Mirabel

Hello world, meet Mirabel!

Mirabel is a petite Cavalier King Charles spaniel who had quite a rough start in life. Mirabel is only 9 pounds and is quite small for a CKC spaniel. Mirabel has a wonderfully soft coat and the cutest little face with giant eyes that she often uses to gaze lovingly into her favourite people’s eyes. Mirabel is two years old, and she still has the innocence and energy of a puppy! Mirabel is an absolutely adorable and joyful little dog who has a wonderfully loving, gentle, and affectionate personality! Mirabel is fantastic company to have around and if you’re looking for a best friend or loved family member who adores being around you, or on your lap, Mirabel just might be your girl!!

Mirabel arrived to us months ago and was very ill and only 6 pounds when she arrived. She had been purchased to be a puppy mill mom but when the commercial breeders realized how sick she was they decided to dump her instead of getting her the care she needed. That ended up being great for Mirabel because she found herself in Pound Dog’s care! When she arrived her health had been neglected to the point where she was starving to death and she had multiple parasites. Her poor little body was just skin stretched over bones and she was so sick she could barely keep her eyes open as her body was shutting down. She was severely anemic and struggling to absorb nutrients and was desperately in need of rescue and some TLC and vet care! Luckily, after months in care Mirabel has recovered and has been loving all that life brings. 

I am putting Mirabel’s medical needs up at the top of her bio, because other than her (managed) medical needs she is, in my opinion, a perfect dog. Mirabel will need an owner who is able to pay attention to specific requirements surrounding her eating and digestion.

After treating her parasites, we noticed that Mirabel was still not gaining weight. An ultrasound showed that her intestines were quite inflamed, and she has an intestinal malabsorption issue. Though this is manageable, it is a lifelong condition that needs to be monitored, and she needs to eat a specific diet without any changes, treats, or human food to prevent any tummy upsets. Mirabel is on a prescription medication that she takes every other day as well. Her forever family will need to be on top of monitoring her bloodwork every few months, to make sure all levels are staying stable and within the normal range. When her stomach is upset it is very hard on her and she will refuse to eat which causes her weight to drop. All family members in her adoptive home need to be to stick to her strict diet which is a mixture of vet prescribed wet food and novel protein kibble that we have found works well for her. We feel confident that with an attentive owner who supports her strict diet, her medical needs can be met and not negatively impact her life as they have been well managed for some time in foster care. 

Though everything else about Mirabel is currently healthy, including her heart, CKC spaniels are dogs who tend to have high health needs. Mirabel’s forever family should be well researched or familiar with the breed as they are wonderful dogs but can be prone to needing additional medical support. Although tremendously lovely, this is not a breed for those who aren’t committed to having a very close relationship with their vet team and multiple visits yearly to keep on top of their health care.  This is a high needs medical care breed and only those who are fully aware of this and adore Cavi’s despite their high medical needs and the costs that come along with that should consider sweet Mirabel. We always say that they make CKC Spaniels extra sweet and loving to compensate for the medical issues.

Other than Mirabel’s medical needs she is the most perfect little dog who just wants to be loved and included in everything going on in her home! Mirabel adores snuggling her humans and giving them constant affection! She is most often found curled up on our laps or in our arms. She is the absolute definition of a lap dog and will contort herself in many ways just to be sleeping on a human. We often say “Mirabel, that cannot be comfortable!!” when she’s all twisted into a pretzel shape to make sure she can fit on any available lap space. CKC Spaniels are known for being incredibly people oriented, lovey-dovey, and attached to their humans and Mirabel fits that description perfectly. She just adores being loved and in particular wants to be nearby her foster mum at all times!Mirabel is a playful little dog who loves zooming around and playing with her people and would be absolutely over the moon if any of her dog siblings played with her! Mirabel LOVES dog friends, she just thinks they are the best and wants to cuddle them, follow them around, and do everything with them! Mirabel loves her foster sister, who is overall pretty indifferent to Mirabel, but Mirabel is always happy when her foster sister decides she’d like to cuddle for a bit! Mirabel isn’t too pushy about seeking out love from her dog housemates, she has good body language and social skills, but she sometimes doesn’t realize personal space is a thing… She just doesn’t understand why anyone would want personal space! If you have a social pup who wants to play and have a dog best friend, then Mirabel would be a great fit! If you have a dog who is happy to have company but not too playful, Mirabel would also be a great fit! She is such a sweet little lady and she gains confidence being around dog friends around her size. Due to Mirabel’s delicate frame and small size, any dogs in Mirabel’s forever home should be small – medium sized so she doesn’t accidentally get hurt.  Mirabel does not have good self-preservation skills and does not understand that she needs to get out of the pathway of other dogs. She could get seriously hurt if there is a large size discrepancy as she is so sweet and passive she will just let other dogs walk all over her, literally. A few times a week her cocker spaniel foster sister, who is over twice her size, will go lay on Mirabel and Mirabel won’t move even if she’s getting squished! We often have to step in and make sure Mirabel is safe due to her teeny tiny size. Another dog is not a requirement for Mirabel, she’s also happy just getting human attention, but she really loves friends of all species. Mirabel has not been cat tested but I am certain she would love to be near any type of animal and would do everything in her power to win them over as a snuggle buddy. Any cats in the home would need to be gentle and friendly as she is smaller than a lot of cats and could easily get hurt by a swat, or at the very least, her feelings would be very hurt if she wasn’t accepted into the home by any family member!

