Layla Anji #4155

Age: 9 years

Gender: Female

Breed: Golden Retriever

Status: Sanctuary

Update: January 25, 2025

Oh, what a wonderful difference a year makes!

Eight-year-old Layla has progressed by leaps and bounds, much to the delight of her devoted fosters. She now comes when called, is no longer afraid of her foster dad and has had no further accidents in the house. Not only has she learned to enjoy belly rubs, she LOVES chin scratches, leaning into her foster mom when getting them, and even nudging her hand to keep going!

Layla also LOVES chasing balls, Kongs and chew bones and chasing her doggy foster sister around the yard, amazing her fosters at how quickly and nimbly she runs. Clearly more comfortable and secure in her home environment, Layla and her fosters are continuing to work diligently with an experienced trainer to reduce and ultimately eliminate her anxiety about leaving the security of her home. Since practice makes perfect, each paw step forward Layla makes is indeed a positive step in that direction.

Even as their work continues, Layla demonstrated her progress by attending the Jupiter Golden Jubilee in November 2024, and traveling to Jupiter to celebrate Thanksgiving with her foster mom’s family, choosing a comfy cozy spot for herself and staying there quite contentedly.

Update: October 29, 2023

Each baby step Layla takes is a large leap forward.

In the six months that she’s been with her gently nurturing foster mom, she’s turned “never” into “sometimes.” She no longer startles as easily and has gradually become much more relaxed.

Although she still spends most of her time near the sofa, lying on the wood floor, Layla has gained enough confidence to occasionally move about the living room. She remains wary, however, of going into any other room, preferring the familiarity of the one she’s in. BUT, she now comes running when her mom begins to bring her food. She even wants to be petted before she eats! A remarkable achievement considering that earlier on, she wouldn’t approach her food bowl as long as her mom was there.

Still accustoming herself to the company of her small Doxie mix brother, Wyland, she’s still not used to playing with toys. She has a wide assortment that her mom places next to her on the floor, but she’s just not interested. Wyland still tries to give her toys, even playing with them right in front of her, but she doesn’t respond, choosing instead to simply lie there.

Now answering to her name, she and her mom play “go get the cheese,” and whenever Layla’s outside in the yard, her mom will encourage her to run. Instead, she chooses her own boundaries and confines her movements to walking around that one area. Sometimes she’ll spin herself around a few times like a whirling dervish, forcing Wyland to get out of her way because she doesn’t care if he’s in the way or not!

While this sweet survivor is still learning “how to be a dog,” she does trust her mom and knows that she can count on being petted and loved on whenever she wants.

Update: July 27, 2023

GRRMF has matched the perfect family for Layla to continue her care and special needs. Our board recently voted Layla into our Sanctuary program, wrapped in the loving arms of her forever GRRMF family. Welcome to your forever home Layla. 

We believe Layla came to us from a puppy mill and needs a very special family to provide a new “leash” on life. Their forever family must have unconditional patience working at the dog’s pace to build their trust and gain confidence being a dog. As their self-assurance grows, these formerly terrified puppy mill dogs can approach new situations and life with a positive outlook rather than fear. To meet the needs of these dogs, GRRMF requires the home life conditions of their forever home to have a secure fenced in backyard, regardless of the age of the dog, a calm and chill pal mentor dog and a quiet residence with an adult who is at home most of the day each day.

Update:  July 14, 2023

Layla dreams of being a super hero who jumps off the couch in a single bound and greets everyone she meets with a golden wagging tail and body.  She’s not quite there yet but she is making progress with meeting new people and allows everyone to pet her.  Given her history as a puppy mill dog, she has had very little exposure to real life situations and freedoms, which makes each new step forward a victory.

This sweet, shy girl is slowly coming out of her shell.  She has found cheese to be a delicious treat and is great at using her scenting abilities when playing the “find it game!” Layla is doing well coming when called and is working on being more confident going through doorways.  She has set her safety boundaries inside and outside the house and will need patience and time to gain confidence and independence to go beyond those boundaries.

Her foster fur brother has been of great assistance in showing her that the leash is good and means a walk outside. She’s not a fan of the six foot strap but tolerants it if her fur buddy is there cheering her on.  

Layla cheerfully and playfully enjoys the outdoors and excitedly jumps off her favorite couch to go outside – she can even beat her foster mom to the door now!  Don’t try to capture her on film or photographs as she does not aspire to be an actress – she will stop what she is doing if she spots that pesky camera. Amazingly, Fireworks, lightening, thunder and heavy rains don’t bother her a bit but sudden movements startle her right now.  

Sitting next to her foster mom, being outside, giving kisses are some of her favorite things. She’s working hard to gain more confidence and will be looking forward to finding her forever home.  Layla would do best in a quiet home with adults and another calm dog that can give her plenty of love and patience.  “ Layla “a beautiful butterfly that wants to spread her wings and fly – with love and devotion she will be a loving companion to a special family.

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Her favorite place is on the couch where she feels safe and away from noises and scary things. Not unusual for a dog who hasn’t lived life under normal circumstances.  It will take time but this pretty lady will someday be someone’s loving companion.  

Layla is making progress in her foster home and enjoys the companionship of her furry foster brother.  They basically mind their own business but his presence makes her feel calmer.  Outside they sniff and play with each other for short periods of time and then return to their respective areas in the house.  Layla loves the couch, it’s her safe spot and laying on it brings her comfort and peace.  She doesn’t mind her foster mom sitting next to her and petting her gently, in fact, she finds it quite nice and nudges her for more if she takes her hand away. 

Her eyes needed some medical attention and she is receiving numerous drops per day that are administered by her foster mom.  Although she isn’t a fan of this procedure, she softly turns her head upwards to receive her daily doses when her foster mom approaches with the eye drops.  Always wanting to please and looking for approval of each new step she takes towards independence and confidence, her foster mom says that she isn’t a Velcro dog inside but could become one since she is joined at her hip when they are outdoors.  

Layla is starting to enjoy her freedom in the fenced yard and will even run around a bit.  At first she was shy about eating in front of anyone but now when she hears the cabinet open and the food hit the bowl she stands to attention on her couch, anxiously awaiting her invite to gobble up those delicious morsels.  She enjoys her food and treats but she isn’t protective over any leftovers and graciously allows her foster brother to clean her plate.  

This sweet girl is accepting to neighbors and family members as they pet and make over her – since she’s a golden, she is probably loving every minute of the attention.  She is now house trained and doesn’t need to be crated – her couch is her castle!  Car rides are still a little scary but she gets in, lays on the floor and goes for the ride without any whimpering or complaining.  

Layla hasn’t had the exposure to life like most lucky dogs – new things, like birds flying around, can make her a little jumpy.  She is getting use to loud noises and fast movements and is starting to move off the couch to the floor and even ventured into her foster mom’s bedroom to see what she was doing.  She knows a few commands to go outside, come in, do her business and is learning sit.  Layla hasn’t been introduced to children yet nor does she take interest in any toys or ball playing.  As she acclimates to her new environment and feels comfortable she will, in all likelihood, become more interested in new things. 

This delightful, sweet girl will turn into a beautiful butterfly and a wonderful companion to a special family.   Time, patience and love will help her learn to trust and enjoy her new found life.  

If you will open your home and heart to embrace this special girl, please consider adopting Layla at https://www.grrmf.org/how-to-adopt/.