Boomerang the Agility Puppy-Adopted!

Boomerang is a stunning black lab puppy, smart and whip and ready to rumble! His owner was unable to keep him and so gave him to a friend. The friend must not have known much about lab puppies, because he kept Boomerang tied outside 24/7 on a 5-foot rope!

Fortunately, our wonderful Betty lived nearby and saw the dog’s plight. She asked the person if she could care for Boomerang and find him a good home. The neighbor was relieved to hand him off. And Betty was happy to have him.

Boomerang was born last summer, is currently about 35 pounds, and will probably mature at around 50 pounds.

Boomerang read the job description of black labs and figures he is up to it: he is very high energy and lots of fun! Betty is the perfect foster home for him because not only is she dog-savvy, she has a mini-agility course set up in her yard. Boomerang has proven to be a quick study and taken to it like a duck takes to water (Oh, yeah, he likes water too!). He’s done an A-frame, short tunnel, table and low jumps.

He is very fast, and anxious to learn. Betty’s daughter taught him to sit in just one session and has made huge progress with the down command. He also loves to play fetch! Betty has him bringing the ball back and releasing to her already. Boomerang also has excellent food drive which is good for training tricks and obedience.

Being a lab, there is really no point in me stating the obvious: Boomerang gets along GREAT with other dogs and humans. He absolutely LOVES kids!! He can be a bit overwhelming for older dogs since he’s so high energy. He needs physical and mental stimulation on a daily basis. Betty has taken him around her horses and he has done well with them.

Not surprisingly, Boomerang is heartworm positive. Given his age, energy level and mildness of the condition, Betty’s vet has recommended that he be treated with the slow kill method. That pretty much just amounts to giving him a regular monthly Heartgard pill to kill off the worms. Unlike the fast-kill method, it does not require any limitation to activity. We are happy because it is the method we prefer anyway! Yea, Betty’s vet!!!

Be sure to check out Boomerang’s photo album.

If you are interested in adopting Boomerang, please review our adoption process, then e-mail holly.thedogliberator@gmail.com

February 12th Update:

Quick e-mail from Betty with new photos:

Nadia started introducing him to the weave poles this morning and she’s been teaching him to rollover. He’s almost got rollover down pact just a couple more sessions and he’s got it!!

February 24th Update:

Boomerang is doing great! We found out that he loves to play with soccer balls!! This ones a bit harder for him to bring back and give up… He really wants it all for himself =) He’s learned how to rollover and I’ll be sending you a video of that soon. He’s such an awesome boy!

March 2nd Update:

The reason we are so successful as a rescue is that we are blessed to have some of the most wonderful fosters, volunteers and supporters. Betty is certainly one of those. She isn’t just satisfied to save Boomerang’s life. She isn’t just satisfied to give him some agility experience in her own yard. She sees his potential and she is investing her time and her money to make him the best possible dog so that he will find the best possible home. Read the e-mail she sent me today:

We already know that Boomerang has potential of being A GREAT agility dog, but he also has a soft side to him. He loves being with his human!!

So after doing some training with Boomerang and seeing that he has the potential to be not good but an excellent agility dog, I signed him up for classes with one on the best agility trainers in the country. I can’t let his talent go to waste…. He’s too awesome. I decided it was worth me paying for the lessons because he would only learn so much with me. I’m taking him to the next level. The classes are in Brookesville, fl (1 hour away from me but well worth it). If he gets adopted during the 6 week class session, they may continue with him and it will already be paid for. This is an intro class he will be taking. If he’s still here after the intro, I’ll sign him up for the next class too. I’m so excited to see him progress so well with his training!!!

My friends, I don’t know where we find such wonderful people, but we do. And we find wonderful adopters too. I can’t wait to find out who finally adopts this precious dog!

March 21st Update:

From Betty:

Here is a short video of Boomerang learning his “right spin” for agility. I thought it was cute how boomerang tries so hard to figure out what I’m asking him to do and he finally Gets it. It’s so rewarding when you take the time to train and you start to see the results. It’s especially more rewarding for me with a dog like Boomerang who… 2 months ago was tied out with no one to socialize or play with. I’m so proud of him, he’s come such a long way these past couple months. ~ Betty

 

April 1st Update:

We had a terrible rain and wind storm the last couple of days. Trees losing limbs, power outages,…. even a 6′ cement wall a couple of houses down from me was blown down by a microburst. What a mess to clean up!

A mess, that is, unless you are a black lab puppy. Then it is simply a wonderful opportunity to do what labs do best: get wet! Boomerang has had a blast in the pond that has developed in his back yard. He has even helped pull out a stick or two, hard working dog that he is! I simply love the sheer joy he shows in the water. What a puppy!!!

Adoption Update: Hi, Betty!

Thanks for checking in !

He had a great day at daycare. We had a couple “pack negotiations” last night. My Jack Russel, who has been attempting to torment him since he got here, got in his face when Boom had a toy and he laid the law down on him. After that, Dash appeared to have an attitude change for the better although I know it might take more then once for him to get the message.

Then Boomerang was trying to get the Jolly Ball from my 12 yr old lab Abby which is her prized possession so she was kinda growly at him and Rocky my 10 yr old lab tried to mount Boom at the same time so Boom corrected him…Rocky has traditionally been pack bottom so he submissed.

Otherwise, they all settled down and hung out together. He was quiet in his crate although we are having trouble with him getting in crate at day care especially cause he’s so excited to be playing. He hasn’t been eating ALL his food but I am chalking that up to getting used to new surroundings plus he’s eating enough that I’m not overly concerned.

He was getting a bath today, in fact I’m about to leave to go get him (I’m home in the afternoons with the kids most days).

Thanks again for following up I really appreciate it!

Amy