EVENTS & ADOPTION UPDATES Virginia

EVENTS & ADOPTION UPDATES MD/DC

"ROCKY & BUDDY": ADOPTED BY THE WILSON FAMILY

Hi Kathy!

Rocky and Buddy are almost 5 now, and are doing great. They are the best dogs ever! Buddy is so laid back and is my son's best friend, we can take him everywhere and he LOVES every living thing-he will lick a baby kitten and has slept with our rabbit. He is a favorite at the kid's baseball games.

Rocky, now....Rocky is my joy. He makes me happy every day. He is not so predictable with strangers, so he mostly stays home, but there has never been a dog who loved his family more than Rocky. He is just so loyal and loving and wants only to make us happy. Please let me know if you get this all right, and keep in touch!

Love, David and Tammie Wilson Capron, VA

Rocky going on a hike in the woods behind the house.

This is Buddy at a PACC (our local spay/neuter adoption org.) fundraiser, where he won a ribbon for largest dog :0)

My daughter had the flu, so of course, Rocky laid with her on the couch until she felt better--or in case she dropped a cracker--haha

"MOLSON & LILY" (FORMALLY KNOWN AS BAILEY & LILY): ADOPTED BY THE BUDD FAMILY

Hi Kathi,

Molson and Lily were adopted in June 2004. "The Bernards," as we like to call them, now enjoy a life that most dogs could only dream of....

Weighing in a 110 lbs., Molson is pure comedy on (BIG) paws. He enjoys lounging on our bed (we're pretty sure he thinks it's his) day and night. He also has no concept of his size, often assuming he is a lap dog. You can't walk past him without him rolling over and exposing his belly, in the hopes that you rub it for him. His personality has earned him a number of nicknames around our house.

Lily is our 108 lb. fur ball of love. She enjoys lots of hugs and affection, and in return, is quick to give you kisses. Wherever her mom is, Lily isn't far behind. She is a definite ladies dog who loves the occasional bath and grooming session.

Recently, we had a son, and the Bernards adjusted very quickly to their new lifestyle. They love their little brother and like to keep tabs on him, like they do with us. As far as they are concerned, it's just one more person to give them attention!

Enjoy!

Amy & Chris Budd

"APOLLO & ARES": ADOPTED BY LINDA WELCH

Hello Kathi,

Just wanted to send you an update of my babies. I adoped Apollo (right) from you in October of 2002 and Ares I adopted from the local shelter in July 2003. Apollo just celebrated his 4th birthday this month and Ares will be 3 in late January. They're my babies and I have no idea what my life would be without them.

We're going to try to get to Gettysburg for the festivities.

Thanks for everything.

Most Sincerely,

Linda Welch

Owner

Dogs by Day

Washington, DC

"MAGGIE" (FORMALLY KNOWN AS TINKERBELL): ADOPTED BY THE FLESCHNER FAMILY

Kathi,

I just wanted to send you a picture of Maggie and give you a little update.
She is 36 pounds and now worm free! We just got another invisible fence
collar for her on Wednesday and are working on the training. She's a bit
stubborn but we'll see how it goes. She's getting along great with Zack. I
think she likes to run a bit more than he does but they have fun playing
outside. She's already chewed up a bunch of the kid's toys, but they still
like her. My 18 month old just calls her "puppy." It's real cute. Things are
going well. Thanks for all your help.

