Scarlett is a 6 year old golden doodle who was found running as a stray originally back in 2020. She weighed 30 pounds then and had fear, so we are guessing she was probably just another dog who was dumped to fend for themselves from a puppy mill. She most likely spent the first two years of her life in a cage and then came into our rescue and was then adopted.

Not every golden retriever is going to want lots of pets, attention , and cuddles on the couch. Scarlett may be one of those dogs. It’s ok if the dog is allowed to just be loved for who they are and what they can tolerate.

The family that adopted Scarlett 3 years ago were hoping for a golden retriever who was a people lover and that didn’t happen within the first few months. The family ended up taking her to the vet to see what might be “wrong” with her as she just didn’t match with the personality of a velcro golden retriever that they wanted. The vet placed her on prozac, trazadone, and gabapentin multiple times a day. This allowed them to be able to pet her more. Scarlett was eventually returned to our rescue to find her another home.

When she arrived at her foster home, she was a nervous wreck and not eating well. We weren’t too concerned about that as she needed to lose some pounds. That though made it difficult to get her meds into her as we really didn’t want to traumatize her more by shoving pills down her throat. Scarlett weaned herself off all of the meds.

Scarlett likes to play with the other dogs in her foster home. She hangs outside of her foster mom’s bedroom at night. She will let the foster mom pet her in small amounts. Remember, like all puppy mill dogs, loud noises, fast movement are scary to them. This could last days or be a long-term fear.

Scarlett is looking for a home that will be just fine with her not being a Velcro golden retriever. Scarlett needs another dog in the home that will play with her and a physical fenced yard. She should have someone home with the time and patience to let her come out of her shell at her own pace.

Scarlett will most likely never be that cuddle bug golden doodle, but that is ok. She can still love being a part of a family from her safe distance. Please consider her adoption where you can become a part of her success story. If you are interested in fostering to adopt the Scarlett, please read “How to Adopt“