ZORA
(FKA: Copper)
STATE: ME
AGE: 3 YEARS
WEIGHT: 45 LBS
SEX: FEMALE
NEUT/UTD: YES/YES
COAT COLOR: BRINDLE
DOCKED TAIL
NATURAL EARS
CHILDREN UNDER 4: YES
CHILDREN OVER 4: YES
SEPARATION ANXIETY: YES (see "NOTE" below)
OTHER DOGS: YES
CATS: YES
CRATE TRAINED: NO
HOUSE TRAINED: YES
OBEDIENCE TRAINED: Some
LEASH TRAINED: YES
MICROCHIPPED: UNSURE
ADOPTION DONATION: $300
NOTE: Due to my anxiety about being left alone for long periods of time daily, I need a home this time
with someone home more often (Examples: stay-at-home Mom/Dad, someone who works out of their
home, two people that work opposite shifts, retired, etc).
UPDATE 10/15/06 - My, how time flies when you are having fun!! Zora has been with us for 10
months now and we have missed several updates! Oops!!!
Zora continues do very well in our household. She hold her own against Boxer #1, Jake, and in fact,
she is usually the instigator of the daily/hourly boxing matches between the two! Lately, she has been
extra snuggly when Bill and I are sitting on the couch watching TV and has even begun climbing up
into the reclining chair with us-something only Jake used to do-our 70 pound lap dog! After several
early scares when Zora decided to explore the neighborhood unattended, we have had only one
episode since and she ran across the street to meet the UPS man then "allowed" me to catch her-a
VAST improvement over the hours long dance she used to engage us in! After nearly 2 years with
Boxers now, our cats still refuse to share space with them and so we keep the upstairs door closed
now to allow the cats their space and the dogs sleep and spend their time downstairs. Not an ideal
situation but it will have to do for now. Zora is a great match for us-she is Jake's opposite in many
ways, which is very positive as I don't think we'd remain sane with 2 Jakes!!! They get along so well,
you'd think they were littermates!! We are hoping to put a fenced area in the backyard in spring to
allow "the kids" to spend free time outside without the confines of leashes! Hopefully, it will also wear
them out a bit more and help the chaos that seems to occupy our home at times-with 2 dogs, 2 kids
and 4 cats, all very active-it can be a circus!!! But we wouldn't have it any other way!!
UPDATE 1/28/06 - Zora has settled herself right into our household. She has begun alerting to
noises outside although she hasn't barked or talked back to us yet-thankfully! Jake does it enough for
both of them. The two dogs have such a great time playing together, it is really fun to watch! Jake is
so glad to have another dog to rough house with and Zora is quite bold about stealing toys right out of
his mouth! She loves to sleep on the bottom bunk with my son or in bed with us, something she
wouldn't do for the first couple of weeks she was here. And her wiggle is unbelievable! She gets
wiggling so much that she actually walks at times with her body in a U shape! It is truly one of the
funniest things to see! Zora did give us quite a scare last weekend when she slipped through our legs
as we were coming in the door and took off. She had never even tried to get out before. Well, 4 1/2
emotional hours later, she finally tired of the game long enough to jump in the car and go home. But
not until she had at least 20 different neighbors out trying to catch her, including animal control. We
were sure she was going to get hit by a car. It was a big game for her, she was chasing cars and
snipping at the tires. Needless to say, little Zora is kept on a very close watch now whenever the
door is opened! Someone suggested that even though she is spayed, it may have been the time of
year she normally would have been in heat. Whatever it was, it worried us to no end and taught my
young sons a very valuable lesson about being mindful of letting the dogs out. Jake has been with us
long enough and has enough affection for easy love and treats that he can be trusted to go out, do his
business and then come back in. Hopefully, after a few more months and training, Zora will be able
to do the same! She still takes the Clovicalm, although I have dropped her to one pill a day and when
they are gone, we will not be getting a refill. We will begin helping her deal with her separation issues,
after first determining how bad they are.The vet says it will take up to 3 weeks to get the drug
completely out of her system. So, the desensitizing will begin asap.
1/19/06 - Zora has been adopted!