Kathleen and Mark Fleschner

"JACKSON": ADOPTED BY CAROLINE DENHAM & KEITH HARE

Kathi,

Thanks again for making it possible for us to get Jackson! He
keeps me company now that Keith started his new job. He's been having to
work extra hours until he gets used to the new restaurant. I always said
that when we got our new dog, he wasn't going to be allowed on the
furniture, but I can't resist. I let Jackson sleep with me until Keith gets
home!! I know I'm spoiling him rotten! Talk to you later!
Caroline

"SAMMY" (FORMALLY KNOWN AS BERNIE): ADOPTED BY THE NICCUM FAMILY

Hi Kathi, Gena & Katie,
Just wanted to send a quick note and a picture of Sammy (AKA Bernie) and our
6 year old Parker. Sammy is the perfect fit for our family and as you can
see has quickly adapted to our boat life! Everyone that meets him can't
believe he has only been with us for a week. We feel the same, we all love
him!
Thanks to all of you for helping him get to us!
Kathy & Dave

"BERNIE" (FORMALLY KNOWN AS BRUISER): ADOPTED BY LIZ WIGANDT

Hi Kathy! I can't believe it's coming upon 2 years since we've added Bernie (aka Bruiser) to the family, and I thought that it was about time to send my [overdue] update!

Bernie is the perfect picture of health. A few months after he came home, we noticed that he was blinking his right eye more than normal. The lashes turned in yet again, so it was time for another surgery. It was a complete success, and he is living without any irritation. While he was anesthetized, his hips were x-rayed, and they're beautiful! They're in amazing shape, near perfect.

We realized that he wasn't eating near what he should be. Unfortunately, it was only 3 cups or so of kibble every other day and only late at night. So, off to try another food. He wasn't thrilled with that either, and there wasn't anything else that I would have felt comfortable feeding to him that I could find. On the recommendation of
our vet, we went to a holistic/natural specialty food store in the area (Crunchies) and brought home several doggie food samples. He dove into each and every one of them! We picked the one specially formulated for joint care (Avo Active Care), and he's been eating an entire bowl full every night. If his bowl only has a cup of food in it, he'll eat only that cup. If you add more, he won't eat it. If there's five cups in there when he starts, he'll eat all five. Plus, he will eat right around 8pm because he sees that people are getting ready for bed and therefore, all opportunities for human food snacks have ceased. What a little bugger.

Speaking of food, he has learned a few tricks! He finally understands "stay," and I can get him to give me "two paws!" What can I say, he's a genius. But, that all goes out the door if someone has food he wants! I've given up on teaching him how to roll over-every time, he thinks we're playing a game and I end up getting kicked by the giant horse. I'm happy as long as he doesn't have accidents in the house and he's not counter-surfing (he only did it once, and ate a entire bowl of French fries and 6 hotdogs-my dinner!). His other trick is that he comes running whenever he hears the fridge open and immediately sits (what do you mean that's not a trick?!). Bernie can be on a different floor of the house in a deep sleep with full on snoring, and he still is sitting in front of the fridge in under 10 seconds flat.

He's now a neighborhood celebrity. Bernie enjoys going to the local dog park and to the store. We now have to spell park and Petsmart, or else he starts bouncing around thinking that he's going to go on a car ride! You can't take him outside without him sitting next to my car (the one that takes him places) waiting patiently to get in! At
Petsmart, he keeps his head to the ground, sniffing any and everything as if he was part bloodhound. He enjoys going to the park so much as he gets to meet up with his doggie friends and finally gets to run off leash. Of course, he's the center of attention and relishes in it! You'd think he was attention starved at home, as he walks around making sure to get a good scratch from every human in the place! He's quite the sight to see running, and you've got to brace yourself to not get knocked over. No one believes that's he's approaching 6 and in his senior years after seeing him sprint around-I can't even begin to count the times I've been asked if he's a puppy! The best thing is that he gets along with every dog, from tiny to large, shy to alpha. One of his best play buddies is a 4 pound mini pinscher-one minute you see Bernie sprinting after him, and the next minute you see this little sprite chasing this 140 pound drooling monster! He seems to want to play mediator quite often. dogs will get possessive over the community toys there, but Bernie just walks over and diffuses the situation by showing he's in charge with a simple bark. I don't know if that's his intention, I think he's just quite nosey! He stood up for the tiny Chihuahua puppy that was being tormented by some ill-mannered sheltie. guess the sheltie forgot what it was like to be the tiny one and Bernie just had to remind him!

