11. September 2008 by Marilyn.

 September 10, 2008 - It`s been a while since I have updated news and information about Miss Darcy.

Well, it`s been almost five months since we brought Miss Darcy to our home.

She is making progress with her socialization, but is still very timid.  She is just beautiful and looks like a totally different dog.  She has been groomed several times and each time she does better and seems to be not as afraid as the time before.

She now sleeps on our bed and when she is tired of being up there, she jumps down and goes to a little dog bed on the floor.  She loves the freedom of choice.

She gets along fine with our other dogs and is quite comfortable here, maybe too comfortable.

She was almost adopted last week.  My husband and son, Steve took her for a home visit and we all held our breath, low and behold she did very well.  The people loved her, but they had just put their dog of 14 years to sleep the previous week and had an unruly English Bull dog as a houseguest too.  All this activity seemd to upset their 2 yr. old Bichon and they felt that he might not be ready for a new pal.

It was a wonderful experience for Darcy, now we know that she can be placed with the right family.  She will need a patient, loving family that won`t ask much of her in the beginning.  She is such a good dog and we know that it will happen.  She is fine here until that perfect family comes along.  You hardly know that she is here, she fits in so well and never causes any trouble.  She does bark at breakfast and dinner and we are trying to stop this behavior, but she lets you know when she is hungry.

So, that`s the update for our girl. We are so very proud of her and know that each day is better than the last.

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20. July 2008 by Joan.

Charlie shows no aggression to anything, even the lizards on the porch.  I had a visit from my daughter and son-in-law and their three dogs.  Charlie had no problems with them.  They have a border collie type, a mid-sized schnauzer type and a beagle.  The only dogs who had problems was the beagle, but he has problems with everything (he wants to be an only dog).  Charlie followed the dogs around and learned some new tricks, all good.  He joined in the “who can pee most in the dog run” game and did not fall behind in the count.  My female bichon does not take part in that game. 

I took him to Petsmart last week and he did very well.  He sniffed at the little dogs but backed off when he saw a big black lab.  The owners were so good, saw the panic in Charlie and sat their dog down to let Charlie sniff around and make friends.  I really thought Charlie would pee in the store but waited until he was in the drive-way out front.  He then stopped and peed.  So, since it was a first I had to tell him all kinds of good things.  Other cars did not get it and honked at us to move.  I figured they were Circuit City folks who just didn’t understand what is important in life.

He responds to his name and knows the meaning of “no”.  Even from the next room when I hear him in the kitchen trash can.  He still won’t let a human touch him.  I still have him on the leash and he’ll come with me with no resistance.  He loves to come into bed with us.  Even Maggie, who barks whenever he comes near my bed, has a soft spot for him.  She snitched his rawhide out of the pen and got up on the sofa in her spot and chewed it for an hour until she fell asleep.  When her head nodded off she woke up and took the rawhide out to the porch and put it between Charlie’s paws, then jumped back on the sofa and fell asleep. 

He will take food from my hand but jumps back if the other hand tries to touch him.  He loved belly rubs, massages, etc. in bed with me.  I figure that will just take some more time.  I have full confidence that he will do well.  I haven’t tested him yet with cats and kids, but will do that when he’s ready.

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1. July 2008 by Kathy.

30 June 2008

The past two months have been very busy.  Bella, Nora, Dancer and Frosty are now with their forever families.  They are all doing very well.  Lester is enjoying having the house to himself and his two fur sisters, Maggie and TeaCup.  He is looking forward to our family trip to Virginia next month.  We will see how it goes with two children, three dogs and a (maybe) pregnant hamster after 18 hours each way in the car. 

We went to Honeymoon Island dog beach this past week.  This was the first time Lester has seen the Gulf of Mexico.  He loved it!  Chasing hermit crabs and fish was the highlight of the day for Lester.  He also liked swimming and running after his fur sisters. 

Over the past two months, I have really watched Lester learn how to be part of a family.  His time in that puppy mill must have been awful.  Now, with love and the help of his fur sisters, he is learning the fine art of being a dog.  This includes chewing, chasing and playing, being petted, and going to the bathroom OUTSIDE of the house.    Things are not perfect or easy all the time; however, Lester is such a wonderful dog that even during difficult moments I  can still look at him with a smile on my face. 

One example of a “difficult” moment was when Lester ate the cable leading from the keyboard to the computer.  My husband was thrilled (but I got a nice, new keyboard).

Another thing I have noticed is Lester is really learning to trust people.  He comes up to be petted when he wants to be petted.  He comes up to my husband to snuggle on the couch.  He hides under the bed, but when he gets lonely will pop his head up to say, “Here I am.  Pick me up.”

Lester has come a long way.  He still has a way to go and a lot to learn.  I am grateful for the time and love I can give Lester and the love he is giving me and my family.  This is a journey we are all learning from.  

Kathy 

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14. June 2008 by Joan.

I took Charlie off of the long leash (it needed a wash) and it was such a mistake.  I didn’t realize it until today.  He seems to be more secure with it on.  I was able to bring him up into bed with us the last two nights.  He’s very happy up there.  He doesn’t do any marking as long as he spends the night with us.  He made a major improvement today by almost jumping up into the bed himself twice.  He back knees were so frozen when I got him it was a major move.  I’ve been massaging his knee joints (damaged from being in a cage for 4 years) since I’ve had him.  At first he cried and screamed when I touched his knees.  Now he just settles into it.  Hopefully, he will eventually have normal knees.  I would also like him to call it quits to peeing in the house.  He’s been good for two days now and I hope it continues.  It’s not like I didn’t invite him up into bed with us last week but he backed off every time.  He is still hand shy and won’t let me get closer than 2 ft. away from him.  He let me pet him and fell asleep in bed for the whole night with the leash on.  He is such a love but is still scared of strangers and other new things.  I can’t wait until he is well enough to go to a forever home since he needs one to make up for his first 4 years.  I’ve just had another stroke so whoever takes him has to be willing to train him to go out on a leash.  I can’t walk him on  a leash outside without falling right now.  He goes out through my doggie door now.  I think it will be relatively easy to train him.  He is smart.

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12. June 2008 by CarolP.

I am planning to groom my sweet Raggs and Skippy and have bought a grooming table, scissors, and Oster electric shaver from Groomers.com.  The razor came with a #10 blade. I want to keep them short and I can’ t remember whether a #10 is a good blade for this.  I use to groom my Kerry Blue Terrier and I think I used a 10 on his face and four on 4 on his ears and privates.  I scissored the rest.  I need some pointers  on what blades to use preferably without having to scissor so much.  I need to order the right blades and they both will have to be groomed before I leave.  Thanks!! 

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12. June 2008 by CarolP.

Well, Skippy is doing better today!  A major break through, he ate some cookies for me for the first time and also ran around the living room with his tail up.  I had to go out today for about 30mins and crated both of them, when I got back I let Raggs out first and then Skippy.  Raggs always goes crazy when he gets out but Skippy joined in running around wagging his tail and smiling.  He still doesn’t play with toys but sees Raggs do it and I think he may be contemplating the idea of playing with toys.  I found a Kennel close to me that my new Vet recommended for when I leave the first week of July.  Raggs and Skip will be together in a suite, so they will be company for each other.  A major obstacle will be this weekend when my husband comes home.  I know that he will be petrified but we will take it slow.   I must say that devoting every waking moment with these two boys is good, but I never seem to get anything else done!!!!!!  Time for cuddle time!

Carol

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4. June 2008 by Marilyn.

JoAnne just groomed Alfie puppy. This is SO his personality!