Mia 11-12-06


	Age & Sex: 2 yr old Female


UTD: Yes


	Weight: 50 lbs.


Other Dogs: Yes


	Color: Fawn


Cats: No


	Ears: Natural


Children: Under 5: Yes Over 5: Yes


	Tail: Docked


Professional Training Required: Yes


	Spayed: Yes


Microchipped: No


	Owner Surrender


Location: Near Binghamton, NY

Adoption Donation $300

4/17/08 - Mia continues to do well here. We love her so much. Still working on listening at times, but better discipline on my part really helps. And so does running. We've started again, just in time for spring and she seems her happiest when we're flying down the sidewalks together. Just wanted to tell everyone how she's doing.

11/24/07 - Mia is doing great! Her allergy has calmed down considerably, she graduated from obedience class, and we love her very much. She still pulls some on her walks but I have found out she really wants to run. We have no problems when we are out running. She isn't enjoying the cold weather as much though. She hates it when the wind blows in her face and ears. I guess that's true of everyone though. We've been taking her to the dog park and she shows off how beautiful she looks when she runs. She'll just run in circles for awhile by herself then check in with the other dogs. She loves to socialize.

9/7/07 - We love Mia more and more every day. Our biggest issues lately are still the allergy she has developed on her neck and itchy skin. I'm in the process of changing over her food to one that's more natural since I'm convinced that's the culprit. Or at least I hope that's the culprit because it would be an easy fix. I've also added an omega-3 supplement to her diet hoping that will condition her skin and support her immune system. My thinking is the less drugs the better. Wish us luck with that.
Walks have been trying too. We're learning some good things in obedience class, but since we're back on the slip collar, she's still pulling when she sees other dogs and is very obstinate. However, she's given up on squirrels and I can talk her out of cats. I think I'll ask in class about some things to teach her to remedy this.
She's adapted well to me going back to school and she's very eager to see me when I get home. I actually miss her all day too, but I try to keep her busy with toys and things during the day. She's been so good.
So wish us luck with the allergy and hopefully she'll be much better soon. Even with dry peely skin, she's still the most beautiful dog!

8/27/07 - Mia has been going to doggie college and learning a lot! She can now sit almost automatically and she is currently working on stay. It has helped us with our running together too. She's doing great. We've also been training on a collar and she's pulling a little bit less. She can sit and be patient while people walk by. I have noticed she's afraid of people on bikes so I'm going to desensitize her to that eventually. She's on her way to being an upstanding doggie citizen though. Mia also went to visit my 4 year old niece yesterday and was so patient and kind with her. I was very impressed. My niece was learning how to be respectful and asking questions to add to her plea for a dog and it seemed that Mia was keeping an eye on her. The allergies have calmed down and Mia seems to have matured a lot in the past 2 mos. together. I feel a lot more confident and a better leader too. Thanks BAR for all of your support. I feel this worked because of the many volunteers that coach and coax and educate.

8/9/07 - Mia is doing great. She looks pretty happy these days and is really enjoying our walks. Actually we both enjoy them. Sometimes, if it's not too hot, we run most of the route together and I swear she's smiling the whole time. Still a little stubbornness in her listening skills, but with time she is getting better. I was thinking about starting an obedience class, just for some improvement and some new tasks to keep her busy. I'm also thinking about her becoming a therapy dog in the future. She is so good and gentle with people, especially children. I thinks she actually cares about them too, so this might be a possibility. Her allergies are acting up again so we're back to the vet to get her to stop scratching her neck. I'm wondering if it's a food thing and will ask the vet if I should try switching. I've been doing research to see what the other thousands of causes could be because I don't want her on steroids too much. She really is a fun dog and a hit with people. We went to watch my boyfriend's soccer game and she was going crazy for the ball. It rolled past her out of bounds and she ran to get it and had everyone laughing. A lot like Mia Hamm! This weekend is bath time, and I hope it goes better than the first time. I've realized she doesn't like water much. She would not join me in the creek we took her to, no matter how much coaxing. I'll have to ask her foster family if she ever got in their pool. I'm guessing not. Mia says hi to all.

7/30/07 - Mia and I have been having so much fun together. She is such a good dog and she is so beautiful that people stop and compliment her all the time. Everyone loves her, friends, family, even my dad who dislikes dogs. She is so amiable and stops to greet people on our walks all the time. She's starting to listen better or really respond better as I'm sure she heard me before just rarely acted on it. She's down to only trying to chase squirrels on our walks and quickly "leaves it" if I say to. I'm quite impressed with Mia and the Boxer Angel group and I tell everyone I meet about you. Thanks to everyone who's had a hand in bringing Mia and I together. My life has definitely improved. I get up earlier and wake up better now that we walk in the a.m. then I relax with her again with another in the p.m. We've only had one or two mishaps with counters and garbage but we've both learned a lot. Again thanks so much all. Rachael

7/19/07 - Mia is doing so well. She and I are getting along famously and I am so impressed with how good she is. She had a few incidents seeking out the hidden garbage early on, but I've gotten smarter and we've had no incidents since. She's fun and is listening well, even though she tends to really focus on one thing and can't seem to hear anything else. We're communicating much better. Our walks have become more enjoyable with fewer attempts to chase squirrels and we even came upon a gaggle of ducks the other morning with just a sniff of interest. I've found that Mia likes to run a little and any sort of play or exercise makes both of our lives better. Everyone that meets her loves her and she sincerely loves people. I have perfect strangers stop to tell me how beautiful she is. I'm wondering about other dogs and am starting to introduce her to friends so I'll let you know how that goes. I just love having her around, even if she follows me so close I trip! Thanks to everyone who took such good care of her and who had a hand in making her the sweet girl she is.

