Taken in: 2015-02-28

Conversations with Royalty

Most pleasant greetings and a heartiest welcome to you all, my dear lords and ladies of the realm! My name is Princess Josephine, but everyone calls me PJ. So, are you looking to adopt a yellow female pup but don't want the hassle of needing to housetrain them and want to avoid the headache of making sure your personal belongings won't get chewed up when you're not home? Then perhaps I might be the right one for you! This is my very own bio page where I try to tell you a little bit about myself. I hope you have a wonderful time here!

A. BACKGROUND

My previous family contacted SCLRR and said that they would like to surrender me because their other dog kept bullying me and so this nice lady from the organization came over and helped them fill out the necessary paperwork. Once that was done she introduced me to this other guy from the organization that also showed up. She said that he will be my foster dad and that I will be staying with him and his doggie for a while. So I said okay. My foster dad then came over and gave me a hug and so I gave him a hug back. Then the two of us left my old home, and off we went to my new adventure!

B. PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

I'm a small female yellow Labrador mix with silky, soft fur and a long, skinny curved tail. I have a tiny face and I currently weigh 42 pounds. Here, take a look!

The nice folks at SCLRR don't know my actual birth date (my foster dad once tried asking me how old I was, but I just blushed and told him a lady never tells). In any case, they did observe that I look really young and so they are estimating that I'm probably around a year-and-a-half old.

Sometimes I like to goof around with my foster dad and we try out different looks and ''hairstyles'' and headgear for me. For example, this is my ''Princess Leia'' look! Hehe!

C. TEMPERAMENT

I'm polite, good-mannered, and obedient. I'm also confident in myself and am definitely not shy at all. For instance, when I first arrived at my foster dad's home I immediately started inspecting my new surroundings. I even ran upstairs to the second floor to see what it looks like up there. My foster dad told me that I'm the very first foster he's had that was brave enough to go upstairs so soon because all the others tended to be shy at first. He said that there were even some doggies that would just sit down and start crying the moment they arrived because they miss their former home so much. But not me! I've already moved on and was very excited to find out what's in store for me here in my foster home.

That being said, I do have to mention that I'm still young and so when faced with an unfamiliar situation I may end up feeling a bit insecure. For example, the very first time I met my foster brother, I ended up growling at him. What happened was that he was really excited to meet me, and so he ran towards me really fast because he couldn't wait to say hi. But I got worried when I saw him rushing towards me because I was afraid that he would run me over since he was so big compared to me. But after my foster dad reassured me that my new foster brother doesn't mean any harm and that he just wanted to introduce himself, I became a lot more comfortable and so I never growled at him again after that.

I'm very playful, that's just my personality, and so basically what happened during my first night here at my foster dad's place was that I kept playing all the way past my bedtime because I wasn't aware of the house rules yet (that you're supposed to stop playing and go to bed once the lights go out at night) and so my foster dad approached and explained to me that he's having trouble sleeping because I kept making a lot of noise playing with all the toys even though it was already well past midnight. But now that I've gotten used to his routine, I'm quite dedicated to following his schedule and so now I know when it's the right time to play, when it's time to eat, and when it's time to start winding down and go to bed. Aside from those episodes I mentioned (which never happened again once I settled down), my foster dad said that I actually have very good manners overall and so I was very happy when he told me that!

Here's a picture of me relaxing in the back of my foster dad's car. The moment I jumped in he told me to be very careful whenever going inside the trunk of a car because people might not notice me in there and that they may close the trunk lid by mistake and I could get hurt in the process. Anyway, since I was already inside, he decided he might as well take the opportunity to take a picture and show people how playful I was and so while he was setting up the shot, I gave him my best pose!

I gotta admit, this does look kind of a nice picture especially when zoomed in, don't 'ya think?

D. BACKYARD + PLAYTIME

I like to play with toys all day long; I'll be constantly chewing on them for hours on end while also batting them all over the place, so it's understandable that they can get pretty beat up after a while. What I noticed is that the really sturdy toys like those big, durable rope-thingys or ones made of solid rubber -- like for example this little red toy below that you see me holding in my mouth while I lean against my foster brother -- are ones that work best for me.

