Mimi, a 5-year-old girl, 60lbs, vaccinated and spayed. Here is the profile of Mimi. Look for a foster and an adopter.
Backstory:
Mimi was adopted from Mexico in April of 2022. She had a litter of pups and was a street dog before her life with her current family here in Canada.
Mimi was presumably hit by a car in Mexico, and her left back leg was left broken and healed naturally on its own. After being assessed by a vet in Canada, it was determined that operating on Mimi's leg, which does not interfere with her daily life at all, was going to cause more problems in the long run such as premature onset of arthritis. She has been spayed, and currently is on a raw food diet (turkey and vegetable from Outpost in Langely), but eats grain-free kibble as training treats and in her puzzle toys. Because of her back leg, it is important to keep her weight around 60-65 pounds and her current owner finds that grain-friendly kibble makes it too easy for Mimi to gain weight.
When Mimi's current mom became a single parent to her, it became very challenging to keep both Mimi and herself happy and afloat. It is not that Mimi requires your attention 24/7, and in fact, has no separation anxiety and is very independent, but her current owner has made the choice to find her a family or a person who can handle the work of having a dog without it impacting their work and social life to the degree which it is currently impacting her mom.
Current living situation and optimal environment:
Mimi lives with her current owner in a basement suite of a single detached home and has access to a backyard. She briefly stayed in an apartment, and a smaller space was fine for her, but the constant noises and movement outside the door in the hallways made it hard for her to settle. If she moves into an apartment, support in training her to not react to people moving in the hallway may be required.
The best case scenario would be a basement suite or single detached home, but Mimi is very adaptable and resilient and simply loves being with her people and having her donut bed.
She also lived with another dog that her current owner fostered for 6 months, and struggled with resource guarding of both her mom and food. This is expected behavior for a former street dog, and her current owner suggests that the ideal situation for Mimi would be one where she is the only dog in the home. She has a prey drive and likely cannot co-exist with a cat, though this is an assumption based on how she reacts to seeing cats in her neighborhood.
Training history:
Mimi and her current family have worked on her reactivity to cars driving by her while on a walk, and to people coming into her home. As a street dog, she has lived the majority of her life surviving off of her instincts, so it is important that her new owner has an understanding of dog behavior, and has the patience to continue working with Mimi. Her new owner also needs to understand how to advocate for her, as she is not like other dogs who tolerate strangers petting her at any time. Her current family uses a "nervous do not pet" sign on her harness when out in public. Mimi is very curious and loves to go up and sniff people, but this is not an invitation to pet her! It is simply her way of sussing out her world.
Mimi is dog-selective and has a few dog friends she likes to play with, but she does not generally care for socializing with every dog she sees. She actually prefers to keep walking with her mom after a quick run around with a dog friend. As such, she finds fenced-in dog parks overwhelming and has no real interest in hanging out in them. She loves, and is great, at being off-leash in larger areas and her recall is good too.
Fortunately, Mimi is very food motivated! Her current family has been able to make bath time and nail trimming at home possible through cheese and wet food on a lick mat. Again, the key here is patience and confidence in dog handling and training.
Temperament and personality:
Be ready to never eat alone again! Mimi has those puppy dog eyes and knows how to use them to get you wrapped around her finger. She is very good at persuading you into pets when she wants them, through a paw on the leg or arm if you ignore her too long. She loves chasing squirrels and crows, and if a fly gets into the home she will hunt it down until she gets it, earning herself the nickname of Bug. With her current family, she loves going on car rides with the window down, and going to the Barnet Marine Park (though she won't swim and only gets her toes wet). Her current family would describe her as the perfect sidekick, who is down for anything- if you want to lay in bed for an extra hour or two before going on a walk in the morning, she won't hold it against you. She loves being in the same room as you, and if permitted will absolutely join you in bed or on the couch. She does not like squeak toys, and in fact only has one stuffed toy she will chase around for a bit. Her favorites are puzzle toys and kibble wrapped up in a towel for her to snuffle through. When she gets excited she will chomp her teeth together, and make a noise similar to the howl of Chewbacca from Star Wars. She is a beautiful dog, with a protective side to her, and is ready to show unconditional love to a new owner or family.