6/30/07 - Mia has been adopted

6/27/07 - Mia is pending adoption

6/17/07 - Mia has had a great week! The weather has been beautiful, and she is definitely an outdoors girl! She has gotten in the habit of going outside in the morning and laying against the back door where she just soaks up the sun...and when she is ready to come in, she barks or knocks. She just loves to be outside where she can run with her ball, loves to chase and be chased, and only needs a little rest until she is ready to run again! We gave her a bath yesterday and besides her fascination with the hose, she did very well! She thinks the hair dryer is a toy though - she can feel the air but doesn't understand that she can't touch it! So, Ali got his hair dried and she ran around and was dry in no time! She listens better and better every day, and only once in awhile shows some anxious behavior, which we are working on as well. She is eager to be a part of the family and wants to please. Mia will take as much love and attention as her forever home can give!

6/8/07 - Mia is doing just wonderfully! As time goes by we really get to see her personality. She is a fun girl who can always occupy herself with a ball (her favorite!) or a plush squeaky toy too. She loves to hit the ball and then go chase it...and she will bring it back to you, but she won't always give it to you! We didn't think so at first, but she is a cuddle bug for sure! Once she understood that we only had love to give, she really relaxed and got close...in fact, sometimes she just loves to press up against you, even when she gives a kiss, she'll get really close and then sneak a little kiss in. It is so precious! She goes right into her crate during the day, sometimes by herself. She sleeps with us at night though...we can't resist! The key to Mia is consistency and a calm atmosphere. She will bark at people outside (and even the vacuum cleaner) but is getting much better at listening during these periods. Mia would make a great family member in a house with no other dogs at first. Not because she can not get along (she has settled in with Ali and has playdates with my brother's bulldog) but because she will require one on one attention and time, which is difficult with two dogs! She has come so far with us in this short time and she will continue to do well with some attention. She is a loving girl who loves to be with her people and is going to make a family very happy!

5/7/07 - Mia's FTA family will not be adopting her. They feel that Mia needs a quieter environment. One on one, Mia is great and is smart and wants to please, but when their male dog is around, she is so intent on knowing what he's doing that she doesn't listen and seems agitated when there are lots of things going on and has gone after him, out of the blue, when she's over stimulated. They've done some testing and find that by herself she is wonderful. So Mia is now available for adoption.

4/30/07 - Mia is settling in here with her new friend Ali. They are negotiating their terms very well and like to cuddle up at night :) The funniest part is watching them with toys...out of the 50 toys available, each is only interested in the one toy that the other has! Mia is full of love and TONS of energy. She wants to be as close to you as possible and is starting to trust us more and more. We have seen some anxiety as her last FTA home described, mostly in the form of whining. We try to comfort her the best we can and I feel with a little training and time, she will calm down. She is absolutely crazy over squirrels and has sent more than one running out of our back yard! Yesterday she sat for an hour watching the same one from the back door! She is very much still a boxer puppy with all the love to give!

4/22/07 - Well, Mia arrived yesterday afternoon. We picked her up and she was just wonderful in the car...actually cuddled up with her bag of food! She is a beautiful, loving, energetic girl. She is doing so well considering this is her second FTA home. She started out a bit scared and looked at us with the 'who are you'? head tilt...but she has

settled in wonderfully. Ali was in shock yesterday but today has decided that Mia is pretty cool! They have even started hanging out together and sharing toys...or, more like stealing toys when the other isn't looking! We are so pleased to have Mia with us and look forward to her making herself at home.

4/13/07 - Mia is moving to an FTA home this weekend, wish her well.

3/25/07 - Mia's FTA family has had a serious life style change and will not be able to adopt her, so she is now available.
Mia has really turned out to be a great girl. She is very loving and really enjoys life. She has been great with the kids and other dogs. At times she has shown some dominance but correction works like a charm. She is very protective of her home though. When people walk by she will bark and attempt to get out the door and needs to be corrected often. I don’t believe that she would really do anything if she had got out the door other then bark but still we have worked hard on trying to curb this behavior. She does great on her walks and does not normally pay any attention to her surroundings as she had in the beginning. She has been a joy in our home. She is crate trained now, you say go ni-night and she will head right to the crate with no problem. Well I hope you find a home for her that will love her as much as we have. She can be a great asset to someone's family and they will be very lucky to have her. WE WILL ALWAYS LOVE MIA and remember the great times that we have had in her short stay with us.