Tennis balls are also fine; there's dozens of those here in my foster home. I like them because they're soft and chewy. But because they're not as durable, I have been known to split open a ball or two just because I really do chew on them a lot.

My foster dad says that the ones that are least suited for me are those squeaky, stuffed toys. My foster brother had a few of those types of toys here, but I ended up destroying them during my playtime because they were just too fragile for me.

I love to play fetch whenever the humans decide to join in on my playtime! It's just so much fun trying to chase down whatever items you toss as I then go and bring them back to you! We can also play this game that my foster dad calls the ''bouncy-catch'' -- this is where you throw the ball to the ground, it bounces up against a wall, and that's when I catch it in the air on the rebound! Here, I'll show you in this video:

If you get tired of playing or if you have other things to do, just let me know by saying something like, ''No more PJ, I'm tired already. Let's play again later,'' and I'll wander off with my toy to play by myself and leave you alone.

E. OUTDOOR WALKS

The very first time my foster dad tried to walk me, he was surprised at how strong I was. I would yank and pull on the leash with all my might to the point where he was barely able to hang on. I really was quite a handful back in those early days. My foster dad thinks that I may not have had much experience with going out for walks my entire life, which is why I tended to go crazy whenever I get to see the outdoors. Here is a drawing of what happened back then whenever he tried taking me and my foster brother out for a walk:

But as you can see in the video below, now that I've had quite a bit of experience going out for regular walks around the neighborhood and at the parks, I just walk at a normal pace now and don't really pull at all.

I still pull a little bit when we first exit out the front door just because I get too giddy at times, but it doesn't last long. Once I get that initial rush out of my system I actually walk pretty slow because I like to sniff at a lot of stuff that we come across. Sometimes I may not notice that you've fallen behind and so I may end up tugging on the leash a little bit once the lead runs out of slack, but if that happens it's really just a slight nudge at that point.

F. MEALTIME

My foster dad had a difficult time feeding me when I first arrived. That's because I was more interested in playing all the time and so he had to chase me around the house with a handful of kibbles just to get me to eat something, otherwise I would end up skipping my meals and would just happily play all day if left to myself. But that was when I was still childish and a bit of a finicky eater. I'm a lot more mature these days, and so all you need to do is say ''PJ, it's time to eat!'' and I will immediately stop playing and come rushing in to the kitchen area lickety-split so that I can have my meal. I also make sure to finish off every single morsel so that no food ever gets wasted!

Here is a recent picture of me eating during one of my meals. My foster brother actually has his very own ''dining table'' (located at the other end of the room), but from time to time he would sneak in and drink off of my water bowl while I'm eating. That's okay, I don't really mind.

You also won't have to worry about me when it comes time for the humans to eat because I make an effort to try and stay out of the way. I won't beg or stare or try to sniff at all the yummy-smelling food at the table. I'll just go underneath the table and lay there until everyone's done. If you ever get out of your seat for a few seconds to get something, I may sometimes sneak in and drop a toy on your chair and then go back to my place under the table again. It's just my way of letting you know that I'm ready to play a game with you later once you're done eating, in case you'd like to join me!

G. BATH TIME

One day, my foster dad decided it was time to give me and my foster brother a bath. He called us out to the backyard and so we both ran outside where we found him on the lawn standing next to a pail of water and a bottle of doggie shampoo. I wasn't sure what to do next, so I decided to ask my foster brother for some tips:

• PJ: ''Will he be using cold water? I don't like to shiver.''
• Foster bro: ''Don't worry, he uses lukewarm water. You won't feel cold at all.''
• PJ: ''But I don't know how to use a loofah. What do I need to do?''
• Foster bro:''Nothing, he does all the work. You just need to stand still. Here, I'll go first. Just watch me.''
• PJ: ''Okay.''

And so I settled down on the ground with a toy in my mouth while my foster brother was given his bath. I was very close to where he was standing and so water kept splashing all over me the entire time, but I didn't mind. I just continued to quietly chew on my toy while observing the activity in front of me.