1/4/06 - Just wanted to give you a quick update on Zora. She is doing really well, has made herself
right at home! She plays just fine with my 4 year old son and doesn't play too rough so I think she
would be fine with other children under 4. I have not tried crating her yet, but will do so while I am
home and quiet in the next day or so. I did leave her this morning for 2 1/2 hours uncrated, with a
kong, while resident boxer, Jake, was crated. She was curled up on the couch when I returned,
nothing out of place! She rides nicely in the car and has the sweetest personality!!
Zora's previous owner did not have another dog and I think she may need another dog to help her
with her anxiety while people are gone during the day. Hope we find her forever home soon, before
my family gets TOO attached!!!!
12/31/05 - Zora has arrived at our foster home and boy, is she a cutie!! She enjoyed sniffing the
whole home and has met our resident Boxer, Jake. He immediately took the submissive and after a
few minor scuffles, she jumped right on him playfully! Unfortunately, Jake is not the brightest Boxer
and doesn't seem to know how to play so it scared him!! It will take a little time but I think they will
soon be friends!! Both tails never stopped wagging!!
Zora arrived with nearly up-to-date vet records and a prescription for Clomipramine, an
anti-depressant often used for separation anxiety. She is only due for Sentinel, up-to-date on all other
vaccines.
More info as we get to know her!!
12/30/05 - Unfortunately Zora is being surrendered back to rescue to find a different home. Her
owner works a lot and is gone 10 hours a day and Zora has anxiety about being left alone that long.
Here is info from her last owner: "I am very sad things aren't working. She is just the sweetest
thing, and I love having her here. I just think she would be so much happier with someone who
is home all day and who can give her the attention that she craves.". Watch for updates from
her new foster home this weekend.
UPDATE 9/23/05 - Zora is doing great. We were still having problems with her peeing on the carpet.
I have not been able to get her ok in a crate - she can drool an inch of slime within an hour of being
put in the crate. Since the only reason I didn't want her loose in the house was the peeing thing, we
went to the vet to see if he could help. He has put Zora on Clovacalm to help her anxiety. He believes
that she will only need to be on it for 30-90 days. But it has made a huge difference - she hasn't peed
on the rug in about 2 weeks. I am going on vacation next month, and she will be staying at the 'Pet
Spa' nearby (some of their rooms have futons and tvs!). After we get home, I will talk to the vet about
how long we should keep her on the meds. Hopefully we'll have her off of them by Thanksgiving. I
still wish that she could be crated - it would allow me to leave her with friends instead of having to
board her somewhere. She has finished her basic obedience training, where we worked mostly on
manners (wait, leave it, not jumping, walking nicely, etc). She is doing well with this. I am using a
gentle leader on her now, and with that she is very enjoyable to walk. We will start a new session of
training next week. I want to firm up her coming when called, and teach her to stay laying down when
I am not next to her (so I can bring her with me to more places).
UPDATE 6/24/05 - Zora is adjusting well to her new home. Since she hadn't been exposed to cats in
her foster home, I was a little worried about how she would react. But she's been just great with
them. She is the sweetest dog! A real pleasure to have around. She has been all over the place with
me, even going to my friend's house for a Pampered Chef party (where she stole the show). She was
so well behaved, and everyone was very impressed. She has also met my nieces (5, 10 and 16) and
several other children, and been great with them. She seems to know that she needs to be more gentle
around the little ones. But boy, do they wear her out! Although things are mostly going well, we have
had a few problems. The foster home told me that she was crate trained. Well, I wouldn't call it crate
trained. She broke one crate escaping from it. When I replaced that one with a stronger crate, she
scraped herself raw trying to get out of it. I talked to my trainer, and she suggested that I should find
another way to confine her. I will be keeping her in the kitchen as soon as the gate comes in (it's not
easy to get a gate to fit a 5' opening!). Until then, I'm dealing with the fact that she is peeing daily on
my brand new rug that I just installed in my house. Apparently, the idea that she is house broken is not
quite correct either. Once I can confine her to the kitchen it will be less of an issue. And once I can
get her ok in the crate, we'll try that for housetraining, but I don't think it is worth it right now, with her
injuring herself when she is in the crate. Last night we had a private lesson with the trainer so that we
could get started on correcting some of her 'problem' behaviors. Of course, I'm sure that she would
be shocked to hear me say she had a problem. After all, what girl doesn't want to stay out in the yard
all day long? And she just wants to walk faster than I do! Her group classes start first week in July, so
until then we have some basic things to start working on that should make some of these behaviors
easier to handle. (It's amazing how different training practices are now vs when I trained Nika - 15
years ago! I think the new ways will be more effective than the old ways). Although I feel that I was
misled on some issues, I am generally very happy with her, and I think she is happy with me. I know
that with some training she will be an absolute doll to have around.
