Girlfriend

About Girlfriend (Lhasa apso) in Wheaton

Girlfriend is waiting for you at Animal Rescue Foundation (ARF-IL) in Wheaton, IL 60189. Lucy, aka Girlfriend, is a 7 year old female Lhasa Apso and is a puppy mill survivor. She has survived but the scars still remain. She was rescued almost 3 years ago pregnant with what happily was her last litter forced upon her. After her pups were fixed and were adopted into their forever homes, it was time for Lucy to work on herself. She has come quite the long way but by many people’s standards, she has quite a ways to go to become the perfect family pet. Unfortunately after 7 or so years of being caged, forcibly bred, pups taken from her before they should have been, no human kindness—no kind voice, gentle pets, cuddles, a full recovery to a point where she was the dog she was meant to be at birth is one tall order. She has bonded with her foster mother and follows her, and the other dogs in the house, everywhere she goes. Always from a distance but she relies on her “mom’s” presence to ground her/calm her. She loves her house siblings and will cuddle and nap with them. Occasionally, she will even try to initiate play with them. This is always so heartwarming to see because we all know that she never had this opportunity when living life as a breeder at the puppy mill. But she still has not gotten to the point where she can sufficiently trust that humans won’t hurt her to allow humans to pet her. She will approach and sniff at human’s finger tips and then slowly back away. She will take treats from people—if she knows the person and if the treat is good enough. She does continue to take baby steps forward and I do feel that in time, in her own time, she will get there. We are looking for someone to take her for what she is now even should she remain the same as she is today. If someone had a dog that needed another dog to keep it company, she would be a perfect choice. If you had an affectionate dog that gave you the cuddles and affection that we crave as