When it was finally my turn, I did exactly what my foster brother did: I stood up and placed myself at the same spot where he stood earlier and then stayed very still while my foster dad gave me a bath. I was a very good girl! I didn't cry or try to move around at all, and before I knew it we were done! He then took out a fresh towel and started to dry me off, and once he finished cleaning up all the mess we all went back inside where he proceeded to give both of us a treat for being such good doggies -- that was my favorite part of all! Anyway, that's my experience with having to take a bath here at my foster home.

H. INDOOR HABITS

I'm an indoor doggie and quite a well-behaved one, at that! I don't touch anything that belongs to humans. In fact, when I first arrived here I only played with the toy balls and I avoided all the other doggie toys because I wanted to make sure I don't make a mistake and accidentally touch a piece of property belonging to a human that may have just fallen to the floor. But once my foster dad reassured me that those other toys were also okay for me to play with, then of course I made sure I gave them plenty of attention as well!

I don't counter-surf; I have no interest in checking out any of the items on the shelves above me. I also have no issues with separation anxiety. My foster dad can leave me and my foster brother home alone for long periods of time and he never has to worry about me ripping apart any of his things while he's away. When he finally does return, I don't go crazy like some other doggies out there. I just happily wag my tail and welcome him home and ask him how his day was.

When I get really bored, sometimes I may start to stare at the wall; it's like a television for me. I just sit there and try to observe the different patterns of shadows and lights bouncing off of it. My foster dad recommends that I have plenty of toys available at all times so that I have enough things to entertain myself with.

I'm not much of a barker so you'll rarely get to hear my voice. I don't even bark at dogs that are passing by the front of the house; I completely ignore them and just keep playing with my toys. And when it's my turn to go out for a walk, I do the same thing and ignore any sort of noisy dogs barking at me from behind their fences. On the other hand, if there are friendly dogs that wanted to approach me and say hi, then I am friendly towards them and I will wag my tail and greet them with a warm smile as I happily interact with them.

I'm afraid of squirt bottles. My foster dad suspects that I may have been previously disciplined using one of them because one day he was cleaning some furniture using a squirt bottle and a rag, and when I walked into the room and saw him holding the bottle I ran away in fright and hid in the next room.

I will try and chase little critters like squirrels and birds if they ever try to come near me. There are also some cats here in the neighborhood that wander around, but so far I've never had any interactions with them. There's one or two that I see just lounging out on their front yard whenever we pass by their place during our walk and I would stare at them as we walk by, but my foster dad wouldn't let me approach them and so right now he doesn't know if I'm friendly towards cats or if I'll start to chase them if given the opportunity.

I. COMMANDS

My previous owners taught me how to ''Sit'' and to ''Shake'' but they only did it in their native language and so my foster dad made sure to also teach me the equivalent commands in English. Anyway, below is an example of me in action, performing the ''Sit'' and ''Shake'' command as my foster brother and I eagerly await our treats!

J. MEDICAL

I'm up-to-date on all my shots. My foster dad took me to a vet and they gave me vaccines and so if you decide to adopt me, you won't need to worry about that sort of thing for a while. While I was there, the vet also gave me a basic physical. He said that everything seems to be in place and that I seem to be in good health. That was great to hear!

While we were waiting to see the vet, there were a bunch of different doggies sitting all around us in the waiting room also waiting for their turn. I was such a good girl there, too! I was smiling and softly wagging my tail, but I never barked at any of them or made any sort of fuss. There were even some ''office cats'' there that belonged to the clinic. They were very brave felines, they would wander around the place and would confidently walk close by to the doggies without any fear. I was very curious and so I tried to approach one of them, but my foster dad wouldn't let me because he said he wasn't sure what I would do. But for what it's worth, I didn't go crazy at the sight of the kitties; I was looking at them the entire time, but I wasn't barking or doing anything wild while they were close to me.

