Bailey Female, Spayed, Mircrochip DOB: ~01/01/2007 Vaccinations: Current Healthy Weight: ~42-45 lbs Breed: Mixed with Strong indication of a Labrador Retriever. She looks like a small black lab. Crate-trained, house-trained, leash-trained. Works best with her training collar on.   Bailey came to us on Christmas Day 2007 (just two days before our wedding) after we learned she had spent most of the previous week perched atop a car parked in the cove. After we rescued her, we discovered her cat-like prowess extended to the railing on our back porch and the back of the couch. She apparently enjoys heights, rail walking, and finding a nice comfortable perch. For a long time, her nickname was “Straightliner” as no object prevented her from making the quickest route from “a” to “b” a straight line. With a single bound, she often leapt our entire couch when traveling through the house.   She is an extremely sweet and gentle dog, which we have discovered as she patiently allows our 21 month old son to climb on her and ride her like a horse. Not even once has she tried to bite dog or person though she does bark at strangers and other animals. Our German Shepherd has taught her to bark at strangers passing or approaching the house, which is a comfort.   While she has springs in her feet as she greets her family and makes new friends, she generally doesn’t jump onto people just around them. If she was allowed, I’m sure she’d stand on her hindlegs to greet and give kisses to her family and friends. She absolutely loves to play (particularly running circles outside or around the couch) and has been a wonderful companion to our 11 year old German Shepherd. She plays very well with other dogs and loves to burn off her energy chasing other dogs around the yard. She also loves to curl up by the space heater in the winter months or bask in the sunlight both indoors and outdoors.   Before we welcomed our son, we sent her for professional training for 4 weeks with Cumberland Canine Training Center in Castalian Springs, TN. She is an excellent student and shows with enthusiasm all she learned.   Unfortunately, while we absolutely love Bailey and desire to keep her, limitations in our neighborhood prevent us from providing her a place to stretch her legs without breaking leash laws. The economy has also made it difficult to find a new and loving home for her. So, our loving home isn’t as healthy as she needs. She would thrive on a farm or property with a large, fenced backyard where she could run and play. She’s also very much a Labrador Retrieiver at heart as she thinks she is just a medium-sized lapdog. She loves to cuddle and would happily sleep in bed or next to you on the couch (if allowed).   Her biggest quirk (sometime cute): Bailey is a hoarder. She likes to collect little things from straws to socks and take them to her box, where unfortunately she often chews them into pieces. Generally, she saves the chewing for when we are away and didn’t check her box before leaving. She does absolutely love her box.   Bailey is also very sensitive as her first owner/s were definitely abusive. She responds best to commands given in a calm voice rather than loud and stern. She is extremely skittish around men (even giving them an occasional bark) but quickly warms up to any man who shows her some patience and gentle love. However, she has never warmed up to anyone who smells of cigarette smoke.   Bailey is also prone to dart off for a run if she doesn’t have on her training collar, but she always returns within 30 minutes to 1.5 hours with a smile on her face and ready to slurp down a bowl of water.