Misty

This friendly and affectionate girl is Misty! Her name should actually be Happy, but Misty it is! She is a Cocker Spaniel with the classic wavy fur, soft ears and beautiful golden fur. She was born in 2021 making her 4yrs old and weighs about 27 pounds. Being a Cocker Spaniel, Misty’s family would need to provide her with regular ear cleaning and brushing to keep her in tip top shape. Please read her bio carefully to make sure you can offer this lovely girl all she needs to thrive in her forever home.  

Misty is a puppy mill mama. For the first years of her life, she was used for breeding. Despite this, she is a friendly happy pup who is ready to live her best life. She is mastering many new things in her life like stairs, doorways, being on a leash, vacuums, and doorbells. This girl loves people and affection. She likes to rest against our feet. If your feet don’t touch the ground, no problem. Misty will lay under your feet! Currently, Misty would be considered a medium energy dog. She has big spurts of energy when she wakes up in the morning or when her people come home. I do suspect that she will be more energetic once she settles into her life of freedom. Not surprising, Misty can be a bit nervous. She startles at sudden movements but recovers and comes back to investigate. 

Misty loves all of her family members and she loves when everyone is together. She will follow me from room to room, working hard to be helpful. I often don’t even hear her but there she is!  She needs to be considered a trip hazard as she does like to be underfoot at times.    She bops up the few stairs going up in the house but she hasn’t mastered a full set of stairs yet. We are working on this.  Her forever home will need to not have a long flight of stairs that she needs to manoeuvre right away, or she will need to be carried until she learns the stairs.   She is cautious with new people but she does warm up nicely. Misty loves affection from people that she knows. She has had some positive interactions with older children. Misty would be suitable for a family with children over the ages of 10 as they would be able to respect her nervousness.   Any children in the home though would need to be of an age and maturity to fully grasp that mill dogs are flight risks and doors and gates must be securely closed every time to ensure she isn’t given any chance to run away.   Misty is being fostered with another dog (and two birds). She is not overly interested in the dog or the birds. She calmly greets other dogs when out walking. She would do well in a house with a friendly dog to show her ‘how to dog’. She would also do well in a home where she is the only pet. More attention for Misty would suit her just fine!  We also don’t see any issue with her being in a home with a dog savvy cat. 

Misty has made excellent progress with house training. With frequent outdoor breaks, Misty does all of her business outside. Misty is also crate trained despite not loving her crate. She was sleeping downstairs but would sadly howl when she was left alone. Her crate is now beside our bed and she quickly goes to sleep without complaints once she knows we are there. She is crated during the day if we leave and we believe that she is quiet during that time.  We also feed her in her crate to increase her comfort with it. Misty enjoys going for walks. She is building confidence and endurance. She used to flatten herself to the sidewalk when a car passed by but that has passed. She walks well on a leash with minimal pulling. She LOVES trail walks as they are quiet and filled with great smells. Misty has been on several car rides. She is nervous but quiet.  She just needs more trips to fun places to get more comfortable with this.  She needs to be secured in the car to ensure her safety and to prevent her running out the door when opened.

Misty is only reliably comfortable to do her business out in the securely fenced yard at this time.  She will have the occasional pee when out on a walk but this can’t be relied on for her to get all of her potty business done.  For this reason Misty will require a securely fenced yard in her forever home.  It should be noted too that Misty, like many Cockers, is a submissive piddler.   This means she will piddle a tiny bit of urine when someone goes to pet her and she is nervous of this.  She is fine in the home with the people she is comfortable with but if a stranger tries to pet her or put her leash on she will sometimes piddle.  Anyone considering Misty will need to have patience for this and know that for the first while in a new home while she is adjusting and getting comfortable, piddles will happen.  It’s a Cocker thing and is a sign of a very sweet natured dog.   Having flooring that is easy to wipe up a piddle will be super beneficial.   

Everyone who meets Misty can’t help but be charmed by her. Her big brown eyes, floppy ears and wagging tail are the first things you will likely notice. She recently discovered toys. She will pull toys out of the bin one by one or run around with it in her mouth. She is learning what is a toy for her and what is not for her. With Misty sleeping by your feet, you may forget that she is even there until she makes a big snoring sound and then all is quiet again. This girl also watches tv! She will go right up to the tv to investigate a bark or a visible dog. It’s very cute!

We have been so happy to give Misty a soft place to decompress after being rescued. We know that her lucky forever family is out there and waiting for her. She is ready to receive and give lots of love.  If you’re someone who can offer Misty the love and security to keep growing, she’ll undoubtedly become a loyal, loving family member.