Blog / Random thoughts and musings.

Connor

Connor is a 3-4 yr old black lab weighing in about 90 lbs, and he probably needs to gain more weight! He was a stray brought into the shelter. When he came in, he was so infested with ticks, that they had even burrowed into a wound in his side. He also had a very bad case of Lyme’s disease. Before he was put on medication, he couldn’t even raise his head to look at anyone. After about a week on the medicine, he was raising his head and thumping his tail. His soulful eyes did their magic, and he was on his way to LRR.Connor is very laid back and low energy. However a lot of that is due to the Lyme disease, since it causes joint/muscle aches, and listlessness. He’s been on the medication for about 3 weeks now, and he will need it for at least 5 more weeks. As each week progresses, hopefully more of his personality will show through. He has tried to wrestle with Sheba and Quinn a couple of times, but he runs out of energy pretty quickly. He’s also not too familiar with how to retrieve a tennis ball. He will pounce on the ball and chew it, but he doesn’t really chase after it, nor does he bring it back to you. He’s a pretty sedate walker on a leash and never strays too far from your side.

He absolutely adores attention. He’ll fall over on his side right next to you and wait for you to pet him. If you stop, he’ll whack you with his paw to tell you to continue. We think he’s probably not had much attention in the past, and he probably spent a lot of time outdoors. When we first got him to the house, he was very unfamiliar with steps and wouldn’t leave the first floor until he watched our dogs several times walk wherever they pleased without recriminations.

Its amazing how similar Connor and Quinn are in both looks and temperament. From a distance, its actually difficult to tell them apart. Quinn may be feeling a bit threatened by Connor’s arrival, however other than asserting the hierarchy of the household, Quinn has been very friendly towards Connor. Sheba, of course, is doing just fine with Connor. As long as she’s always treated like the princess, she has no issues with any of the foster dogs.

Connor Update

Connor has moved onto a new foster home. He became pretty attached to us, so we thought moving him to a different home would be the best thing for him. In the time he stayed with us, his personality started to come through. He became more active and actually had the puppy crazies a few times. He chased Sheba around the furniture, and played tug of war with Quinn. Heaven only knows how many stuffed animals got ripped apart during their play.

We also discovered his love of food. We have a dog food bin that hangs on the wall. Connor figured out how to open the bin with his nose so the food would come out. We had to tape the bin closed so he could no longer get extra helpings of dinner. We also found out that he can jump any fence he can get his front paws on top of. While working in the front yard, I put all three dogs in the backyard. Imagine my surprise when Connor comes trotting up to me. I put him back in the backyard and peeked through the garage window. He showed no hesitation in putting his front feet on the fence and jumping over it pretty easily. This is from the dog who six weeks ago was unable to even raise his head to look at you because of the Lyme Disease.

Every single person who came to our house fell in love with Connor. He was very good while around our friends’ 8 mos old twins. He sniffed one of them, licked their hand, and laid down right by their feet. He loved any stranger that came to our house. If you pet him, you were his new best friend. It was tough to give up such an amiable dog, and I can’t wait to find out who adopts Connor.

Connor Update

Connor has been adopted to a perfect home for him. A principal of a school for mentally handicapped students adopted Connor and takes him to school everyday for the students to pet. Since Connor loves to be pet, and he’s so very calm, this is the perfect way for him to spend the day. I’m sure he’ll be very good for all those kids.