Mirabel is housetrained and has learned how to ask to be let out to go to the bathroom. She will signal in our house by going to the back door to ask to go out to the yard, but sometimes she will have an accident in new places, or if she’s not taken out regularly. Even with her stomach concerns under control she still needs to go a few times a day so a home where she can be taken out every few hours would be best for her.

Due to Mirabel’s delicate and small size we would recommend that all family members in the home are at least over the age of 12.  She cannot have any human food of any kind so all family members should be old enough to understand not to feed her, though this also applies to family members of any age who might want to cave to her adorable big eyes begging for food! Mirabel is quite playful and affectionate, so older children who are mindful of her size and needs, would likely make great friends of hers! Mirabel loves to play, but does NOT like rough play. She is so small and sweet it can be scary if those playing with her aren’t gentle and careful with her.

Mirabel is so friendly and loving that sometimes it’s so easy to forget that she had a tough start in life! The one area we do see this come out is when loud noises are happening on walks if it’s really busy out! When a dog is startled they act unpredictably and will panic and unfortunately we often see this fear response amplified with puppy mill rescues. Mirabel must never be in an open area without a secure leash attached to a properly fitted martingale collar. Mirabel would not do well in a busy downtown core and would prefer a quieter neighbourhood. Mirabel loves her fenced backyard at her fosters house, but we had to be very careful to board up every teeny tiny hole. Mirabel is not a dog that can be just let outside into the yard without supervision. Mirabel does LOVE zooming around her fenced yard, but it is not a requirement for her forever home. She will need somewhere semi-private to do her business, and does need bathroom access every few hours during the day, but she can do that on leash if need be. 

Mirabel is still a young dog and she just loves to play and interact with the world around her! With her eager to please nature she would do really well with training and additional engagement with her! Honestly, she’s happy to do anything with her people and brainwork and learning would be quite fun for her! She settles and snuggles a ton, but she isn’t a couch potato who only wants to laze around all day, she wants to try new things and experience the world! Often when I’m working from home and it’s been a while, I’ll see her just get up from her sleeping spot and, tail wiggling, hop up the stairs just to go see a new room and hopefully get me up to follow her! She will settle back down but only after she’s stretched her legs, and maybe got a drink of water and some pets and snuggles.

Mirabel travels in the car really well, but the poor girl gets car sick if she’s put in a crate to travel. To keep her safe in the car, we use a doggie seatbelt rather than a crate. She likes going with us places, and even took a multiple hour ride to the cottage during her time in foster care!  

Mirabel sleeps well in her crate overnight and is crated when we leave the house. When she is left alone, she settles pretty well, but can intermittently yip, whine, and bark depending on her mood. For that reason we recommend her forever home not be in an apartment building or condo so you don’t get any noise complaints. Mirabel is fine to be left alone for a few hours each day but the strongly believes that the more time she can spend with her family, the better! She just loves being around people.

Mirabel is an amazing little dog who is looking for a loving family who just adores her and can be attentive to her medical needs. She loves being loved and really is looking for a forever home with people who she can bond and connect with and truly become a family member, it’s her greatest desire in life! I’ve written this bio over the course of a few days and every time I go to sit to write it Mirabel finds herself in my lap alternating between snuggling and sleeping and staring at me lovingly. She is an absolutely precious and sweet little dog who just enjoys every moment she spends around people and with other dogs. She wants nothing more than to be cared for and show her humans all the love in the world in return. If you’re looking for a playful, sweet, loving, adorable little lap dog, look no further than our little miss Mirabel!