor). I’d LOVE to play with the cat upstairs, but she wants nothing to do with me. Haroomphy! Sometimes I’ll try and get her to play with me by play-pouncing and play-bowing, but she just runs away. The cat outside though is much less intimidated by my playfulness and will come up and snuggle with me. We’ve even shared meals out of the same dish at the same time! What a sweet dog I am, right?
I’m good with other dogs, and will be very friendly and playful unless they act unfriendly to me. Then I want to get away from them, that scares me. Even though I am a very large dog, I’ve been cuddly with even a small pug dog a few times!
I love children, and will lick babies’ faces, but because I’m just so so big, and get too excited sometimes, I would do better in a home with older children or just adults.
Medical
I am super healthy! I tested positive for Lyme disease a while back, but the vet never had to give me medicine for it because I never showed problematic signs of it. My hips sometimes feel a bit sensitive, and the vet gave me some antiinflammatory medicine to make sure they don’t give me any trouble.
Summary
I am an amazing dog who needs an amazing new owner. I love affection, belly rubs, and a nice big yard to run around in. I am looking for a person with a fun, joyful heart, who wants to spend loads of time with my big wonderful self!
Maya’s family is only taking applications from people who live within 90 minutes of Ithaca, NY.
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.