I can't imagine what life would be like now without him in it. He stays out of his crate at night, and sleeps on the bed (he got someone to give up their human bed for him!). He sometimes likes to engage in a rousing game of chase the kitties, or "let's eat kitty litter or kitty food!" (we have since put up a baby gate so he can do neither!).
He scares away the UPS man, mailwoman, and every solicitor that comes around. They all assume he's a vicious monster and I'm okay with that. They no longer come to the door unless absolutely necessary so I
refuse to tell them he's harmless! To know him is to love him. Bernie is an all around huge goofball, and absolutely perfect for this family.

Hope all is well!

-Liz Wigandt

"JILL" (FORMALLY KNOWN AS TACO): ADOPTED BY BARB SMETANA

Hi Kathi,

The 1st pic is Jill. The 2nd pic is Jill and her brother, Ben(dog) and brother Jake(kitty). I have 3 dogs and about 20 cats. I work for the local T.N.R. humanly trapping feral cats and getting them fixed and shots. Sometimes (like 20 times) I end up keeping the friendly cats. They all get along great! Some of the more feral cats will come close to me but won't let me touch them. But they always let the dogs touch them!! At any given time you will look out on my deck to see the cats rubbing the dogs or the dogs licking the cats. I love it!!! Jill is doing great!

Thanks, Barb

"MIRANDA": ADOPTED BY THE GRAY FAMILY

Kathi,
Here some pictures of Miranda and Spencer. They look so much alike in the face that he could be her father. She is growing like a weed. When we
picked her up at the shelter she weighed 14 lbs. When we took her to the
Vet on Monday night she weighed 21.5 lbs. She is at least twice as tall as she was when we picked her up. A little history from the time we brought her home on the Saturday before the 4th.

1. By Tuesday she had figured out the puppy door, and was learning to go out to the bathroom through it.

2. By Friday she went out to go to the bathroom on her own without us telling her to.

3. Sometime the following week she made it all the way through the night in a crate without messing.

4. This week she has learned to break off playing with all of the other dogs when she has to go out and goes by herself. She has also been left for several hours during the day with all of the other dogs loose in the house with no accidents.

5. Yesterday she learned how to climb steps and even figured out how to come down steps.

We figure that in a week or so she will no longer have to be in the crate at night and can be trusted to go out at night whenever she has to. Of course the drawback to this is that playing in the middle of the night could happen with barking. We will work on that as it happens. She and our daughters Bassett Hound love each other and play from morning to night. She loves the two big boys, especially their tails. She grabs on and they swing her around trying to shake her of. We were amazed at how gentle they both were with her in the play at first. Now they knock her around just like they do with each other and chase her around the yard. She can't get enough of all of this, and keeps coming back for more. She likes to give kisses, but loses control and starts to nibble on noses, ears, face, fingers, and anything close. I would say it was just a little puppy thing, but sometimes when petting Caine he too loses control and I find my hand is in his mouth.
Hope you enjoy the pictures.

Marty and Guy

"NIKKI": ADOPTED BY THE LONGEST FAMILY

Kathi,
We adopted Nikki from your rescue in 2001, we recently moved to Salisbury, Md (from Chestertown, Md) and it occurred to me today that I think it was in our contract that we let you know if we moved. Nikki is doing fantastic, she is very much a part of our family. She is snoring loudly as I write this! I have attached a picture so you can see how beautiful she is! She is weighing in at 140 these days ( up from 110 when we got her) The vet says she is doing fantastic, and we love her dearly. Thank
you again!
Jane Longest

