This is our 1 year update, but it’s really is not hard to believe that Christian has been with us for a year because honestly, I don’t think we could imagine our life without him. I laugh every time I think about how far he has come since we first adopted him. Since then, he has blossomed into normal happy self. He is a happy dog and we are happy he is with us. From the beginning of our adoption, we have remained sensitive to his needs and environment.

Even with all of his improvements, Christian still maintains his unique personality. In and out of the house he is like night and day. He is an angel and snuggler in the house (normal self), but the minute we go out he becomes a puppy again, wild with excitement, (don’t get me wrong – he is not unruly, just excited). At first we thought he needed more exercise or more time out – not the case – we tried all that and figured out he just loves what we do outside. For example, yesterday during the first real snow storm, we went for a walk in the woods, we followed a deer path and he went crazy funny – he was running, sniffing, ducking and acting like a puppy, so cute.

He and Zoë get along very well. She remains dominate and he has become very protective of her. We noticed at the park, with other dogs, he is very appeasing and playful.

Enclosed is a picture of Christian, which was taken today on his afternoon walk in the park. Soon, the lake that we live on will freeze and we will take Christian and Zoë across to the nature reserve, always another new adventure!! Please let us know if there is anything we could do and Thank You for him !

Hi Everyone! Dallas here! Lots of changes going on at my house these days. First, let me get you all caught up on my last couple of months; Mom said that my 2 month update was the victim of technology (it got lost when a computer crashed). So, let’s see…I finished Level 1 and Level 2 obedience. Yeah!!! Well, I’ve also played in the snow, hosted Thanksgiving (which included a little terrier/chi/min pin mix who was less than agreeable to my play advances!) since I last wrote an update. I’ve been really good with the Christmas tree and the cats.

So now onto the big news!!!!! I HAVE A NEW SISTER!!!!!! Her name is Lucy and she is 2 (just like me)! She came home to live with us last week. We are having lots of fun together. She’s pretty crazy though- she doesn’t like to nap as much as me; she’d much rather run around chasing a ball…what’s she thinking, the game is to go get the ball and carry it around to show everyone…not to chase it and bring it back…I’ll teach her yet. We wrestle ALOT…sometimes we get a little too crazy. But Mom & Dad say everything is going really well. This is a lot of fun to have a new sister. I think you saw her picture in the update that Mom sent for Lucy - Lucy can’t write her own updates yet…she doesn’t know how to work the computer - don’t worry though, I’ll teach her that too.

Well, I have to go - Lucy is wating to play chase through the whole house - I think I heard Mom say we’re going to the park this morning…that would be great! Talk to you soon! Hope you enjoy my photos!

Happy Holidays everyone!

Well, it’s hard to believe that it’s only been a week, we’ve had so many changes around here. We picked up Lucy Friday night and brought her to my parents’ house to meet Dallas and so that we could all have dinner. She did very well. We are all getting along great; she is such a love and is doing well in most situations.

Lucy went with Dallas to the dog park Saturday and chased the ball for 2 hours straight, and lay in the mud (about 3-4 inches of it) and wallowed for a little while. Normally, I would have passed out on the spot, but we had made an appointment for Dallas and Lucy to go straight to the groomer for a bath - so I let them wallow away - the dirtier the better, its good to get our money’s worth! :) Dallas only got his paws and head dirty, Lucy was dirty everywhere except her head. It was quite a sight. The attached photo is my beautiful kids when they got home from their baths - Dallas is on the chair and Lucy is front and center (where she always seems to be). We have had Lucy to PetsMart, my parents, the dog park, the vet, and J.’s work.

We are getting ready to go to the dog park right now - these 2 need a good dose of running around crazy. We got a chuck-it within 24 hours of Lucy’s arrival; she is a true ball fanatic. She has become such a fast part of our family - and seems to be settling in very well. We are having a great time with her. Right now, Dallas is laying on the sofa behind me and Lucy is sleeping under my feet and one of the cats is next to the keyboard; its quite the zoo around here now. We love it! Our furry family is complete now!

Thank you NEARR for bringing Dallas and Lucy to us!!!!

Everything is great. Ringo is really settled in and is doing fine. Right now he and the cat, Smokie, are sitting on a chair staring out the front window. They look like Mutt and Jeff. Actually Ringo is like a Mrs. Cravitz, has to know what everyone else is doing. I swear that if he could talk he could tell me more about my neighbors than me. It’s quite funny.

Our lives have really changed since adopting Ringo. It is very different having a 2.5 year old dog as opposed to a 8+ year old. Ringo is much more engaging. We have lots of playtime and really long walks. I love finally being able to explore areas of the woods that I have only seen on the map.

I’d say that having Ringo is almost therapeutic, after all who can cling to the issues of the day when you’ve got a dog who greets you at the door with so much happiness that all you can do is drop everything and give him a hug.

Attached is a picture I hope you’ll enjoy. He was so good this day, much better than all those other pets with the humans. Everyone said such nice things about him that I felt what it was like to be a proud parent.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all.

The story gets better and better in the seven months that Casey has been home. He is simply a joyous creature, delighting in everything that comes his way, from swimming (he’s still at it, even in December), racing through the woods following scent trails (always watchful of where we are, though, and never out of contact), or welcoming us home after a long day. He still goes to doggie day care, and it’s a riot to see him happily trundling into the van, loaded with dogs ranging in size from Bernese Mountain dog, to pugs. He loves it, that’s clear. He actually walks well on the leash, now. It’s taken months of work, but he’s slowly getting the idea. We can never trust him off lead around town the way we did our last, but we don’t mind, and he’s a lot safer. He’s a beggar (we don’t mind, we were trained by our last dog), but he’s never counter or coffee table surfed. We’re about to host a large Christmas open house, so we’ll see how long that lasts. He’s a goofy, sweet and very gentle HUGE dog. We couldn’t adore him more. We feel very lucky and grateful to have him in our lives.

Good Morning and Happy Thanksgiving!!

As per our adoption agreement, we are providing an update on Clifford, who we adopted from NEARR on November 11th.

Clifford is doing great!! We took him to the vets on Saturday, and the big guy checks in at 112 LBS!! He is all up to date on his vaccines until 10/20/05, as he was examined also while he was in foster care prior to adoption.

Macfarland is doing great! He is the funniest dog I’ve ever owned and he causes us to laugh wholeheartedly at least once a day. He and Murray are the best of friends and enjoy playing in the yard. Mac loves to tease Murray and have Murray chase him. It’s so funny to see our beagle going “Argh, Argh, Argh” and chasing after Mac. As Murray is the alpha dog he always wins the toy but Mac loves to push Murray’s buttons.

Mac has decided that he is going to play with absolutely every toy in the house. He plays with toys that were rejected by all our other dogs and enjoys them wholeheartedly. He has improved greatly in being able to distinguish what is a dog toy and what isn’t. He really enjoys our yard and loves to jump up on the boulders that are around the yard. As if to say “I’m King of the Yard”. Mac loves going for rides in our van and any chance he gets, he will get in it, even if we are not going anywhere. He and Murray got their baths this morning and he was so well behaved. We always do Murray first , Mac gets jealous and pushes his way into the shower for his turn! He and Murray know we are going for a road trip to Grammy’s tomorrow and are all excited to go.

Both A. and I love Macfarland with all our hearts. We’re so happy to have him in our lives. He has added a lot of joy to our home. We’re so thankful to NEARR for the loving work you all do for these rescued dogs.