Elsa Smith

In 2009, Elsa was a young Golden Retriever who was fostered by Simon and his family after spending a very happy Christmas with Val and Andy in the Midlands.

FIRST REPORT 25/1/09

Elsa arrived 3 days ago and after being a bit of wild child for the first 24 hours she has now started to settle down. She is a very friendly, bubbly, fit and healthy golden retriever, with a beautiful thick coat of fur.

After initially being scared of her our Shih Tzu, Candy has found that she’s not as fearsome as she appears or makes out with her barks and growls. However, this has a downside in that they now play rough n tumble to the point of distraction and either Julie or myself have to intervene so we can get some peace and quiet. Bruno (the grumpy old dog) on the other hand is his usual non-committal self.

Elsa is getting on famously with our children and we have not had any problems at all with her. We were concerned that we may have problems with her being boisterous around our 2 year old toddler, Thomas. Admittedly she can be like a bull in a china shop at times but on the whole she’s been very gentle around him. On the other hand Chris (11) and Emily (9) can play rough without any signs of annoyance from Elsa.

Taking Elsa for a walk has proved to be a bit of a challenge and the first two walks I took her on she pulled like the proverbial steam train with absolutely no let-up. However, she has improved over the past day or so, although she’s still along way from being an easy dog to walk. I’ve tried her with a Halti, which unfortunately had her jumping about like a bucking bronco until she successfully got it off her snout.

Locally we have a newly fenced field of several acres in size, which has allowed me to let Elsa run free (apologies for the pun). I’ve got to say it was very wonderful to see her racing about, crashing through the undergrowth and diving into the ponds and generally having a wonderful time.

In summary, Elsa is a bit unruly and has tendency to show her dominance so she needs a bit of discipline to keep her in check. However, she is a very affectionate, loveable dog and with the right training and encouragement would become a lovely family dog.

SECOND REPORT 9/2/09

Elsa has now been with us for two weeks and has settled into family life very well. She’s proved to be a good natured and affectionate girl with a playful retriever streak. We’ll often find her with one of our slippers in her mouth or she’ll have pinched one of the children’s toys but as long as you catch her quickly she’ll give the toy back without complaint.

She’s been fantastic with my children and I’m especially pleased with her gentleness and patience with Thomas. We’ve even seen Thomas clamber over her back and she still hasn’t shown any signs of annoyance or frustration. Chris and Emily love having her around and so do their friends. She’s always ready to play with them, even if that means stealing a toy to get involved in their games.

Walking her is still proving to be a problem, as she pulls me along throughout the entire walk. When out on our walks she enjoys meeting and greeting everyone and I’ve never seen any hostility towards any people or other dogs.

Around the house she’s quite easy going although play is never far from her mind and so Candy has quite a tough time being her main playmate. She also loves having lots of toys to chew and toss about the place and generally have fun with. When she’s not playing then she’ll quite happily sleep on sofa in the living room cuddled up to me or Julie (yes, we’ve spoilt her!!!!!) or lie in the hallway. Her other favourite occupation is seeking fuss from us and she’ll be quite vocal about it, especially if she feels that Bruno and Candy are getting more than their fair share of fuss.

All in all Elsa is a lovely dog although she can be slightly boisterous which is understandable considering she’s less than 18 months old. On occasion she needs a firm hand to keep her under control and stop her from being too unruly. However, I think she would make a lovely family dog and she thoroughly enjoys human company.

ELSA HAS GONE TO HER FOREVER HOME

Elsa has been a pleasure to look after and in the few weeks she’s been with us we have become very attached to her. So it was with very mixed emotions that we said goodbye to Elsa as she left with Charlene and her family to start her new life in London.

FIRST REPORT FROM HER NEW HOME

Charlene said, “Elsa is fantastic we are so pleased with her she couldn’t be more suited to our family if she tried! We still have a little trouble trying to get her in the car as she is very nervous of the car but is slowly getting better when she knows she is going to the park.

She loves our garden and loves to play with a ball with the kids, she loves it so much we sometimes have trouble getting her in! She is absolutely perfect and we all love her. She is thoroughly spoilt and sleeps on our bed.

Thank you for rehoming her with us.”