MEET:

HEIDI
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STATE: ME
AGE: 3 years
DOB: Unsure
WEIGHT: 44 lbs (too skinny)
SEX: Female
NEUT/UTD: Yes/Yes
COAT COLOR: Brindle
DOCKED TAIL:  Yes
CROPPED EARS: Yes
CHILDREN UNDER 4: Unsure
CHILDREN OVER 4: Yes
SEPARATION ANXIETY: No
OTHER DOGS: Yes
CATS: Probably
CRATE TRAINED: Yes
HOUSE TRAINED: Yes
LEASH TRAINED: Unsure
OBEDIENCE TRAINED: No
MICROCHIPPED: No
ADOPTION FEE: $300
UPDATE 2/26/10 - Well, on Sunday we will have had Heidi for a year. She is a wonderful dog. She's so EASY except around other dogs (except for the one that was already in our household) and cats. Heidi used to like other dogs but that changed and I don't know why. That confuses me. I've barricaded my cat in my kitchen so Heidi can't get her. I don't know if Heidi would actually hurt her but I don't want to know either. Heidi is the most loving dog I've ever had. All she wants is to be loved--and she gets plenty of that!  We've put up a fence in our back yard so our dogs can run around (in the mud-yuk!) We have no more grass, my house is always messy with toys everywhere, my new couch does not look new at all anymore, my bedspreads wear out much faster now but I wouldn't trade my dogs for nothing. I've accepted that my house is a house with dogs now and that's just the way it is. There is nothing like a dog's love when you get home from being away (even for 5 minutes). Cuddling is the BEST. She gives me so much joy! Oh yeah, and she weighs 62 pounds now! She's gained about 12 pounds since we've had her. She's not fat at all, just solid. My husband is good about getting our dogs exercise. (That's his job.)

UPDATE 8/28/09 - We've had Heidi for 6 months now. She is such a loving dog and my other dog, Brady, adores her. We have had a major change with Heidi though. She's been fighting with other dogs. We used to take her to dog parks and daycare but we are afraid to do that now because she keeps getting in fights with other dogs. It's happened 3 times now. We are not sure when the change took place or what could have triggered it but Tom took the dogs to a dog park earlier this summer and the next thing he knew, she was on top of another dog fighting. He didn't see how it started so he didn't know what really happened. The lady of the other dog was very mad at Tom. We love Heidi and she is a part of our family but we don't know what to do to make this better. Any suggestions would be helpful.

UPDATE 5/28/09 - Heidi is doing better all the time. We took her to the vets and she had a urinary infection. We will be finding out in the next couple of days if it has cleared up. She is such a loving dog. All she ever wants is to be rubbed and kissed. She could sit by your side all day and just be loved. We've gotten a fenced in back yard now so she is able to spend most of her days outside with her brother, Brady. She would still like to get a hold of my cat but I've put a gate between the kitchen and the living room and the cat stays in the kitchen. I feel safer that way. We love her and she loves us.

UPDATE 4/28/09 - Heidi went for her first check-up at the vets. She is doing just fine. Just this past weekend we were able to fence in our back yard--this makes life so much easier! Just let the dogs out to play and off they go!!! She is a pleasure to have in our family. Very sweet girl.

UPDATE 3/28/09 - Our boxer has adjusted to our home quite well. She still has accidents occasionally but much less frequent than when we first got her. She loves my other dog, Brady, and Brady loves her. It is so cute to watch them kiss and play. Brady is so vocal with her. At first she seemed more attached to me but my husband takes them out to play and go for walks more than I'm able to so Heidi has grown really attached to Tom. Heidi is wonderful in the car. She gets a little naughty at times at home because she likes to go in the kitchen trash and get into things she's not supposed to. The biggest problem we have with Heidi is she is always after my 10 year old cat. The cat lives on top of the refrigerator until the "coast is clear" and she can come down to eat or potty. I make sure that the cat is always safe and keep them seperated when we are not home.
This morning was wonderful. The 2 dogs and my husband came to greet me in bed to wake me up. We all cuddled together for a few minutes. Heidi is very much loved in our home. We have decided that the best thing to do is to put up a fence in our back yard so the dogs can go outside and play and we won't have to worry about them. I'm really anxious to be able to do that!

2/28/09 - Heidi went home with her very excited forever mom!!!

12/4/08 - Wow!  Heidi is doing SO much better!  She had an almost instantaneous response to the medications.  She has been able to sleep all night (and so have I!) and has had no messes in the house.  She even has an appetite, so I hope that she will gain several pounds and put some padding on her bones.  She still has a great personality--so friendly and eager to please.  She responds instantly to "No", but hears it a lot because she is such a puppy!  Heidi loves to chew.  She will chew on a marrow bone if one is available.  She needs to not have other possible chew items available because she doesn't
know the difference yet.  She keeps learning, and it is obvious that she simply didn't have the opportunity to learn all of the things most dogs do learn as puppies--so she still acts like one!