5/14/05 - Copper has been adopted!
04/12/05 Hi, everybody. My name is Copper, and I decided to sneak on the computer an do my
own update... didn't think I was that smart, huh? Well, I am and let me tell you, I sure am glad for this
rescue stuff. Between me and you, I don't want to do this mommy thing again. It's been very hard on
my body. I am really, really skinny (although the food is plentiful around here now!) and I am still very
swollen and uncomfortable. My foster mom says I am the poster child for "Spay and Neuter Your
Pet" campaigns, but she promised she wouldn't post any of the pictures of my condition until I got
better. I am still just a young gal myself and have a big future planned ahead of me - playing tug with
the rope, snoozing in a comfy spot (you won't notice me climb up on the bed at all, I promise) eating
well, and being somebody's special, wiggly girl. I've been through so much in such a short time, and
came such a long distance, but everyone now keeps telling me that my worst days are behind me. I
am really glad to hear this! I promise to be a very good girl, really gentle on the leash, playful, alert
and curious and your best friend. All I want is a safe, loving home to call my own and I will never
complain at all. I am very sweet and cute and waiting by the phone to hear from my special forever
home!
04/11/05 Copper arrived here today with her 6 mix (likely Lab) puppies, who are about 5 weeks old,
after a very long journey from a high-kill shelter in Indiana. She is extremely underweight, but very,
very sweet and gentle. She responds to every word you say with a wiggly stub and happy face, and
as soon as she sees me walk in the room or make eye contact with her, the little stubby starts
wiggling. She is a really friendly gal and knows "sit" and knew right what to do when I put a pillow
down on the floor for her. She has a beautiful rich red coat and will be just gorgeous when she get s
up to her full weight and is done nursing. I can tell already that she is going to makea terrific
companion and will likely leanr very quickly as she isn't the hyper sort. More to come on this sweet
baby as we get to know her better. Get your apps in now as you will definititely have competition for
this little charmer!
(FKA: Copper)
STATE: ME
AGE: 3 YEARS
WEIGHT: 45 LBS
SEX: FEMALE
NEUT/UTD: YES/YES
COAT COLOR: BRINDLE
DOCKED TAIL
NATURAL EARS
CHILDREN UNDER 4: YES
CHILDREN OVER 4: YES
SEPARATION ANXIETY: YES (see "NOTE" below)
OTHER DOGS: YES
CATS: YES
CRATE TRAINED: NO
HOUSE TRAINED: YES
OBEDIENCE TRAINED: Some
LEASH TRAINED: YES
MICROCHIPPED: UNSURE
ADOPTION DONATION: $300
NOTE: Due to my anxiety about being left alone for long periods of time daily, I need a home this time
with someone home more often (Examples: stay-at-home Mom/Dad, someone who works out of their
home, two people that work opposite shifts, retired, etc).
UPDATE 10/15/06 - My, how time flies when you are having fun!! Zora has been with us for 10
months now and we have missed several updates! Oops!!!
Zora continues do very well in our household. She hold her own against Boxer #1, Jake, and in fact,
she is usually the instigator of the daily/hourly boxing matches between the two! Lately, she has been
extra snuggly when Bill and I are sitting on the couch watching TV and has even begun climbing up
into the reclining chair with us-something only Jake used to do-our 70 pound lap dog! After several
early scares when Zora decided to explore the neighborhood unattended, we have had only one
episode since and she ran across the street to meet the UPS man then "allowed" me to catch her-a
VAST improvement over the hours long dance she used to engage us in! After nearly 2 years with
Boxers now, our cats still refuse to share space with them and so we keep the upstairs door closed
now to allow the cats their space and the dogs sleep and spend their time downstairs. Not an ideal
situation but it will have to do for now. Zora is a great match for us-she is Jake's opposite in many
ways, which is very positive as I don't think we'd remain sane with 2 Jakes!!! They get along so well,
you'd think they were littermates!! We are hoping to put a fenced area in the backyard in spring to
allow "the kids" to spend free time outside without the confines of leashes! Hopefully, it will also wear
them out a bit more and help the chaos that seems to occupy our home at times-with 2 dogs, 2 kids
and 4 cats, all very active-it can be a circus!!! But we wouldn't have it any other way!!
