The internet has fallen in love with a golden retriever and corgi mix after his foster carer showed him off online.
Lauren Thoman, 45, lives in Tennessee and has been fostering dogs with her husband since 2021.
The published author, who told Newsweek she writes “most of my books with a dog sharing my chair,” is now caring for Schrader Twine—an unusual mix-breed believed to be a cross between a corgi and golden retriever—after he came into their care via rescue Snooty Giggles.
Schrader had been with a family before this, but as Thoman told Newsweek, he had been surrendered “because his energy level was too high for his adoptive family’s small dog.”
Now, Thoman is working with Schrader to see what kind of forever home he’ll be suited for when the time comes, including whether he’ll get along in a house with cats. And as she summed it up to Newsweek: “He’s shown zero evidence of a prey drive around our cat, although he has a strong play drive, despite our cat’s complete lack of interest.
“She’s tried to tell him that she has no desire to play with him, but Schrader thinks that when she hisses at him, smacks him in the face, and runs away, that they’re playing a very fun game of tag where he is always ‘it.'”
On November 17, Thoman took to her Threads account @laurenthomanwrites where she shared a snapshot of Schrader’s “sweet personality” online, along with several photos of the silky, golden-colored dog with a corgi’s size and build.
She wrote: “Our current foster is a golden/corgi mix and in the two weeks we’ve had him, I think he has fallen off the couch more times than every other foster we’ve ever had combined.”
She then added: “Literally fell off two more times as I was composing that post.”
Thoman told Newsweek that their foster pup is “extremely affectionate, very playful, and has no spatial awareness whatsoever. He falls off the couch about a dozen times a day, only to pop right back up like a Weeble.”
“He also loves playing with our dogs, although his energy level surpasses both of theirs, so he also needs a good amount of human interaction,” she said. “I’m sure that he’ll mellow out a little bit as he gets older—he’s only 1-year-old right now, so very much still in his puppy phase—but I expect him to always be a happy and playful little guy.”
Golden retrievers are known for their affectionate and loyal nature, along with their general joy for life, according to the American Kennel Club (AKC). The Pembroke Welsh corgi dog breed is also known for affection towards family, playful energy and bright intelligence.
Thoman’s post about Schrader had a huge reaction online, as animal lovers liked the post hundreds of times, with one commenting: “What an adorable mix. Maybe adorkable is more accurate.”
“Bless his little heart,” another wrote, with one adding in all-caps: “I LOVE HIM.”
And another shared a photo of their own pet, and wrote: “I’m in love! I have a corgi mix too and they are incredible. Thank you for fostering him!”
While Schrader is not yet ready to be adopted, after getting to know his personality Thoman believes “his ideal home will be one with at least one other playful dog that will wrestle with him, a fenced in outdoor area where he can run around and chase his puppy siblings, and where the humans are prepared to work with him on his manners, especially how much he loves to chew.
“I think ideally, he’d do best in a home where at least one of his humans is home a good portion of the time, because the more interaction and exercise he gets during the day, the better behaved he is.
“We’ve already gotten several promising applications for him, so I am really optimistic that we’ll be able to find a great home where he can be his best self.”
As for whether it’s ever hard to give up the dogs she fosters, Thoman, who has two dogs of her own already, is adamant. “If we had any more than that, we wouldn’t be able to keep fostering…so as much as it’s always a little sad to see them leave for their new homes, it’s also happy because we love these dogs and know they’re going to be well taken care of.”
That said, she admits adopting Schrader has been a “temptation” but “it’s so wonderful to hear that a dog is doing great” in their new home.
“So to anyone reading this article, if you’ve ever adopted a dog from a fostering situation and still have the contact information for their foster, it’s never too late to send an update, even if it’s been years. We always want to know!”
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