12/21/06 - Well where to begin, we have had Mia in our home since the middle of November and unfortunately we seemed to have disappeared with no updates on her. But thankfully we are still here going strong and our updates just disappeared. So now its time to give a full update on Mia from day 1.

When I picked her up she greeted me with kisses and seemed to be a wonderful little girl. She was absolutely beautiful and I couldn't wait to get her home so the rest of the family could see her. She was great on the car ride home, she laid in the backseat and slept. Unlike my boxer at home who would have tried to get in the front seat and sit with me. We arrived home after an hour drive and met my husband up the street for a little walk with Mia and my boy Capone. They did great together. Mia didn't seem to be bothered by him at all and my boy was so excited that he had someone to play with. We walked for quite a while then brought her home to meet the two girls. She greeted them with lots of kisses and seemed to be very gentle with them. The rest of the day we just spent time getting to know each other. When it became bedtime Mia began to show a little anxiety with going into the crate. She began to whine, bark and try to get out. Well needless to say she managed to escape that night. Thankfully she didn't do any bad behaviors she just went into my daughters room and went to sleep.

The days that followed we noticed more and more that Mia was really struggling with anxiety bad. She began to have bouts of anxiety for no apparent reason. Then at bedtime it was a huge hassle to get her in the crate. She would begin to shake severely and whine and run. We began to coax her with a treat and she began to go into the crate but then the anxiety would begin. I am very happy to say with lots of hard work and positive enforcement , she now goes into the crate with no problem. For the past few weeks she has very minor if any anxiety. She has done a complete 360.

We are still in the training mode with her as we have found that she loves to counter surf and at times when there is excitement she will nip at my 4 year olds face. I don't believe that she is doing this out of aggression, I think she is trying to say stop. We have began to give her assertive commands and let her know that these two behaviors are not acceptable and she is catching on quickly. We have enjoyed her company very much and cant imagine life without her. She is now just one of the girls in our family. We are very pleased that we decided to rescue and love every moment with Mia, her personality is unbelievable. We will be adopting her and are very pleased to let everyone know about our beautiful girl!!

11/11/06 - Mia has been with us since October 24^th. She rode well in a crate in my van from Long Island, NY to CT – I don’t know if anybody else has as many problems as I do finding my way home from LI, but let’s just say it was not the most direct or quickest route! Mia settled in and was very good for the entire trip. Once I got home, I put her out in the fenced dog area and let her do her business and sniff around. My husband came out to say hello, and she was all wiggle-butt-kidney-bean-tail-wagging boxer! I then introduced her to my young male boxer, Billy – she had already spent a week in another home on LI playing with other dogs, so I figured they would be OK (which they were). I’ve since learned that new intros are usually done over several days.
Mia is an owner surrender. She is almost 2 years old, and had been exhibiting some severe anxiety issues. At times, she would not want to go out of the house, or if she was out, she would want to come back in. Sometimes when her owner took her out for a walk on a lead, she would suddenly want to go back to the house, pulling so hard that she would be almost choking herself. Sometimes she would just pace and whine.
Since she’s been here, I have noticed that she does not like to be outside for a long time. I always send her out with Billy, so she is not out alone. She will bark and cry to come in, but, if I open the window and talk to her and tell her to get the ball, she immediately turns around and goes and plays with the bully ball. Today, though, during the afternoon, she and Billy were out for about an hour, playing and running around, and she did not bark and cry to come in. I have taken her out in the dog yard with me when I’m pooper scooping and she is very content to be outside with me, and likes me to play bully ball with her.
Mia is a very sweet, affectionate girl who has fit right into our routine. She had been crated as a puppy, but not after she had surgery for a knee injury. Her previous family had another boxer, and the two had a room of their own. All of my dogs are crated at night and when we are not home, and Mia does not have a problem with this. The first night here, she did not want to go into the crate, but quickly learned that crate time means either a meal or a cookie!
Since I have a fenced area, I haven’t spent a lot of time walking Mia on a lead. I did take her out today on a lead around the back yard and she did fine, although she has tendency to pull some. She did not exhibit any anxiety or a need to get back into the house, but the owner said they could not pinpoint what would initiate the anxiety episodes. She is a strong girl, so keep a good grip on the lead if she happens to bolt. I also recommend using a slip lead/choke collar when taking her for walks, not a regular buckle collar.
Mia knows “sit”, but not “stay”, so I would suggest her new owners get her involved in some obedience training. She wants to please her humans, and gets very wiggly and happy when she gets attention. She does have a tendency to do some “counter surfing” so I would watch for any attempts to grab food. She likes nyla-bones and toys, and does the typical boxer action of barking at Billy because she wants HIS bone, even though there is another one for her to chew.
I gave her heartworm medication on 10/31/06, there is one more dose going with her for this month. I also applied Advantage on her on 11/2 when I treated the rest of our gang.