Ginger is a very sweet girl of about a year and a half. She was handed in to a shelter that then asked us to take her -  they wanted her to go to a rescue because they believed she had been abused and felt that she needed the additional care - both for Ginger herself and in selecting the best home.

Ginger is very healthy. She has been thoroughly checked by one of our super vets and only needed to be treated for a mild ear infection. Her heartworm test was negative. Her skin looks good and there is no reason, at this time, to think that she has any allergies.

Ginger is in many ways a typical young Golden with lots of energy and eager to play. She loves to have a toy in her mouth and thinks a game of fetch is just the most fun ever. She is also a huge lovebug and likes nothing more than to curl up on the couch with her foster mom and snuggle quietly for the whole evening. She is desperate to bond with a family, she has so much love and affection to share.Foster mom tells us that Ginger loves to curl up in her lap (or at least as much Golden as anyone can fit in a lap) and just soak up the petting and kisses followed by a nice snooze.

Ginger has been abused. Most of the time she is a happy, outgoing little girl. However, a raised voice or hand has her cowering on the floor and racing about on her belly trying to find a place to hide. She is terrified by a particular body type and appearance in men; with the help of a family friend, her foster home is working on that with her.  She is constantly watching her people to see what they want from her and to make sure she's not doing anything wrong. Her foster home knows that she will overcome these fears with a gentle, calm, loving, and understanding forever home. She is already getting braver and cowers less immediately.

She is a little careful meeting new people and looks to foster mom for reassurance but, when happy that things are safe, is friendly with strangers.

She adapted almost immediately to her foster home and is playing well with the other dogs in the house. She has befriended one of the cats, who is a brave chap and loves dogs. She is still fascinated by the other cats who run from her, so the game is on. Her foster family is very confident that she means them no harm, she's enthusiastic and just wants to play. Were there any question as to  her suitability with cats then her foster home would have requested that she be placed elsewhere.

Ginger is eager to please and loves to learn. She is quite athletic and may do well at agility, but she is also amazingly calm when in someone's arms so she may also excel as a therapy dog.

This dog is currently in one of our wonderful Foster Homes for evaluation and lots of love. All of our dogs stay in their Foster Homes for a minimum two week evaluation period, then remain there until their Forever Home finds them.

All GRRSWF dogs have undergone an full examination by a veterinarian and any health concerns have been addressed. All dogs are current on vaccines, have been tested for heartworm and intestinal parasites, and are provided with monthly heartworm and flea/tick preventatives for the duration of their time with us.

If you are interested in learning more about this dog, please contact us at applications@grrswf.org, or you can read about our adoption process in detail and download an application from our website at http://grrswf.org/index-2.html .

PLEASE NOTE: We serve Southwest Florida from Naples to Tampa, and sometimes slightly beyond if needed or possible. If you are interested in adopting one of our dogs but live outside our usual area of operations, please us know as soon as possible; this will allow us to ascertain whether we have volunteers in your area who would be able to assist in processing your application, and may save you from completing an application that we might be unable to process. Unfortunately, much as we would like to, there are some locations that we are simply unable to cover as we do not have sufficient representation in that area to perform the required home visits prior to the adoption, or follow-up visits afterward.