Mona is a happy, sweet 4-year-old girl who will make a wonderful addition to a new family.  Mona was released from a commercial breeding kennel in October of 2023 and has been learning all about life as part of a family.  She has done beautifully in her transition to life in a home and takes all of the new things and experiences in stride.  She is a very well-behaved girl and will be an easy addition to her new home.   She loves the companionship of the other dogs in her foster home and will always choose to cuddle up with the other dogs whenever she has the chance. She is learning all about toys and play and really enjoys the opportunity to run zoomies in the back yard. 

Mona adapted to life in a home quickly.  She almost immediately learned that outside is where she should go to the bathroom and will let herself out the doggie door to the fenced yard in her foster home.  Mona has a wonderful balance of energy.  She will happily romp around the yard and play with the other dogs, but she is also perfectly content to nap in a cozy bed with her foster siblings while her mom is working.  In fact, Mona enjoys sleeping with her siblings so much, she will often pile right on top of them even if there isn’t space left in the bed.  She has an adorable habit where the tip of her tongue sticks out if she’s in a really deep sleep.  Mona is very inquisitive and likes to explore her environment.  She has not chewed or destroyed anything in her foster home and is a very well-behaved girl.

Mona absolutely LOVES food.  She is fed in her crate so tossing a treat in the crate is the easiest way to get her inside.  She will tolerate sleeping in the crate if needed but would often protest a bit before settling.  Her foster mom found that Mona was much more content if she was allowed to stay with her foster siblings.  Currently, if there is no one home, Mona stays confined to the kitchen with the other dogs and does extremely well with that.  At nighttime, Mona sleeps happily in a large x-pen in the bedroom with the other dogs.  She sleeps through the night without any issue.

Mona is very curious and does not easily startle. She is confident and eager to explore new things she encounters including new people. Mona will gladly approach her family, and even strangers, whenever they reach out to her, and she willingly offers kisses to an outstretched hand. Mona wants to be around her people all the time and follows her foster mom from room to room throughout the day.

When Mona first arrived, she was not familiar with being touched.  Often in commercial facilities, the dogs are confined to kennels their whole lives. They usually are not touched by humans, and if they are, it is not always with the kindest hand.  It took time for Mona’s foster mom to gain her trust when it came to being pet by her.  Initially Mona would scamper just out of reach if someone tried to pet her.  You could see the desire in her to be near people and be a part of what was going on, but she was very unsure about the sensation of touch.  Treats were a fabulous way to build trust with her so she associated hands with good things.

It has been a wonderful process to watch Mona realize that she actually enjoys human touch, especially butt scratches and chest rubs! She even seeks out attention now from her foster mom when she is giving attention to the other dogs. She will turn her back to mom and bump her hip against mom to say “ butt scratches please!”  She also enjoys cuddling next to mom on the couch at night while watching TV. It has been a heartwarming transformation. We have no doubt that she will enjoy love and affection from her new family as well.  Her new family just needs to understand that they will need to give Mona some time to get acclimated to her new home. 

When Mona arrived in rescue, she was spayed, had a dental and was deemed in overall good health.  However, her foster mom was observing daily episodes of neck and head scratching and face rubbing.  She was taken to a neurologist because those symptoms are consistent with a common disorder in Cavaliers known as Syringomyelia (SM). Mona has a mild case of this condition and it is well controlled medically.  She takes medicine twice per day and she only exhibits symptoms now if there is a big storm coming.  SM is a progressive disease and over time she may need adjustments to her medication.  Her new family will need to have a neurologist nearby who can monitor her annually.  Her medication currently costs about $20 per month and she will need to remain on medication for the remainder of her life. 

The ideal family for Mona would have a home with a fenced yard for her to romp in, at least one other dog who will not mind being cuddled by another dog, and someone who is home most of the time.  An adult home would be best, but teenagers would be fine.  Mona has not met any cats so we do not know how she would do, but we suspect she would be ok with them. If you would like to add this sweet, lovely girl to your family, and you live within a reasonable driving distance to central CT, please fill out our online application.   Please contact Mary Coyne, luckystarrescue@gmail.com after completing an application.