Soxy (12 years young!) *On Trial in Her New Home*

*SOXY IS CURRENTLY TRIALLING HER NEW HOME* If you’ve been looking for the companionship of a wonderful pet, and understand that age is no barrier to love, then you can’t go past Soxy our beautiful senior!

Soxys’ owner has cancer and he’s been having to spend more and more time away from her in Melbourne and is in the process of moving down there to be closer to the intensive treatment he requires. He has had Soxy since she was thown over his back fence as a 6 week old puppy and he didn’t want to euthanase her as she is still so full of life but wasn’t sure of the options for a 12 year old dog, so his vet put him in touch with us SARG folk and we’ve promised to find her a caring home where she can relax and enjoy the rest of her doggie years.

Generously affectionate, this gorgeous girl still manages to bring joy to everyone who meets her. Apart from a bit of stiffness in her rear right leg Soxy is in excellent health – we’re amazed that she hardly has any grey hairs and her eyes are still so clear and alert!

From Soxy’s foster carer: She is a real lady, always polite and gentle. A very relaxed dog; one decent walk a day, up to an hour, and she will relax for the rest of the day and night. She "patrols the boundary" of my back yard a couple of times a day but prefers to spend most of her down time indoors on her day bed especially in this hot weather. She knows sit, come, stay, wait, happy, out and of course, walk. When I say 'walk?' she doesn't get hyper, she just looks at me with big eyes, like "Really? Really truly? Yes please!" and she walks really well on lead, waiting when asked before crossing roads. Lately I’ve been walking her with my sisters Pomeranian and Soxy enjoys the company. She can be playful - she likes to sneak onto my bed and chew on my tissues and if I'm eating chips (hot or cold) she will come and sit next to me and eat a few, not because she's hungry, it’s just for fun/companionship. \ When she uses both paws to wipe her eyes it seems to mean she wants more pats! \ Soxy is good with kids, though she knows to keep an eye on them. When a three year old was patting her at Christmas she rolled over for a tummy rub but the child didn't recognise this so I patted her instead. The arthritis in her right hind quarter appears to be quite mild. I saw a slight limp in the first couple of days in foster care but haven't seen it since, all I see is that she is a bit slow to get up after lying down plus she has trouble climbing into my car so she puts her front feet up and I lift her back half in or, she climbs into the foot rest area herself then up onto the seat – Soxy travels well in the car and appears to enjoy going for drives. She gets very excited when she sees my neighbour's cats ...could be that she just wants to say “hi” as I don't see any overt aggression, though I haven't been able to do an actual introduction yet as the cats skedaddle anyway – her owner said she used to play with a semi-feral cat that used to visit them!

As Soxy has always enjoyed an indoor / outdoor lifestyle we’d want to see this continued in her forever home, either on her own or with a quiet doggie friend for company. She enjoys a varied diet and her owner has always kept an eye on her weight so she’s in good shape and likes to gnaw on frozen lamb shanks on hot days though her fave thing would have to be her Denta Stick at bedtime!

If you think you’ve got a place in your home and your heart for this sweet senior then please download and complete a SARG Dog Application form by following this link or by copying and pasting it into your browser: http://www.sarg.net.au/adoptapet.html