K. CAR RIDES

When I first met my foster dad, he suspects that I didn't have a lot of experience riding in cars because whenever I found out I would be getting in a vehicle, I would rear up and put my two front paws on the side of the car and start scratching at it to try and get in. And then once I did manage to get inside the vehicle, I was equally just as wild; I would be constantly spinning and running around and jumping back and forth between the front and rear seats like a little tornado. I still look back with fondness as I recall my foster dad's screams of anguish during that very first day we met: we had just left my former owner's house and he was leading me to his car to take me home when I jumped up and started clawing at the side of his vehicle, ''MY CAR!!!'', he screamed in pain. Ahhh, those were the days!

Here is a reconstruction of my behavior during those early days when I would try and get in the car as my foster brother and I are heading out on field trips:

But since then I've had a lot more experience and I'm definitely a lot calmer now when it comes to car rides. Even if I'm very excited with the prospect of heading out on a fun road trip to go to some park, the most I do is just wag my tail. Check out this recent video he took of me and my foster bother as he tricked both of us into thinking we were going for a car ride: I just stood patiently by the side of the car waiting to be let in. No more scratched car paint!

I'm a lot more disciplined now as well once I'm inside the vehicle; I would get in and settle down in the back seat and stay quiet until we get to our destination. I actually prefer riding in the front passenger seat, but my foster brother tells me that he gets fist dibs on it because he's the older sibling, and so most of the time I let him have that seat all to himself. But there are days when I really, really want to see the view from the front seat as well and so sometimes I'd squeeze in the front seat with my foster brother as we get in the car even though it's quite a tight fit and so both of us would just sit there crammed like sardines the entire trip, but my foster brother is patient with me and he doesn't complain whenever I try to do that.

L. TRANSITION TIME

During my first few days with you after the adoption process is finalized, it is possible that patience and understanding might be needed as there's bound to be a period of adjustment that I would be needing to go through. My foster dad says that it's perfectly possible that I will behave during my first day's arrival at your place exactly the same way I behaved during my first day here: excited, adventurous, and eager to discover new things and encounter new experiences. But then again, maybe I could turn out to be just like those other doggies that my foster dad was telling me about, the ones that started crying because they missed their former home so much. Regardless of how it turns out, I'll probably still be needing some period of adjustment before I can feel completely comfortable and secure as the latest addition to your household and so please give me some time to get myself settled in. I'm obedient and I aim to please; I realize that each household is different and so I just need a reasonable amount of time in order to learn and be aware of your particular rules and routines.

My foster dad also says that for categorization purposes, he is going to label me as a high energy dog. He says it's not because I run around the house like a little tornado, crashing over bookshelves and toppling vases - far from it! I'm actually quite mellow when I'm inside the house. But it's also true that along with the numerous toys I get to play with, I also get daily walks, regular playtime with humans and the occasional road trips to the park on top of all that in order to provide a constructive outlet for all the energy that I have so that it doesn't just get bottled up inside me. So by the same token, my foster dad would prefer that I go to a home that will be willing to provide me with opportunities for exercise, perhaps at the very least by having daily walks and plenty of available toys for me to play with.

Since I'm well-disciplined and am already familiar with a lot of household rules in terms or respecting people's property, I've already got a great headstart compared to some other doggies. And because I'm such a good pup, he says you don't need to have prior experience in dealing with young dogs in order to be paired with me, in which case both you and I are going to try and learn things together, and I'm sure we'll have fun and have quite a memorable experience along the way. He does hope that you'll be patient with me in case we ever come across situations where I will need guidance and leadership so that I grow up to be a well-rounded, mature, and responsible family dog that all can be proud of and for me to have a fulfilling, happy life ready to give back all the love and dedication I can offer in return for all the caring and support you'll be providing me over the years.

And finally, it's nap time! After a long day's worth of playing around the house and visiting the neighborhoods and parks, it's time to rest up a bit and catch some zzz's. Here's a video of my foster dad helping me get to sleep by singing me a lullaby.

Thank you for taking the time to learn more about me! And regardless of whether or not you consider me as part of your adoption plans, I do sincerely hope you all soon find the doggie of your dreams, so best of luck to you all.

Farewell for now. I eagerly look forward to meeting you soon!