We are sending our update on Casey, formerly known as Boston. We can’t believe it’s already been ten days! Casey is settling in very well. He’s learning our routines and some basic commands. He has learned to enjoy leash chewing and kitchen counter surfing, but we’re working to redirect him. The other dogs are also making a pretty good adjustment. There’s alot of toy pulling as they work out dominance within the pack. We spend time with each of them every day. That’s certainly not hard with Casey, who loves to cuddle and just be near us. We sent along some pictures. We’re so grateful for the opportunity to share our home with three great dogs.

It’s been six weeks and Mac has adjusted well to his new surroundings. Mac has an awesome disposition and seems to adapt quickly to changes in his surroundings. After stealing a bag of rolls his first weekend, I realized that although the house was child proof, it wasn’t Lab proof. I made a few adjustments and Mac is keeping with all the ground rules. It is nice to come home to a wagging tail and happy grunts and groans. Both kids enjoy the time they get to spend with Mac, and he is always excited to go and see them. He is very laid back, but still enjoys a good run around the park. I can see Mac becoming more and more comfortable as the weeks pass by.

Sorry this is a little late. I was waiting for some test results so I could give you the full status. Overall, Jax is doing great. She loves her pack members and continues to thrive in her retirement. Now that the ice is off the pond, she’s added a daily swim to her routine.

She is now officially blind. I suspect she still sees SOME light, but she can’t spot other retriever sized objects on the couch, for example. We were looking into the cataract surgery, but just got her blood results back. Her average blood sugar is too high for the surgery to be safe. So we’re back to changing the levels, getting her balanced, and can rethink the surgery if she has “safe levels” for 8 weeks. She has adapted very well to not being able to see. So long as she’s home, you really can’t tell she has a vision issue unless you try to feed her a treat (she can’t find your hand without sniffing around). She finds her way everywhere she needs to go and no longer seems disoriented. Since it’ll likely be at least 10 weeks before we can reconsider the surgery, we’ll need to work with the vet to see what would be better for her - getting her sight back after so long without it, or leaving her as she is. Warning - she will likely get fat again - with the added insulin. However, it is more important to balance that out, than to worry about her waistline right now.

She continues to be the sweetest, most gentle dog I’ve ever met.

We just celebrated our 2 year anniversary with Angie and Woodford! We had a fun winter with them. The attached pictures show Angie playing with a new Christmas toy from her Aunt and Uncle (I think she looks like a puppy in this picture), Woodford “helping” out with the cake at my Mom’s 60th birthday party, both of them at the beach in celebration of Angie’s 8th birthday in February, and Woodford snoozing during the Super Bowl. Although they still prance around when it’s feeding time, both of them have started to show signs of arthritis, so we are keeping an eye on that. It doesn’t stop them from wanting their daily walks/runs though. They love to sniff their way through the neighborhood no matter what the weather may be. Angie in particular really enjoyed the snow - she loves to fling herself onto her back and slide on it. Meanwhile, Woodford found lots of comfy, cute positions to sleep in (I have a ton of pictures of him sleeping). We are looking forward to the warmer weather now though!

Angie and Woodford are so embedded in our lives that it is hard to believe it’s only been two years since we met them. They are the best - thanks for making it possible!

Time for a Skyler update. He is great! He’s off the prednisone. YEA! All the bare spots are covered with new, luxurious black hair. He gets small spots of some excretion once in a while but they aren’t horrible. I think they’ll subside, too.

He has a new LLBean red collar with his name and phone number on it. He likes it and he’s beautiful! His big yellow ball was thrown out because Sadie and Skyler had made a big hole in it and were eating pieces of it when they played. Skyler now has a giant tennis ball that he’s punctured. He loves to play with it. He has a new blanket which he drags all over the house.

Skyler has a sense of humor and is very bright. He does funny things like sitting on the stairs (he occupies 3 steps when he does this), digging in the snow, and chasing foam on the beach.

His newest trick is squeezing between the car window and the safety gate to get to HIS favorite spot to ride - the back seat. He loves the beach, though I don’t know about water yet. He’s a Velcro dog, always 4 inches from me whether washing dishes or working on the computer. He also loves to go out on the deck and just survey the neighborhood.

Skyler is a great dog. Thank you all!

J. and I have finally completed our move to NH from Salem, MA and the dogs couldn’t be happier! They’ve settled into a great routine and all of the destructive behavior that we were seeing from Taylor has ceased completely. It is so true that dogs get stressed and act out. Now that we are no longer stressed about the closings, the move etc, and Taylor sees all of his things in this new place he is so much more relaxed and happy.

I was a little worried about marking because the former owners did have a dog, but they haven’t even marked in the house! Thanks to all of you for your support and suggestions…

It is so great to see the smiles on their faces as they bound through the back yard!