Cattone / Mama Juniper

General Notes | Juniper is a strong, beautiful survivor who is finally ready to put down roots of her own! After being heartbreakingly left behind in the deep country woods, this resilient mama survived alone, bravely raising litter after litter in the wild brush. Now that she has brought her final babies safely to Colorado, Juniper's lonely days of fending for herself are officially over. She is finally ready to trade her fierce survival instincts for a soft bed and a forever family who will never let her go. Want to adopt this dog? Please do not email us. Please fill out the Adoption Application ASAP, and an Adoption Coordinator will be in touch within a few days. Our standard application processing timeline is 12 - 14 days. Personality | Mama Juniper is a strong and beautiful evergreen presence who provided safe, constant shelter for her babies. She's a sweet girl who will affectionately rub up on all the humans for pets. Story | Once upon a time in the deep country woods, a sweet Lab mix named Juniper was left behind. Abandoned when her family moved away, she survived entirely on her own, bravely raising litter after litter in the wild brush. But her lonely days are officially over! Mama Juniper and her six beautiful, thriving puppies have traded their rugged country roots for the fresh mountain air of Colorado to finally find the safe, loving forever homes they've always deserved. To honor the wild landscape where their story began-and the incredible resilience of their mama-we've given this sweet family names inspired by the enchanting flora and fauna of the Southern woods.Colorado Update | This resilient and adaptable girl is so ready for her forever home! It only took her 36 hours to adapt from Texas life with her puppies to Colorado life as a solo dog. Since then, Juniper has amazingly settled into her foster life. She has learned what walks are and is visibly excited for them. Equally exciting for her is meal time.Juniper has the happiest and most loving disposition. She is often wagging her tail and she loves to rest her head on human laps. Her confidence seems strong. She does well when her foster mom is in another room or out of the house altogether. Juniper has that perfect energy balance between being young enough to enjoy long walks, but chill enough to relax during work-from-home days and meetings.Juniper is a great little communicator. She will let you know if she wants pets and if you stopped petting her too early. She will let you know if she wants to go outside or on a walk. On her walks, she has started having opinions about where she would like to explore. And she's a social gal! She will indicate if she wants to say hi to neighbors. She has had one brewery outing and garnered so much adoration and attention. She has yet to meet a human, dog, or cat she does not like.Her only observed naughtiness is her "snacking" where she on a few occasions stole cat food and human bites that were teasingly too accessible. But that's really her foster mom being naughty, because you can't expect anything less from a gal who survived so long on her own, with puppies to boot. Speaking of snacks, Juniper takes her approved dog snacks very gently. And she has figured out the joy of home-made peanut butter banana frozen kong treats.Juniper is not a barker. She is not provoked by other dogs barking either. She has been flawless around cats, both indoor foster sibling cats and outdoor neighbor cats.In terms of what is next for Juniper, we would like for her to learn how to play. She has some cute dances and stomps she does when she is particularly joyful, but she does not yet know the joy of playing with toys. She also does not know any usual dog commands yet (e.g., sit), but with her food motivation and smarts, she'll undoubtedly pick up those when training begins.This loving, smart, sociable, and adaptable Mama Juniper will bring joy to any home she graces. Her quick adaptation to foster life shows that this girl is very ready to find her forever home.Dogs | Good with other pups! She's met several pups in her foster home and is mostly indifferent to them. She also is extremely patient with her puppies despite them being big puppies now! Most mamas are sick of having puppies jumping on them by 6-8 weeks old, so we think it's pretty remarkable that's she's still so loving to all 7 of her babies at 4+ months old. Cats | Juniper is being fostered with kitties and is great! She is uninterested in them and respectful of their space.Children | She is a very sweet girl and was unbothered by the 3 and 6 year old grandbabies when they came to visit! She takes treats very gently when you offer them.Training | She is potty trained and hasn't been destructive inside her foster home! She is also crate trained and will nap in her crate throughout the day with the door open. Leash | In progress! She hasn't gotten much practice on a leash before joining the rescue and is still learning. She still gets scared on the leash and will plop down and not want to move. She's getting better with love and treats.Activity Level | Low/moderate. She's very calm and gentle. Health Notes | Juniper is heartworm positive, but treatment is very successful and completely manageable with all the proper education and care. MHLRM will cover the expense of treatment at one of our approved veterinarians, and has already started her treatment process. Heartworm positive dogs go on to live happy, normal lives after treatment and rarely experience long-term side effects. Don't let this stop you from adopting this sweet gal!Thank you! | Adoption Donations | Our adoption donations are $575 for dogs 8 weeks to 1 year old, $525 for 1 - 6 years old, $475 for dogs 7 - 10 years old, and $350 for 11+ years of age. Purebred dogs regardless of age are $625. These minimum donations help to defer the costs of initial vet care, food, transportation to Colorado, and supplies while in foster care (that currently average over $750 per dog).Meeting Dogs | Foster dogs may have meet and greets by appointment to approved applicants only. To become an approved applicant - please complete the application process. We will not respond to emails about animal availability or allow meet and greets without an approved adoption application on file. Please Note | Available dogs are updated as soon as possible and we do our best to keep it up-to-date, but occasionally dogs shown may become unavailable without notice due to a pending adoption. We can not guarantee that a dog you wish to adopt is available by the time your adoption application is submitted, processed, and approved. Your application is good for one year from the date of applying for any dog as long as it is a good fit for your family and your lifestyle. We encourage you to put in an application even if you don't see your new family member currently, as once you are approved, we can place you on the waiting list for first priority on the selection of the dogs we do bring in. That means you can often meet a dog upon transport arrival and adopt before they even make it to this page!