UPDATE 1/28/06 - Zora has settled herself right into our household. She has begun alerting to
noises outside although she hasn't barked or talked back to us yet-thankfully! Jake does it enough for
both of them. The two dogs have such a great time playing together, it is really fun to watch! Jake is
so glad to have another dog to rough house with and Zora is quite bold about stealing toys right out of
his mouth! She loves to sleep on the bottom bunk with my son or in bed with us, something she
wouldn't do for the first couple of weeks she was here. And her wiggle is unbelievable! She gets
wiggling so much that she actually walks at times with her body in a U shape! It is truly one of the
funniest things to see! Zora did give us quite a scare last weekend when she slipped through our legs
as we were coming in the door and took off. She had never even tried to get out before. Well, 4 1/2
emotional hours later, she finally tired of the game long enough to jump in the car and go home. But
not until she had at least 20 different neighbors out trying to catch her, including animal control. We
were sure she was going to get hit by a car. It was a big game for her, she was chasing cars and
snipping at the tires. Needless to say, little Zora is kept on a very close watch now whenever the
door is opened! Someone suggested that even though she is spayed, it may have been the time of
year she normally would have been in heat. Whatever it was, it worried us to no end and taught my
young sons a very valuable lesson about being mindful of letting the dogs out. Jake has been with us
long enough and has enough affection for easy love and treats that he can be trusted to go out, do his
business and then come back in. Hopefully, after a few more months and training, Zora will be able
to do the same! She still takes the Clovicalm, although I have dropped her to one pill a day and when
they are gone, we will not be getting a refill. We will begin helping her deal with her separation issues,
after first determining how bad they are.The vet says it will take up to 3 weeks to get the drug
completely out of her system. So, the desensitizing will begin asap.
1/19/06 - Zora has been adopted!
1/4/06 - Just wanted to give you a quick update on Zora. She is doing really well, has made herself
right at home! She plays just fine with my 4 year old son and doesn't play too rough so I think she
would be fine with other children under 4. I have not tried crating her yet, but will do so while I am
home and quiet in the next day or so. I did leave her this morning for 2 1/2 hours uncrated, with a
kong, while resident boxer, Jake, was crated. She was curled up on the couch when I returned,
nothing out of place! She rides nicely in the car and has the sweetest personality!!
Zora's previous owner did not have another dog and I think she may need another dog to help her
with her anxiety while people are gone during the day. Hope we find her forever home soon, before
my family gets TOO attached!!!!
12/31/05 - Zora has arrived at our foster home and boy, is she a cutie!! She enjoyed sniffing the
whole home and has met our resident Boxer, Jake. He immediately took the submissive and after a
few minor scuffles, she jumped right on him playfully! Unfortunately, Jake is not the brightest Boxer
and doesn't seem to know how to play so it scared him!! It will take a little time but I think they will
soon be friends!! Both tails never stopped wagging!!
Zora arrived with nearly up-to-date vet records and a prescription for Clomipramine, an
anti-depressant often used for separation anxiety. She is only due for Sentinel, up-to-date on all other
vaccines.
More info as we get to know her!!
12/30/05 - Unfortunately Zora is being surrendered back to rescue to find a different home. Her
owner works a lot and is gone 10 hours a day and Zora has anxiety about being left alone that long.
Here is info from her last owner: "I am very sad things aren't working. She is just the sweetest
thing, and I love having her here. I just think she would be so much happier with someone who
is home all day and who can give her the attention that she craves.". Watch for updates from
her new foster home this weekend.
UPDATE 9/23/05 - Zora is doing great. We were still having problems with her peeing on the carpet.
I have not been able to get her ok in a crate - she can drool an inch of slime within an hour of being
put in the crate. Since the only reason I didn't want her loose in the house was the peeing thing, we
went to the vet to see if he could help. He has put Zora on Clovacalm to help her anxiety. He believes
that she will only need to be on it for 30-90 days. But it has made a huge difference - she hasn't peed
on the rug in about 2 weeks. I am going on vacation next month, and she will be staying at the 'Pet
Spa' nearby (some of their rooms have futons and tvs!). After we get home, I will talk to the vet about
how long we should keep her on the meds. Hopefully we'll have her off of them by Thanksgiving. I
still wish that she could be crated - it would allow me to leave her with friends instead of having to
board her somewhere. She has finished her basic obedience training, where we worked mostly on
manners (wait, leave it, not jumping, walking nicely, etc). She is doing well with this. I am using a
gentle leader on her now, and with that she is very enjoyable to walk. We will start a new session of
training next week. I want to firm up her coming when called, and teach her to stay laying down when
I am not next to her (so I can bring her with me to more places).
