MEADOW

Gender: Female
Age: ~2-4 years
Size/Weight: 26 lbs (underweight – vet recommends 32-33lbs)

Color: Tri-color (black, white, and tan)

Breed: English Setter

Good with Children: There are no children in Meadow’s foster home, but she been very gentle around children in the neighborhood and at the park.  Meadow is petite, not too much of a jumper, and is very mild when taking food or treats (i.e. NOT a snapper) so I think she would be fine with smaller, toddler aged, children.

Good with Dogs: Yes. Meadow’s foster family includes two dogs, a senior female and an active male.  Although Meadow doesn’t really play with the dogs, she is calm around both.  No resource guarding— happy to share a food and water bowl.  

Good with Cats: Seems to be.  There are no cats in Meadow’s foster home, but she visited a home with a cat.  She sniffed but was not aggressive or overly interested in the cat.   

House trained: Work in progress.  Meadow has not had an accident in the house recently; however, her foster folks have her on a strict feeding, and to a lesser extent, drinking schedule and walk her at very regular intervals.  I think Meadow understands the concept, but her adoptive family will need to establish a similar schedule and continue to monitor her while she settles in.

Crate trained: No.  Meadow does not like to be crated, to the point of self-injury.  She’s typically a very mild and gentle girl, but she is extremely anxious and stressed when crated.  Given her eagerness to please, with a significant time investment, I think that it may be possible to crate train her.  However, her adoptive family MUST go very slow (start with extremely limited confinement— maybe 2mins, max).  Immediately putting her in a crate for an 8hr workday is absolutely NOT a safe option for her.  Gating (using baby or pet gates) might be an option; however, Meadow likes to be with her people and has jumped a regular-sized gate to get to us.  Meadow’s adoptive family will need to have a solid plan to manager her when they are out of the home.

Leash trained: Quite good.  Meadow takes long (30mins or more) leash walks at least 3times/day.  She enjoys her walks and is not too much of a puller (I often walk her with my other two dogs).  She will get excited and jump or pull when she sees active critters (bunnies and squirrels).  It’s not terrible, but that needs work.

Activity Level: Moderate to low.  She likes her walks and, the critters, but typically, she’d rather be snuggled with her people than running in the yard.

Fence: I would recommend as a safety precaution.  When outside in our yard, she stays close to us— preferring to lay on the deck near us rather than run laps as my male setter does.  Our fence is relatively low (about 3ft) and she’s fine with it (no attempts to jump it or otherwise escape). 

Training/Behavior: Meadow is still learning about being an inside dog. Her temperament is very sweet and mild, but she needs to continue learning basic obedience.  We’ve worked primarily on recall (coming when called) and that’s going well, but needs reinforcement/practice.  Although she’s small, she’s able to counter surf— we’re working on that too. She gets along very well with everyone— kids, males, etc and wants only to be loved by people. I think an obedience class would be a great way for her adoptive family to bond with her. 

Medical History:  Meadow is overall healthy and up-to-date on vaccinations.  She was spayed and is on flea/tick and heart worm preventatives. She needs to gain about 5lbs— she’s a good eater, so I doubt this will be difficult.  

Meadow is recovering from “happy tail” (a condition where she wags her tail against something (e.g. wall, crate, floor, etc) with such force that the tip of the tail opens (and bleeds)).  Meadow is under a veterinarian’s care for the condition and has her tail wrapped (proper wrapping is critical to limiting the opportunity for re-injury (which has happened once already)). In serious cases, where the tail does not heal, partial amputation of the tail may be necessary.  In Meadow’s case, the vet is optimistic that the tail will mend on its own.  

Meadow is 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 cost of the test seems to vary widely by area, but I pay ~$150 at my vet.

 
Foster Comments:
Meadow is stunningly beautiful and an expert cuddler. She was found emaciated on the streets of northern Greece.  It’s likely she was an abandoned hunting dog. Her rescue team reports that she is gun-shy (scared of gunfire noise), so that may be the reason for her abandonment.  Her foster family lives in a suburban area and have not found her to be scared of noises typical for their area (e.g. thunder, school buses, lawn mowers, drills, Navy jets, etc).  If you live in a rural area where there may be gunfire, you may need to help acclimate Meadow to those noises.

Meadow is still learning about living in a house, but she is doing very well.  She’s never chewed anything inappropriate and is well on her way to being house-trained. She is a very quiet girl, hardly ever barks (inside or outside).  She LOVES people and wants to be close by her people at all times.  She loves pats and attention.  She does not have any sensitive areas (i.e. will willingly give you her paw, let you put a pill in her mouth, touch her ears and face, even touch her tail (which is still healing) without any complaint or discomfort).  She loves treats, but has a very gentle mouth— no snapping or inadvertent biting.

While she will happily go for leash walks with you, she is not in any way hyper.  She is very content to sleep on her doggy bed while you bustle about around her. With her small size, agreeable attitude, and love of people, she will make an excellent companion dog.  She’d be a great match for those that can take her to work, as she would be very calm and content in an office setting, or who work from home or are retired.  Meadow needs a home where she will get plenty of personal attention from her people.  In return, her adoptive family will get an absolute treasure.  

Adoption Fee: $300.00

Foster Location: Virginia Beach, VA