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Heidi is Looking for a Fur-Ever Home!

Welcome Heidi! Heidi is a young Hound mix and will probably top out at about 50lbs. She is about 8 months old now and currently weighs 42 lbs. Heidi is good with other dogs and cats, she is mostly housebroken and she is crate trained!  In fact, she loves her crate so much that if she ever needs a moment to unwind and relax, that is the first place she goes. Sometimes Heidi will ignore her feline friends while other times she tries to get them to play. When the cat gives a warning and hisses back, she backs off and finds something better to do.

Heidi currently lives in a household with a lot of canine friends, including both older dogs and younger puppies.  She loves playing with her siblings and could wrestle and run with them all day long!  She plays gently with the smaller, younger pups and really cuts loose for a good romp with her bigger foster brother Forest.  Heidi’s doggy friends act like a security blanket for Heidi and help her learn new things.  You see, Heidi is a shy pup. She started life as a stray in a vacant lot with her mom and a few liter mates.  Some kind folks found her family and got them to safety at animal control when she was around four months old.  Up until that point the world had been a very scary place for her.  Since coming into foster care, Heidi has improved tremendously and she's a normal happy puppy at home with Foster Mom!  New places and new situations, especially without a doggy friend, are still very scary for Heidi.  She will lay down and shiver, trying to melt straight into the floor, and disappear when she gets overwhelmed. But thankfully, with a lot of practice and patience, that is happening less and less as Heidi gains more confidence to take on the world!

At home with Foster Mom, Heidi now joins her siblings in the "I’m so happy foster mom is home" dance!  Rubbing up against Foster Mom's legs and hoping for some pets.  She appreciates pets in short spurts and after a few good rub downs she happily frolics off to play.  Sometimes if she is feeling really really happy, she will jump up on the couch and give Foster Mom a few little baby kisses then lay down for a nap beside her. She isn’t big on cuddling just yet; that’s still a little out of her comfort zone, but she lays near Mom so she can be nearby for occasional pets and love.

Out of the house, Heidi has made huge improvements.  She can now walk confidently on a leash alongside her siblings in a quiet neighborhood.  If there is a lot of traffic she still gets a little worried and hides behind her siblings to feel safer, but as soon as the traffic passes she shakes herself off and is ready to walk again.  With her other 4-legged friends, she is sooo happy and will even jog alongside Mom!  She just has the cutest run, tossing her puppy paws out in front of her and bouncing around having a blast.  If she is by herself though, she is more worried that the big scary world is about to eat her and will hang very close to Foster Mom giving her the “are you really sure we should be doing this” look.  Because Heidi appears so much more confident with doggy friends, we think she would do best in a home with another confident pup.

One of Heidi’s favorite times of day is dog park time!  Foster Mom just can’t even believe the difference in Heidi at the dog park.  She runs around having soooo much fun!!  Happily greeting any new dog she thinks will play with her and be her new BFF.  It is absolutely the most adorable thing when a doggy BFF (that aren't her siblings) comes into the park.  Her little tail wags sooo hard it just about looks like it is going to fly off and she showers her friends in kisses!  She is still shy and wary of strange people at the dog park and if someone tries to pet her she will shy away and stay just out of arms reach.  If they crouch down she will slowly walk up to them and sniff their finger tips hoping for treats but if they are empty handed, she takes a few steps back again.  As soon as they turn around and aren’t paying attention to her, Heidi will sneak up behind them and sniff them.  She is very curious and wants to trust people, but just needs a little bit more time (and a patient and understanding family) to help her figure out how to let her guard down and confidently greet strangers.  Heidi is comfortable being around strangers at the park…she just prefers they respect her personal space bubble.

For the most part, Heidi is laid back and reserved in the house and her most excited points come in spurts while playing in the backyard or wrestling on the couch with Forest on rainy days. Play sessions with Forest in the backyard or visiting the dog park are the best form of exercise for her right now, but jogging would also be an option if she had a doggy friend to join her on the run and it wasn’t along a busy roadway. Overall, Heidi is an independent gal who doesn’t need much physical affection but still wants to be part of the pack and spend time in the same room as the rest of the family.

Though Heidi still has some work to do, she has come a long way since her first day in her foster home. From shaking in the corner and bolting as soon as someone walked by, to having a blast playing at the dog park, we are confident she is well on her way to finding her new forever home. With a little time, TLC, and patience, Heidi will make a great addition to your family. Keep checking back in for updates on Heidi as she continues to improve!!

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