"MAUKA" (FORMALLY KNOWN AS JULIE): ADOPTED BY THE WILKERSONS

Mauka, which means mountain in Hawaiian, is absolutely wonderful! We celebrated our one year "anniversary" of her adoption last week. Mauka is the sweetest, most lovable dog ever . . . we can't imagine how anyone could have given her up. She adjusted well and immediately became part of the family. At two and a half years old, she is still very much a puppy and loves to play with other dogs at the dog park, day care, etc. She also likes going to her grandparents' houses and playing with Steve's parents' Husky and my parents' Golden. Mauka loves to go for walks in the neighborhood, but can't figure out why she isn't allowed to play with everyone and everything she encounters. We know she means well, but some people seem to be startled by a 130 pound Saint Bernard bounding toward
them?!? We'll keep working on the obedience training . . . She graduated from basic in May and is continuing on to the advanced class in September. Of everything we do together, Mauka's favorite (and ours) is weekend morning cuddling with everyone in bed. She really does own the place! I got tired of everyone calling her "boy" just because she's so big and strong, so we got her a pink collar . . . it says, "It's not easy being a princess," and we all believe it suits her quite well!
Take Care,
Jennifer Weiss Wilkerson

"ABBY": ADOPTED BY THE RALPH FAMILY

Sorry it has taken so long to give an update!

We have been busy with end of the year activities and Abby has been busy with her training classes! I am sending off a couple pictures of her with the family. She seems to have really settled in here and gotten comfortable. Still the puppy though, and sometimes forgets her size, but we are working on teaching the kids that when the head goes by, the tail is soon to follow :) She is such a silly girl, very playful and loving. I think she enjoys being out with us all day, spending time running in our yard, letting the little ones "play" with her (sometimes letting them think they win in tug). I know she loves the hugs and kisses she gets all the time, and we enjoy hers as well.

Jen Ralph

"MANDEE": ADOPTED BY THE SKILLINGTON FAMILY

Hey Kathy-

Mandee is doing well. She doesn't counter cruise, jump up on people coming in or chase the cats. She's learning to like car rides now that she knows they don't all end at the vet or a new home! She's gone to my husband's office twice and had fun looking around and seeing his employees. We log about 3-5 miles a day walking and I can't tire her out! She's great on a leash unless she sees a groundhog or rabbit. My other dog, Loki and she sometimes share the one dog bed (the new ones are
back-ordered) She went to a Strawberry festival at our church and met many kids, and was gentle and appropriate with all. She's eating two meals a day now, each 3 cups of high energy Nutro since the vet wants her to gain some weight. Her butt's sorta boney! She was micro-chipped also.

Mandee was learning to come when we call her, but has a ways to go of course. I make her do a "down stay" and wait for her food, and she rolls over for a belly rub- does that count? So, all in all, things are going fairly well. We'll keep in touch.

Jim, Lisa, Loki and Mandee

PS- our kids think she's "awesome"!!

"CHASE": ADOPTED BY JENNIFER REXROAD & JACK KORT

We just love Chase! He is such a sweet boy. He came to us in rescue, because his owner had gotten really sick, & couldn't care for him no longer. It was a good thing that Chase came to us, because he had a terrible kidney infection, & was pretty sick. Now he is doing much better & he is loving life on his 33 acres! Chase has become very spoiled and whines when he wants attention. He loves playing with his new brothers, Arthur & Ollie. Chase has huge feet, & his nick name is "Mr. Bighead"! Chase is a very big boy , but has a very gentle disposition. He has totally decided that he is Jen's dog & she loves him to death. Chases other favorite thing is his toy octopus. He can stir up the household , & get all the boys barking. Chase also keeps trying to befriend the cats too, but they don't care for him. We just wanted to let everyone know what a great addition he is to our household!

Jack Kort & Jennifer Rexroad

"COCOA" : ADOPTED BY THE ASID FAMILY

We adopted Cocoa from Jamie Byrnes, the PA rep. Cocoa is doing quite well. Our boys just love her to death! She enjoys picking on them all day long too! Cocoa has definately brought some life back into this household, since we lost Allie. She is quite the character & full of personality. Cocoa is very playful , fun loving, & is quite intelligent too. She loves running around in the yard playing with Tonto & her toys. Cocoa also enjoys a good bone to chew on . She will be starting obedience class in June, but has already mastered the hand signal for "sit". We can't wait to start taking her to the rescue events. My husband just loves being able to pick up a pup again, as you can see in the photo! Thanks again to Jamie for allowing me to have this girl, & thanks to Jennifer Rexroad for being my road trip buddy for the long ride up to get Cocoa. You girls are the best, I couldn't have done it without you!

