Magpie

Ready or not, here comes Magpie!

Magpie is a 7-year-old ShihTzu with beautiful black and white markings and the world’s cutest underbite. She weighs about 12lbs and is pure, unadulterated joy. Her fluffy little tail rarely stops moving and she must have been a tap dancer in a previous life because she puts on quite the show. The world outside the house is still a bit scary but with time and patience she will continue to blossom into the best little dog you’ve ever met!

Magpie spent the first 7 years of her life as a breeding mama in a large-scale breeding operation. In that previous life she did not have the benefit of proper care or socialization so moving into a house was a scary step for her. In the time she has been with me she has learned to FULLY embrace her new life and wakes up every day with excitement and acceptance. Strangers are still a bit scary, but it doesn’t take long for her to turn a stranger into a friend. Magpie is looking for a forever home where her new family can help her continue to build her confidence through patience and consistency.

Magpie would do well in any type of home environment. She would love a yard to wander around but as long as she has a safe place to do her business, she will be fine. She has just mastered stairs so a multi-level home would not be a problem for her. She is a very quiet dog and until recently the only time she ever made noise was a bit of whining when she wanted to be out of the crate with the other dogs in the house. I’m proud to say that she has found her voice this past week and will now give a very excited AWOO WOO WOO while she is waiting for breakfast! It’s adorable and not at all loud so apartment or townhouse living will not be a concern. Magpie walks very well on the leash and stays right beside her handler. She gets a few small walks a day, weather permitting, and really enjoys her time outside. She is not a dog who requires endless amounts of exercise but the continued exposure to the world is very good for her confidence.

Magpie has been a perfect house guest. A typical morning for Magpie looks like this: wake up with a wildly wagging tail, outside with my friends for a potty break, AWOO WOO WOO, lick foster mom’s pants, run up the stairs to the couch, lick the couch, jump off the couch and lick a foster sibling, run to the kitchen to check on breakfast, drain a bowl of water, lick the cabinet and repeat! She is just happy to be here and we’re happy to have her. Magpie loves to push her face against me when we’re sitting together and if there is an inch between me and the back of the couch, she is determined to fit into that inch of space! She wants to be with her family and to lick everything and everyone.

When Magpie came into rescue care she was horribly matted and had to be shaved down to free her from that discomfort. She was nothing but cooperative throughout that process and has been an angel to groom since. Bathing her is simple and her professional groomer fell in love with her gentle and sweet nature. It will take time for her coat to fully recover from the years of neglect, but she will get there with continued grooming now that she is on a high-quality diet. House training Magpie was quick and easy, and she has not had an accident in the house. She is also crate trained and is relaxed in her crate. Magpie is crated whenever I am out of the house or unable to properly monitor her. On days when I work in the office, she is used to being crated in the morning and again in the afternoon with a potty break at noon. She eats in her crate and sleeps in her crate without any complaint. Transitioning into a house using a crate helped her to decompress and learn to feel safe and it will be important to continue this routine for her as she moves to her forever home. She also rides in the crate in the car for her safety and is a quiet and cooperative passenger.

Magpie is being fostered in a home with multiple dogs, and she gets along with them all without issue. She would benefit from having a canine sibling in her forever home as they act as great role models for her, but she would also be fine in a home without other dogs. Any other dogs in the home have to be patient enough to deal with Magpie’s excitement as she sometimes bumps into the other dogs. When we are out walking, she is unaffected by other dogs and shows mild interest in little neighbourhood creatures like squirrels and rabbits. She has not been tested with cats, but I think she would be fine in a home with a cat if said cat was dog-savvy and could tolerate the love and licks from a happy little ShihTzu.

Magpie has little exposure to children, but she would likely be fine in a home with kids who could be taught how to handle her kindly and respectfully. Homes with children over the age of 10 would be appropriate. She would also thrive in an adult only home.

Magpie will benefit greatly from formal training, and this will be mandatory for her new family. This experience will help her continue to build her confidence and form strong bonds with her family. In foster care she has not learned any formal commands, but she has learned how to be a polite and patient dog in the home.

Since coming into rescue Magpie has been spayed, vaccinated and microchipped and her parasitic blood testing all came back negative. She has a moderate amount of tartar on her teeth which is to be expected, given her life so far. There is nothing that needs immediate attention with her teeth, but her new family should be prepared for her to require a dental procedure in the next year. The bigger concern for Magpie is relating to her heart. She was found to have a murmur and further investigation revealed that she has early degenerative mitral valve disease, which is a common age-related heart condition in dogs. Her heart rate and blood pressure have been tested and are within normal ranges and with very mild enlargement of the heart, Magpie falls into stage B2 of the disease. She has had further testing and has been started on heart medication for this disease, as this medication has shown to be beneficial. Magpie has no physical symptoms and is the happiest dog around. Her new family needs to be ready to keep monitoring this disease with her vet and keep up with medication requirements. Magpie needs to avoid excessive exercise, keep an ideal body weight and see her vet regularly.

Magpie the ShihTzu is the sweetest, happiest little dog I have ever had the pleasure of fostering. She entered rescue with a healthy amount of fear but it did not take her long to leave her old life in the rear view. She needs a home where her family can stay on top of her medical needs while giving her a life full of love and encouragement. It’s easy to want to coddle a dog like Magpie, but she is looking for a supportive family who can guide her to the confident little girl she is meant to be. She loves the couch, her little adventures around the neighbourhood and squeezing into tine spots behind your back. She’ll lick everything you own and then bond fiercely to you! She needs better care now then she has ever had the privilege of receiving but her payment will be beautiful tap-dancing routines in the kitchen while you both AWOO WOO WOO. She’s the next great love of someone’s life – could that be you?