22-031 Johnny Rotten, Stevie Rae’s brother, is a 5-month-old cream-colored Goldendoodle. He, too, was up to date on vaccines but not yet neutered. Johnny was also not a happy camper when being transported to one of our partner veterinarians. He peed and threw up in the crate and drooled a lot. Fortunately, neither he nor Stevie pooped in the crates during transport. Cindy transported him to his new home with an adopter and said when she picked him up from the veterinarian, he was frightened to the point of being unable to move, so the vet staff had to load him into Cindy’s vehicle, where he spent the drive drooling with his head on her arm . The first night he was at the adopter's home, she tried to have him sleep downstairs in his crate, but he let her know he didn’t like being separated from her, so she moved the crate to her bedroom and he settled down. The adopter renamed him Gus and told us he is very smart – she had set up a bell by the door and he quickly learned how to ring it to let her know he needs to go out to potty. When his anxiety did not decrease and seemed to be worse when the adopter left for work, a consultation with the vet was warranted. Gus was started on trazadone and calming chews and seems to have improved a lot, seems calmer and happier. Sometimes it just takes a little medication to take the edge off the anxiety. When I asked for some input on how he is doing now, the adopter wrote:

Gus has adjusted very quickly to his new life! He is a very big boy already weighing 60 lbs at 7 months and clumsy as can be – I often refer to him as a baby giraffe! He is my shadow and lies at my feet the entire day while I work and loves to cuddle. He loves playing with tennis balls – whether it be fetch or tossing them around to entertain himself. Gus is shy initially when meeting new people but warms up very quickly. He loves playing with other dogs and has become very popular in the neighborhood, thriving off of all the attention he gets on our walks.

It sounds like Gus is now enjoying life and the adopter is loving it with him. Happy new life, Gus!