Kathi, Stephen & Noah Asid

"MAGGIE (FORMALLY KNOWN AS SISSY): ADOPTED BY DANIELLE RICHARDSON

Hi Kathi,

Maggie (Sissy) is doing fantastic! She's just great........she's the queen. She's about 105 pounds and I think she'll be 3 in August. She's just so loving and well-behaved. We love her to pieces!!!! I've attached the only picture of her that I have saved on my computer at work. It was taken this week.....she got her summer haircut about two weeks ago.

Thanks for getting back to me....

Danielle

"GEORGE" (FORMALLY KNOWN AS SULTAN): ADOPTED BY THE OSMUS FAMILY

Kathi,

Here is a picture of George "Sultan" Osmus, the newest addition to our family. Thank you so much for giving us the opportunity to have this loving guy in our lives. He is fitting in the neighborhood pretty well and loves to be loved on by the kids. My son runs downstairs in the morning just to make sure George is ok. I will send you more pictures as we take 'em, and again thanks so much!!!

The Osmus Family

"ROMULUS" : ADOPTED BY LAURA COOK

HEY KATHI HERE IS THE E-MAIL I SENT TRINA WITH PICS OF ROMULUS THOUGHT YOU MIGHT LIKE TO SEE THEM, THANKS AGAIN SO MUCH FOR ALL OF YOU GUYS HELP!!!!!!!!

LAURA COOK

HEY TRINA AND KATRINA,

JUST WANTED TO TAKE A MOMENT TO TELL YOU GUYS HOW GREAT ROMMIE(ROMULUS) IS. HE GETS ALONG GREAT WITH MAVERICK AND JACKSON AND SEEMS LIKE I HAVE HAD HIM FOREVER. HE IS SUCH A LOVE BUG. I CAN'T IMAGINE WHAT LIFE WAS LIKE WITHOUT HIM, HE IS SUCH A JOY. SINCE I GOT HIM HE HAS ALREADY GAINED 12 POUNDS SO HE IS AT 115 LBS. THE VET SAYS HE HAS A LITTLE MORE TO GO BUT HE IS PUTTING AWAY FOOD LIKE HE HAS NEVER EATEN, OF COURSE IM SURE HE EATS BETTER NOW THEN BEFORE YOU GUYS SAVED HIM. HIS FAVORITE PLACE TO SIT AS YOU WILL SEE IS IN MY RECLINER. AND HE DOES NOT CARE IF IM IN IT OR NOT. HE IS JUST A BIG OLE BABY. I'M SURE KATRINA WILL BE SURPRISED TO KNOW THAT HE HAS STILL NOT EVER MARKED IN THE HOUSE AND WHEN I TOOK HIM TO THE VET FOR HIS BOOSTER SHOT HE NEVER EVEN THOUGHT ABOUT LIFTING HIS LEG ANYWHERE!!!!! ROMMIE WENT TO GET A BATH A COUPLE WEEKS AGO AND THE GIRLS AT THE VETS BEGGED ME TO BRING HIM BACK AGAIN BECAUSE THEY SAID HE WAS SOOOO SWEET. I JUST WANTED TO THANK YOU GUYS FOR DOING SUCH A GREAT JOB MATCHING ROMMIE WITH ME, HE IS ABSOLUTELY PERFECT. I GET UP EVERY MORNING AND THANK GOD THAT YOU GUYS ALLOWED ME TO HAVE SUCH A WONDERFUL GUY!!! THANKS A MILLION FOR ALL THAT YOU HAVE DONE AND DO FOR EVERYONE ELSE LOOKING FOR THEIR PERFECT "ROMMIE". HERE ARE SOME PICTURE OF ROMMIE.MAVERICK AND JACKSON AT PLAY.

