Update 10 June 2024

Pancake is up to a whopping 45 pounds!  Fortunately, she is food-motivated so she is making really good progress.  The vet suggested that she gain about another 10 pounds.

Her sparkling personality is also shining through even more.  She loves to play fetch with tennis balls, chew on Nylabones, and play with furry squeaky toys, which she also enjoys shredding.  And that’s okay, she is a happy young lady who can entertain herself, given the right toys.  She does love interaction with human beings and she will come over for attention and follow a person around the home.  And she is a good guard dog with a loud, authoritative bark!

To burn off some of her energy, I have taken Pancake for short (1-2 mile) runs around a local park.  She gets distracted easily so it is a bit of a challenge, but she does enjoy the extra time outside and she is noticeably more poopered out at the end of the day.  Her leash manners are improving but they still need some work.  Sometimes she walks with neighbors and their dogs, so she is learning socialization skills.

Pancake has attended two adoption events and done reasonably well.  She is a little anxious in new situations but she should get better about that as her confidence grows.

4/4/24. Pancake is a really sweet 3.5 year old white shepherd.  

The best part about Pancake is her personality.  She is affectionate, house-trained and crate-trained.  She is well-socialized with people and she generally ignores or tolerates other dogs.  Her foster sister Pawlina 6087 is the same way, so they usually hang out in different parts of the living room.  Pancake enjoys being outside and going for walks; the world is her oyster!  Her leash manners could use some work – she is stronger than she looks and she likes to sniff pretty much everything.

Unfortunately, Pancake has exocrine pancreatic insufficiency, or EPI.  This means that she has to be on a restricted diet and have enzymes on her food.  The condition is easily managed but it makes her upkeep a little more expensive and time-consuming, as the enzymes need to be added to her food with warm water, and then the mixture needs to sit for at least 20 minutes before serving.

We are working to get Pancake’s weight back up to normal and to figure out what diet will work for her, as well as her enzyme dose.  She had a vet appointment in March and she did great.  Her blood test came back negative for heartworms, and her fecal sample was negative for parasites.  She also had her nails trimmed.  She came into rescue with some sores on her legs; they are healing nicely and the vet removed the blue tape on them that can be seen in some of the photos.  Her right ear doesn’t stand up straight, and the vet said perhaps she had a hematoma in her younger years, but it adds to her charm.  Pancake behaved perfectly the entire time at her doctor’s appointment, she had no problem being handled by the vet and the techs.

Pancake is currently living in a condo and she is not a barker, so she would do fine in any type of household.  She visits her foster cousins on the weekends in a single-family home, and she doesn’t play in the yard with the other dogs, she prefers the company of people.

Pancake is spayed and up-to-date on shots.  She is living in Arlington, VA and she plans to attend adoption events in Northern Virginia.  Approved adopters may contact her foster parent at tnhuck@yahoo.com.