Meet bonnie. . . This petite little munchkin will be celebrating her third birthday in august this year. Bonnie was caught snapping at several baby goats on the owner’s commercial farm and was also accused of killing a kitten, but her owners were not home at the time and remain uncertain as to whether bonnie or their other two large dogs were responsible. Bonnie was living life as a farm dog on a large rural property since she was a puppy. . . No place for a golden retriever! living as a farm dog, bonnie has had very little opportunity to network socially or experience suburban life so she can be quite shy and nervous but is still quite excited to meet new people. She had not received any obedience training so ‘a diamond in the rough’ best describes her, but she will absolutely sparkle in a home where the family will accompany bonnie to obedience school to teach her some structure, manners and further her socialization and life skills. Despite bonnie’s lack of etiquette she travels well in a car, loves people once she knows they are friends and not foes. With the above blemishes out of the way we would like to focus more on the beauty of bonnie and the girl that we have got to know and love. She has a big beautiful heart neatly packaged in her petite little golden body. She wiggles and worms with excitement at the mere mention of her name. She may be shy and nervous but bonnie is very gentle, funloving, bright, friendly, and extremely affectionate. She wants nothing more than to be with you whether it is pottering around the garden or relaxing on the sofa. Sadly, this little lady learned to fear being inside the home with her pack (family), which means her young life was spent being constantly fragmented from family. . . Distressing for any pack animal, especially a dog. In fact, being unhappy about baby goats in her house yard was bonnie’s way of communicating that something was wrong with the pack dynamics! whilst she is still quite nervous about coming inside her carers home, bonnie is very quickly learning, and feeling, that her new pack is welcoming her in and offering her an important place in this pack. . . This is so essential in building confidence, trust and faith in our canine friends. Despite being raised with toddlers we do not feel bonnie is suitable for a home with children under 10 years of age. She was raised with other dogs and is currently being housed with six other dogs without any major concerns. She likes to chase mice and lizards and is fast learning that the resident cat is not a fluffy toy or an oversized mouse! bonnie does not bark, dig or chew and seems to take storms in her stride. Foster carers update:
"i can’t believe bonnie has only been here a week, she has changed so much. I imagine you saw a big transformation in the week she spent with you. She seems to adapt to changes very easily and she continues to delight whoever meets her. We took her on her first walk outside our yard today and she was an absolute angel on the lead, she is so gentle and was happy to walk by my side – we have had little practice walks on the lead during the week. We walked through an environmental park which was about 4 km and she was very well behaved. She is now confident enough to join in play with our boys – but avoids the really rough stuff (i managed to get a small video of them playing together ). Her submissive behaviour of rolling over is almost totally gone but she remains her sweet gentle self. "
jan, rob and the goldie gang