Fern

Fern

This gorgeous girl is Fern and she is a 2yr old German Shepherd and scruffy terrier mix with the most stunning amber eyes.  She is a striking dog that makes everyone comment about how good looking she is, but what is most appealing about Fern is her super friendly demeanor and happy attitude.  She is extremely affectionate and is always ready for a cuddle.   She is 45lbs right now with a bit more to gain.  Fern came to us from a rural pound where she was an unclaimed stray.  She was heavily pregnant and had her puppies the day after arriving at her foster home.  She was a good mom to 9 pups but her mommy time is done now and its time for Fern to find her happily ever after.   Fern will be a most wonderful dog to the right family that has a lot of love to give to a goofy, happy big pup.

Fern is house trained and crate trained and quite likes her crate as a place to rest and relax while we are away and at night.  She will rest quietly until you come and let her out.  Fern rarely barks and is a very quiet dog.  We are sure, given time to feel totally secure in her home, she will bark when someone comes on the property as most Shepherds  and Terriers do, but she is a generally quiet and calm dog.    She has been known to bark at the horses who share her fence line in her foster home but this shouldn’t be much of an issue in her forever home.   She will also bark to be let back in from out in the yard,  but that is pretty much the extent of it.  Fern has a peaceful grace about her and is a very easy dog to live with.  Even though she is a young dog, she is very sensible and conducts herself with maturity beyond her years.  And when she walks she is nicely at your side, she saunters along beautifully and doesn’t pull….unless she sees a squirrel/bunny or the like.  Fern does have a prey drive for little critters that run.  So you have to keep a good hold of the leash and be aware of your surroundings as she is such a dream to walk normally that if a bunny darts by you will be caught off guard by Fern wanting to give chase.    She is also great in the car, and true to her dignified self, rides in a civilized manner of quiet reflection of the passing scenery.  There is no bouncing around or silly barking in the car with Fern.  That’s so uncouth!! 

Fern is being fostered in a home with other dogs and she does well with them.  We feel that she would do best though being the only dog in the home and getting all of the dog attention as she really does crave her people’s affections.  She also would not enjoy sharing her home with a female dog but could have female dog friends.  She does prefer goofy male dogs though and her bestie in her foster home is a young Frenchie.     We would want her to have a social network of dog friends that she can walk with on a regular basis though.  It is important for Fern’s socialization that she maintains friendships with other dogs and gets to hang out with other dogs to fulfil her needs.  Fern is also being fostered with cats and she is good with them.  She ignores the cats for the most part and our cats are so used to dogs that they don’t react when a new dog comes along.  We would consider a home for Fern with a cat only if the cat is used to dogs and knows how to behave appropriately as Fern will certainly chase a cat that runs from her.  Fern is not being fostered with children and although she is very friendly and would be fine with kids she meets, we are looking for a home for her without children at this time or kids over 10 years of age as she has some recovery time needed from medical treatments (explained below) and needs a quiet, calm home for that.   For a couple considering kids the future Fern would be fine as she has such a good temperament and once done her medical treatments will be fine with a gentle introduction to young kids. 

Fern is VERY smart and is picking up on obedience skills very easily.   She is a highly trainable dog and already has a good base of skills.    We will only consider a family for Fern that will dedicate themselves to training Fern to her top potential.  She will need to attend a quality obedience school and go through the multiple levels of training offered.  She will be a top student and she will love going to school so we know her new family will have fun teaching her and bonding with her through classes.

On a sad note, Fern has been diagnosed with Heartworm disease and Lyme disease.  Her previous owner obviously didn’t have her on the preventative which would have ensured she was protected from these diseases.  Heartworm and Lyme disease are totally preventable diseases that are spread by mosquitoes and ticks.  These diseases are in Southern Ontario and we are seeing more and more of them as each year passes.  We are a rescue that Heartworm and Lyme tests all of the dogs we take in for exactly this reason.  The good news is that Fern is completely free of symptoms and is an otherwise healthy dog, and we are committed to treating this and will get her all better.  She was diagnosed early on in the development and has an excellent  recovery prognosis.  We have had many other dogs in our program that have had heartworm and have treated those dogs successfully and all are living active and healthy lives.  Fern has no idea she has this disease and is in every way a happy dog.  Fern has been cleared to be adopted as there is no reason to hold her back.  Her adoptive family will need to be willing to work with us as we treat her for this and that will require approx. 2 trips to our vet in Cambridge over the span of a few months so it is not a huge time commitment.  We will fully explain the treatment plan with potential adopters but in general she will get 1 injection of the medication  while with us and then a follow up of 2 injections in a month after.  She needs to be rested , have a quiet home, and have limited exercise for a period of time after the injections but otherwise goes about her daily life. We will be responsible for the cost for her treatment; we just don’t see any reason why she can’t be adopted into a loving home while we go about getting rid of the nasty heartworms and managing her Lyme disease.  We have  heartworm/lyme dogs adopted during their treatments and it works out well for the dogs and the families.  Her adoptive family will need to live within 30min or so from Cambridge in order to get her to our vet for the appointments (which would be scheduled to suit the adoptive family).  As for the Lyme disease, Fern is non symptomatic and doesn’t require any treatment at this time. Her adoptive family just needs to be aware of her Lyme status and advise their vet of it and understand that she will test positive for Lyme’s every time she has her heartworm/lyme tests done.   Lyme disease cannot be cured, but it is managed quite effectively.    Once her treatment is completed her new family will be free to take her to their own vet  for regular check- ups etc.  She just needs to complete her Heartworm treatment through our veterinary team.

Anyone lucky enough to adopt Fern will get a gorgeous dog that is loveable and affectionate and will make you smile every day.  She needs continued work as she is still a young dog  but she has come a long way already in her foster home and has all the potential in the world.  Fern is active outdoors and needs daily play and walks to be happy.  An active family that already gets out and walks and loves being outdoors is needed for Fern as she will want to join in on your outdoor adventures.  She requires a home with a decent sized fenced back yard to play in and run around in.  She is a dog that enjoys being outside so she needs a secure fenced yard where she can spend some time surveying her terrain and soaking up the sun.  She also loves chasing a large ball around when you throw it for her and she’s learning to bring it back!  She is good on leash and is a nice dog to walk so she is looking for daily long walks to get out and see new sights and smell new smells.  

This dog is a prize! She is easy to live with and much easier to love and she gives a lot back!  She is so trusting and devoted; whoever adopts this dog will have a loyal companion for life.  And we can’t think of a better companion than this big and remarkably beautiful girl!  If you love scruffy dogs, this dog is one in a million.  She is definitely something special!