ALICIA

ALICIA ABIN#18-120- F, 1 Year

Gender: Female
Age: 1 year (approx. DOB Oct 10, 2017)
Size/Weight: 26

Color: Black & White

Breed: English Setter (maybe mixed with border collie?)

Good with Children: There are no young children in Alicia’s foster home, but a number of people (including school age children) have come to visit her puppies, and she has been good with them.  She is a tender dog, so she would do better with children who have grown out of the toddler ear & tail pulling stage.

Good with Dogs: Yes, Alicia is good with other dogs.  She lives in a home with many other dogs and she is fine with them, but she doesn’t really want to play with them.  When she first arrived in her foster home, she was pregnant and was a bit grumbly with the other dogs.  Since her pups were born, she has been with them rather than the other dogs, but she was reintroduced to the resident pack over the holidays and was fine with them.  If they bug her too much, she will let them know to back off, but she is comfortable with other dogs.  Unlike some of my other fosters, she would be fine in a home with no other dogs. 

Good with Cats: Unknown.  There are no cats in Alicia’s foster home.   

   

House trained: Completely.  Alicia has never had an accident in the house.

Crate trained: Yes, but she doesn’t love it and really doesn’t need to be crated.  For most of her time in foster care, she has had free roam of the finished part of the basement, and she has done very well.

Leash trained: Yes.  Alicia is very good on leash.  If she seems something interesting, she will sometimes freeze and stare at it and very occasionally pulls, but she generally walks very well beside me or 2 feet in front of me.  Is she stops and I want her to move, I just say “come on Lee Lee” in a happy voice and she comes right along.  She is petite and calm on leash and generally a pleasure to walk with.

Activity Level: Moderate to High.  Alicia doesn’t need hours of running and wrestling like some of her foster siblings, but she does like a good walk and/or romp in the yard.  Alicia is playful outside, but calms down beautifully in the house and loves to cuddle.  Although she doesn’t have the super activity level of many young setters, she is incredibly athletic and agile.  She is also very clever and would be an excellent candidate for agility or rally if her family were interested in that.

Fence: A fence is always preferred, but Alicia could be happy with a bunch of good walks, hikes and attention from her family.  Alicia is a gymnast, and she has springs in her legs – she can jump a 5 foot fence without even a running start, so she would need a very tall fence or invisible fence to be safely contained.

Training/Behavior: Alicia has not had a lot of formal training, but she is incredibly smart and eager to please, and she learns very quickly what is expected of her.  She never had an accident in her foster home, and she responds very well to training.  I think she would be do very well with some advanced training.

Medical History: Alicia did test positive for Ehrlichia before she came over from Greece, but due to her pregnancy, my vet did not want to start treatment because of the risk to her babies.  Now that her puppies are weaned and headed to their new homes, she is being treated with antibiotics.  She will need to be retested in a few months and, if not clear, may require another course of doxycycline.  She has not exhibited any symptoms of illness and received an otherwise clean health check from my vet.  She is up to date on vaccinations and will be spayed on January 10th, 2019.  She will be available to go to her new home about 1 week after her spay surgery.

Alicia originates from Greece where Leishmaniasis is endemic. She tested negative before coming to the USA, but the parasite can remain dormant in the system for many years, so potential adopters must be willing to commit to annual testing for the next 7 years.  Typically, the test needs to be sent to a special lab, but any regular vet can draw the blood and send it to the lab.  The test typically costs $120-150.

        
Foster Comments:
Alicia is a wonderful, petite little girl.  She is friendly, happy and very affectionate.  She is very focused on her people and loves to be with you.  She likes to lie in your lap and give you kisses.  At only 26 pounds, she is a perfect little lap setter.

Alicia arrived in her USA foster home already pregnant, so she has spent most of the time in her foster home caring for her babies.  Despite being really a baby herself, Alicia was a great momma to her 7 babies.  She was very protective of them, and they were all healthy and well cared for.  Now that her babies have found their own homes, she is ready to be the princess of her own home and family.

Alicia is one of the most agile and most intelligent setters I have ever had.  She is the consummate gymnast – can jump very high and balance standing on the back of the sofa or the edge of her whelping box.  I think she would excel at agility or performance sports.  Aside from being pregnant, she has in many ways been one of my easiest fosters. She housetrained immediately and is very well-behaved in the house.  She is generally pretty quiet and easy-going and just wants a family to love her and spend lots of time with her.

Adoption Fee: $300.00

Foster Location: Temperence, MI

Volunteer transport can be arranged in the Continental US within a 1,000 mile distance between adopters & foster home. Typically, we are able to transport your adopted dog to within 2 hours of your home. *Dogs can be adopted outside the 1000 mile transport distance; however, adopters must be willing to either fly their adopted dog, drive to a location within the 1000 mile transport range, or make independent transport arrangements for their adopted dog. Transports to far West states, from Eastern states, may have additional restriction

ALICIA