THANKS AGAIN

LAURA COOK

BEAU (FORMALLY KNOWN AS APOLLO): ADOPTED BY THE BLOCK FAMILY

Hi Kathi

Everything is going great. So far all are playing well together. We renamed him Beau. He is extremely sweet and lovable but you were correct, he is not the sharpest knife in the drawer. I have attached pictures.

Mike

SEAMUS: ADOPTED BY THE MCCLENDON FAMILY

Hey Guys,

I just wanted to send you an update on Seamus and send you some recent pictures! He’s doing so great! Pretty much totally house trained and walking great on a leash! We go for daily walks in the mornings and afternoons. The morning walks are usually with Kona (our English mastiff) and the afternoons I take Seamus by himself so we can work on some training. Seamus had his first trip inside PetSmart this past week (after several trips as far as the sidewalk)! It took me about 20 minutes to get him in the door but once he was in he loved all the attention he got from the staff and shoppers. There’s no mistaking…he’s an attention junky!!!

Well take a look at the pictures I’ve attached and you can see for yourself he’s growing into quite the handsome pup!

Thanks again for all you guys do and for the wonderful addition to our family!

Sincerely,

Jess, Ken and Chase McClendon

SPENCER: ADOPTED BY THE GRAY FAMILY

I have attached pictures of Spencer after play time. He is adjusting to being spoiled pretty well. When he is asleep he doesn't hear anything, not you walking up to him nor things being dropped but now he doesn't care and just sleeps away. If you surprise him and rub his head to wake him up he just rolls over to give you his belly. Both he and Caine have put on weight. Of course, Spencer got a lot of treats at first for every time he went out to tinkle so he didn't have accidents in the house. After about 2 days he would come running in very proud of himself to get a treat and hasn't had an accident since. He is just the sweetest thing. He is beautiful and very lovable.

Marty Gray

BEAR (FORMERLY KNOWN AS BALOO): ADOPTED BY JOE & ALLISON VIOLA

Hi Kathi:

I just wanted to send you a short note to have posted in the St. Bernard Rescue website highlighted a success story. We absolutely love our little stinky-pie. Picture enclosed.

Thanks for all your help. Allison

Bear, formerly known as Baloo, came into our lives in September 2004. Our beloved Saint, Leezel, passed away in May 2003 from cancer and we were just beginning to consider adopting one. We kept looking at the website and thought we had found the perfect one, he was staying with a foster family down in the Norfolk, VA area. We live in Washington, DC so we thought we'd drive down and at least meet him and spend some time with him. The instant we saw him, I was shocked by his size as he was about 40 lbs. heavier than our other one, my husband fell instantly in love and he went home with us that day. He seems to love to take car rides, so much so that he tried climbing into the trunk of my car one day while we were preparing to go somewhere.

We still do not know about his background or what the circumstances were that brought him into rescue, but we think he was definitely an outdoor dog as he was having bathroom issues. We enrolled him into obedience school and he spent 3 weeks receiving guidance and training. Everyone at the dog school absolutely loved him. This has helped tremendously with giving him structure and confidence and allows me to handle a 150lb Saint! Every night he joins us in bed and insists on squeezing himself between us and gives good night kisses. Inevitably, he wakes me up with his "drunk as a sailor" snoring and dream twitching which makes the whole bed shake.

Although Bear definitely has a different personality, I couldn't imagine life without my Snuggle-Bear. He is the most sweetest, patient, loving, laid back gentle giant and we are so lucky to have him.