UPDATE 6/24/05 - Zora is adjusting well to her new home. Since she hadn't been exposed to cats in
her foster home, I was a little worried about how she would react. But she's been just great with
them. She is the sweetest dog! A real pleasure to have around. She has been all over the place with
me, even going to my friend's house for a Pampered Chef party (where she stole the show). She was
so well behaved, and everyone was very impressed. She has also met my nieces (5, 10 and 16) and
several other children, and been great with them. She seems to know that she needs to be more gentle
around the little ones. But boy, do they wear her out! Although things are mostly going well, we have
had a few problems. The foster home told me that she was crate trained. Well, I wouldn't call it crate
trained. She broke one crate escaping from it. When I replaced that one with a stronger crate, she
scraped herself raw trying to get out of it. I talked to my trainer, and she suggested that I should find
another way to confine her. I will be keeping her in the kitchen as soon as the gate comes in (it's not
easy to get a gate to fit a 5' opening!). Until then, I'm dealing with the fact that she is peeing daily on
my brand new rug that I just installed in my house. Apparently, the idea that she is house broken is not
quite correct either. Once I can confine her to the kitchen it will be less of an issue. And once I can
get her ok in the crate, we'll try that for housetraining, but I don't think it is worth it right now, with her
injuring herself when she is in the crate. Last night we had a private lesson with the trainer so that we
could get started on correcting some of her 'problem' behaviors. Of course, I'm sure that she would
be shocked to hear me say she had a problem. After all, what girl doesn't want to stay out in the yard
all day long? And she just wants to walk faster than I do! Her group classes start first week in July, so
until then we have some basic things to start working on that should make some of these behaviors
easier to handle. (It's amazing how different training practices are now vs when I trained Nika - 15
years ago! I think the new ways will be more effective than the old ways). Although I feel that I was
misled on some issues, I am generally very happy with her, and I think she is happy with me. I know
that with some training she will be an absolute doll to have around.
5/14/05 - Copper has been adopted!
04/12/05 Hi, everybody. My name is Copper, and I decided to sneak on the computer an do my
own update... didn't think I was that smart, huh? Well, I am and let me tell you, I sure am glad for this
rescue stuff. Between me and you, I don't want to do this mommy thing again. It's been very hard on
my body. I am really, really skinny (although the food is plentiful around here now!) and I am still very
swollen and uncomfortable. My foster mom says I am the poster child for "Spay and Neuter Your
Pet" campaigns, but she promised she wouldn't post any of the pictures of my condition until I got
better. I am still just a young gal myself and have a big future planned ahead of me - playing tug with
the rope, snoozing in a comfy spot (you won't notice me climb up on the bed at all, I promise) eating
well, and being somebody's special, wiggly girl. I've been through so much in such a short time, and
came such a long distance, but everyone now keeps telling me that my worst days are behind me. I
am really glad to hear this! I promise to be a very good girl, really gentle on the leash, playful, alert
and curious and your best friend. All I want is a safe, loving home to call my own and I will never
complain at all. I am very sweet and cute and waiting by the phone to hear from my special forever
home!
04/11/05 Copper arrived here today with her 6 mix (likely Lab) puppies, who are about 5 weeks old,
after a very long journey from a high-kill shelter in Indiana. She is extremely underweight, but very,
very sweet and gentle. She responds to every word you say with a wiggly stub and happy face, and
as soon as she sees me walk in the room or make eye contact with her, the little stubby starts
wiggling. She is a really friendly gal and knows "sit" and knew right what to do when I put a pillow
down on the floor for her. She has a beautiful rich red coat and will be just gorgeous when she get s
up to her full weight and is done nursing. I can tell already that she is going to makea terrific
companion and will likely leanr very quickly as she isn't the hyper sort. More to come on this sweet
baby as we get to know her better. Get your apps in now as you will definititely have competition for
this little charmer!
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| 4/05 pictures of Zora (babies are all adopted) |