12/2/08 - Poor Heidi is a sick little puppy!  She developed severe diarrhea over the weekend and I took in another stool sample today as she was not responding to the recommended  bland diet.  She has Giardia, and coccidia, and is on two
different medications--Metronidazole and Albon.  We are continuing the bland diet and adding some pumpkin and yogurt.  Hopefully she will respond quickly to the medications and start feeling better soon.  She is already so skinny that she can't afford to not have an appetite!  I just hope that her energy level doesn't increase when she feels better!  Right now she is sleeping in the kitchen.  I'll take her out again for another poop session soon.  Then we'll head off to bed pretty soon
because I'm pretty pooped out from her need to go out so many times int he night. While she had a few accidents in the house, it was obvious that it was because she couldn't help herself.  Let's hope no one else catches it from her since I've
been pretty conscientious about picking up all of the poop in the yard.

11/30/08 - Good news!! Heidi is parasite free!  She tested negative for both  Heartworm and intestinal parasites.  She is a very good girl who is really just learning so much about being in a family.  She has had a couple of accidents in the house (when I didn't adequately supervise her) but she definitely knows that she is supposed to 'go' outside.  And she has certainly not had an accident in her crate.
     Right now she has a very loose stool which makes it even harder for her to not have an accident, but as long as I let her out often enough she is doing OK.  Last night she woke me up regularly so that she wouldn't soil her crate.  We tried
'fasting' followed by bland rice boiled with hamburg, but to no evail so far.  I know that dogs can take some kind of human antidiarrhea medicine,. I just need to find out which one and the dose for a tiny little girl--she actually only weighs 44
pounds but when she gets some meat on  her bones she should weigh about 50-55.
     Heidi came on a Home Check with me and the family LOVED her--she is SO sweet.  And not only did she bask in all of the attention they gave her while we were there, she seemed happy to meet their cat.  I saw her little nub wagging a mile a minute, and she seemed to want to play with him.  (That feeling was not mutual!)   In just one week her personality has reallly started to shine--she has discovered the toy box (and loves to chew bones) and plays with Lucky until she has worn him right out.  She loves being with her people, and loves getting as much attention as she can. 
     If your home needs an active playmate for another young Boxer and has the room in your heart to give her the attention she deserves, this may be the girl for you!

11/26/08 - What a little Jeckyll and Hyde!  Or should I say Jeckyll and HEIDI!!!  Sheis a quiet, calm, gentle, loving girl who adores human attention.  And she is also a Whirling Dervish when she is playing with Lucky--not mean but ACTIVE!  Thank heavens the weather is beautiful again up here in Maine so they can run off most of that energy in the yard.  No wonder she is so skinny!. 
     This morning I took her out to go to the bathroom--she still needs lots of praise for doing her business outside--and when we came back in I was not ready to get up.  So I decided to just close the bedroom door while I went back to bed and not crate her.  She was PERFECT!  She just curled up on the big dog bed in the corner and snoozed right along with me until I decided that I would venture out into this beautiful day.  (I'm a teacher and we had parent-teacher conferences last
night so no school today).
     Ruben is not enjoying her rambunctiousness, so right now he is sacked out next to me while I type, and she is running off more energy outside with Lucky.  In a minute we'll change places and she'll get her special breakfast.  I'm trying to put
some weight on her so I boiled up a big pot of rice with ahmburg and she gets some of that mixed with kibble (and warmed up) three time a day.  But she doesn't eat much!

11/24/08 - Heidi has come out of her shell--WAY out!!  She is getting all of her pent up energy out and the Riverview staff is not used to a young, energetic Boxer. Whew!  I probably wouldn't even peg her at being three and one half. 
     She is sweet and gentle, but a bit of a Wild Child.  I don't think that she was taught much where she lived.  We know that she had at least one litter of puppies so maybe that was all she did down there.  She's housebroken, she does know "sit", and she is crate trained, but she also is a counter surfer.  And boy does she play rough with Lucky!   She's tired him right out--and tired me right out, too.

11/22/08 - Heidi arrived here in Maine at the Riverview Boxerhostel after a LONG trip up from a high kill shelter.  She is a tiny little beautiful brindle with a classic black mask.  Heidi is three and one-half years old and is spayed and up to date
on her shots.  I don't know why she was surrendered, but is reported to be good with kids and other dogs--and she is already wagging her little nub at Ruben through the baby gates.  Her tail is docked and her ears are cropped (a little too
short) but she still has her dew claws.
     She sure has a Boxer personality!  While she was shivering with cold and fearfulness when she arrived in Biddeford, by the time we got home she was wagging her little nub and ready to give me kisses.  She is such a submissive little girl that she is submissively peeing, but I am confident that as her confidence and feeling of security increase, that will stop.
She's explored the back yard (and was interested in watching the chickens through the fence), had a drink and a tiny meal, and peed and pooped.  So she is already "at home" until her true forever home comes along.