Allison & Joe Viola

BETTE: ADOPTED BY KELLY DAVIS

Hi Kathy,

Just wanted to let you know how well Bette is doing, especially since we have those great pictures of her brother and sister at Christmas. Bette grew to about 130 pounds, all lapdog as far as she's concerned. She loves to hang out on the couch with me...okay on me. She earns it too, her favorite active thing to do is explore the trails in Gambrill Park and the Frederick Watershed with me. Funny thing, when there's a choice to either head down to a fire pond or go straight up the mountain, Bette chooses to climb every single time; we're both in pretty good shape because of that habit. And when she barks, I think all of Maryland can hear it, her bark is almost as striking as her blue eyes.

Bette really grew into an amazing dog; she is unbelievably strong, playful, and beautiful. Sometimes she's a little shy with strangers, but once she knows who you are (takes about three or four big sniffs) she just treats you like another member of the pack. Most people she meets are instantly mesmerized by her big blue eyes and during her puppyhood, the inevitable staring directly at her eyes bothered her. I think she wondered why all of the people she met wanted to challenge her. Now she knows they are just admiring her undeniable beauty so she's a little more relaxed. Sometimes I wonder if she isn't the original Bette Davis reincarnate.

I've included a picture of Bette and I taken about a week ago so you can see how well she's doing. Thanks you for rescuing and then letting me adopt this amazing dog. I can't imagine the pack without her.

Kelly

SPENCER & CAINE: ADOPTED BY THE GRAY FAMILY

Life with Caine and Spencer, day three.

So far both dogs seem to love each other and play all the time except food time. Caine is a chow hound and Spencer likes to eat at a slower pace and stop to get drinks of water during eating time. To Caine this means he is finished and now his food is up for grabs. I make sure to intercede on Spencer's part so he doesn't lose out on a good meal.

On Saturday evening Marty and Page went to the pet store and got some Puppy Chow for Caine and Spencer. While they were there Page remembered that I had mentioned a tugging rope as a possible toy, so she bought two. As you can see from the pictures they both love them and spend a good bit of time tugging each other around. Samantha the Bassett Hound also wanted to play with rope and at one point she was hanging on to a piece of it between the two of them. It was really hysterical to see her with her front feet up of the ground trying to pull the rope away from them.

When Marty came home from work today Spencer ran up to great her at the door. Earlier today he came outside in the yard while I was out and he suddenly spotted me up behind the wood pile and ran up barking at me until he heard my voice then he came on up and pushed against me to get a head rub. He picked up the doggie door in just one day. We only had one accident in the house and now he goes in and out all the time through the door. He does not come upstairs yet but he will go down the basement stairs. We figure he will figure out that he can come upstairs as long as Morgan is not on the landing. Saturday night she took up a position that blocked him from getting up and when he looked like he might try she barked at him. She has accepted him as long as he doesn't push it and he figured that out pretty quickly.

He is very loving and comes up to me when I am at the computer and puts his head in my lap to get my attention and a head rub. Thank you for him and rest assured he is getting lots of love here from us and from Caine. They are playing like puppies; head butting, throwing paw at each other, and jumping on each other. It warms your heart to see how well he is doing considering all he has been through.

Marty and I want you both to know you are welcome to stop in anytime you would like. I am home most all of the time and would welcome the company.

Guy, Marty & Page

CHLOE & SASHA: ADOPTED BY THE BLOCK FAMILY

Kathi

Enclosed are pictures of my girls. Chloe loves having Sasha to play with. Sasha appears to have settled in very well.

Mike

CAINE: ADOPT BY THE GRAY FAMILY

Hi all, just a short note to let you both know that Caine has arrived home and met Morgan and Samantha (my daughter's Bassett Hound that thinks its a Jack Russell Terrier) Things are going well and Morgan has already told him she is the Alpha Dog in this house and he understands. We are in the process of showing him the dog door and he seems to get it half way. He will stick his head through it but not go all the way through unless he is following another dog. Right now he and Samantha are playing rough house here on the floor of the living room. I think they will both sleep well tonight. Morgan is being a little stand offish but not in a bad way.

We want to thank you so much for Caine, he is adorable and fits into the Gray household very well. We love him already.

Guy, Marty. and Page.