Tootsie Chocolate Labrador Retriever Weare, NH

Meet Tootsie!

Tootsie was rescued from an animal control facility in Fannin County, where she was scheduled to be euthanized due to limited space.

It's hard to believe that this beautiful girl would be willing to forgive humans for keeping her chained in a small patch of grass for FOUR LONG YEARS while they used her for breeding - but she did. In fact, she is extremely loving and affectionate, and grateful to be alive. Her owner passed away, and the family discarded her to a high kill shelter, like yesterday's garbage.

We're thinking that Tootsie needs to be a one woman dog, as she aligns herself to the female in the home. She could live in harmony with a couple, as long as one person doesn't mind not receiving as much of her affection. We believe that she must have been abused by the (male) owner who was using her for breeding. She is NOT aggressive toward men, only somewhat timid and fearful.

The following was written from Tootsie's perspective while she was in a shelter in GA -

"Distance. It’s something that I hear you humans are learning a lot about lately. As for me, it was how I lived most of my life. My name is Tootsie, and I spent most of my life at the end of a chain, outside and exposed, never knowing what it was like to be close to a human being. Then suddenly, the person who used to feed me was gone and I found myself here at this shelter. I was so scared, but I soon learned to trust the nice people here who took me for walks. That was an amazing experience for me. I’d never known much outside a small patch of dirt, so walks were magical. I lived so long in solitude that I’m not much of a fan of rambunctious pups, because I like things quiet and calm. As long as they’re low-key like me, I’m happy to hang out with other dogs, though. But people are just about my favorite thing in the world. I love having my head in someone’s lap. I hear you have these things called sofas, and I really want to see what those are all about. Things that are soft and warm sound like a dream to me. I’ve longed for comfort for so long, and I’ve longed for love, too. Maybe that’s why I’m a velcro dog whenever someone comes to walk me. I can never be close enough to my human friends. They’re my world, but lately they haven’t been here to see me. I guess it’s all part of the distance thing I’m hearing about, but I’m still worried that maybe I’ve been abandoned again. I'm not getting any younger, but they think I'm just about four or five years old. I have been here at this shelter for seven whole months as of today. That’s a long time, and this place is just supposed to be temporary. What will become of me if my friends never return? What will I do without people? Maybe you can help me find someone to love me, a lap where I can always put my head. Tell my shelter friends that I miss them, and I hope they’re thinking of me. And maybe, somewhere, someone is looking for a peaceful 49-pound pup like me. I hope they can find me from a distance. I’ll be here wishing and hoping."

Tootsie is now in NH and looking for her forever family. She's been here for 8 months, living in a family environment. We kept her this long so that she could decompress and learn what love feels like, and now we feel that she's ready to find her forever home.

She's confident, and absolutely wonderful with women, but initially fearful of men. Most of the rescuers in the Georgia shelter were female, so Tootsie developed an affinity for women.

Tootsie is about 5 years old, and weighs 60 lbs. She is spayed, has all her required vaccines, and is microchipped.

If you'd like to open your heart and home to this lovely lady, please complete an adoption application at https://www.heartsandtails.org/adoption-application/

PLEASE NOTE that due to the overwhelming number of inquiries we receive daily, we can only respond to those who have completed an online application, and appear to be a good match. PLEASE check all of the fields in this profile to ensure your question hasn't already been answered as most of the information is in this profile.