ADOPTED

Dakota Hi. I'm Dakota. I know you're probably wondering why a beautiful, shiny black 'Golden' is here on Gold Ribbon Rescue's website. Well, this is where my life actually began. You see I was one of the puppies in the "Black Gold Litter" born on May 20, 2001. My mother, Heidi , found her way into the loving care of GRR - and just in the nic of time too, because shortly afterwards she gave birth to me and my nine siblings. GRR still has our stories on this website and it makes me feel so good that we were loved so much and so many people were happy we were born. I thought my life was going to be pure Gold. They named me Onyx because of my beautiful, black, shiny coat.  I haven't lost my gorgeous coat, but I did lose that name. The humans that adopted me named me Dakota and that's really what I respond to.

I really loved my adoptive family, but they got so busy and they kept me in the backyard most of the time. When the kids would come into the backyard, I would get so excited that I'd jump up, trying so hard to get them to play with me. All I wanted was to be with them and please them. I used to think.... "boy, if I only knew the 'right' way to show them how much I loved them, maybe they would want to be around me." So I tried barking. That didn't work. I tried barking louder; that still didn't work. I tried jumping on them; that didn't work. I tried bouncing around them, bringing them toys, fetching the ball - but nothing seemed to work. The more I tried, the less they came out to play. I guess the family forgot that when they adopted me from GRR they agreed to let me live in the house so they decided I should be returned to Gold Ribbon. Let me tell you that was one lucky break for me! I can hardly believe that I'm back with the same loving group of people that helped bring me in to the world!! I'm so happy. And, I found out what I was doing wrong. NOTHING!!! I found out that they needed to give me a little training, a little guidance and a lot of love. I just knew that I could learn how to do stuff. I'm half Golden which makes me want to please and I'm half Labrador which makes me want to work hard and do things right.

My foster family is great. Right away they started teaching me things like sit, stay, down. Got it! No problem! I like it when people teach me. It makes me feel so good. So then I got to go to this place where there were all kinds of different dogs. It was just like going to school. Imagine that... me, little Dakota, now going to school! After a few weeks of training, I came back to my foster family's home.

I love it here! I liked going to school, but I like being in a home with a family much, much better. My foster brother, Sam, is a great guy. He's a Golden too, but his fur isn't black like mine. Everyone who meets me comments on my beautiful coat. Oh, I love to play with Sam. My foster family has cats, I don't mind the cats being around, I don’t chase them or play with them, I just ignore them and let them do all that kitty stuff. My foster mom lets me stay in the house all the time! That's right -- I know how to be a good girl. I have no problems in the house. I go outside to take care of girl business and for play time with Sam. And when I want to come back in, I look at my foster mom through the window and give her this really pitiful look. Works like a charm! I don't bark, I don't jump. I just sit nice and give her the look the back door opens right up.

They like it when I get in their bed with them, I love to cuddle. But don’t worry if you adopt me and don’t want me to get in your bed you will just have to tell me no, thanks to my foster family I understand what no means. If I'm ever doing anything they don't want me to, they just say no, and I stop whatever it is. They hardly ever say no anymore. That means that I've learned A LOT! I'm learning to walk my humans. I try to get them to pick up the pace a little bit, but I always seem to be the one that has to slow down. I like car rides, wind in my face, playing ball and wading in the water. But most of all, I like being part of a family.

I'm not a high energy girl. I can be a little shy sometimes. I think because I'm not sure where my life is going to take me. I know once I have my forever family that I will blossom and they will love me. Not just for my beautiful, black coat, but for my big heart and willingness to please. Do you think you might be the right forever family for me? I would love to meet you and if you want to make me your own, I promise I will always be a black dog with a heart of pure gold.

 

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