Indy has been with us for 3 months now and makes a great addition to our family. She has gotten some training on appropriate leash behavior, but needs a bit more. Birds and other dogs get her a little excited in the city! However, with every visit to her cousins (3 other black labs in the extended family) she gets a little more comfortable and less aggressive.

The good news is her weight – she was 113lbs when she was turned in, 100lbs when we got her and is now down to almost 90lbs and looking great. She never tires of fetch and not surprisingly her behavior is best after a good round of catch. We love having her!

It has been one year since you entrusted us with the gift that we call Ziggy. It has been quite a change in our lives, all for the better. Let me say first that I am sure all of you know how devoted these animals are to their humans. I know of no happier moment with him than to see Ziggy upon our arrival home from work or some other destination we were unable to include him in. He bounds down the stairs in our home, shaking his tail and rear feverishly, frantically searching for a toy around the entrance to our home in an effort to play with us and seek our approval of him. I cannot think of a better thing to see than this after a stressfull day at work.

Ziggy has grown on his own. He has learned patience with his humans. He has done this by attending two training classes, a basic and advanced obedience course, and through countless hours of walking, playing, and “home schooling”. He listens to his commands more astutely(except when he is nearly tearing my arm off to greet another dog), turning an already amazing dog into one of the best I have ever known. His capacity for learning, understanding, and adapting is incredible, as I am sure you are witnessing in your own companions, given his background and the number of humans that have come into his life. We also have enormous fun with Ziggy!!! We have rediscovered the outdoors with him. We love to watch him swim(he is quite an accomplished swimmer, second fastest in his group of friends), chase after squirrels and cats(much to my delight and the dismay of my mother in law’s poor cat), and countless hours of fetch and hiking through the woods(I never knew there was so much left in our little part of Massachusetts!!!). Ziggy is also a cuddler with an enormous heart, and loves to snuggle near us whenever we are lying around, reading, or watching TV.

In closing, we want to thank you for the opportunity to be Ziggy’s parents. It has been already, in less than a years time, an enormously wonderful addition to our family.

Hudson is doing great. We have discovered his love of children. He will sit patiently and let any kid he sees pet him. He especially loves to lick them! He continues to be a joy to live with, except for the trail of drool he leaves on the kitchen floor after he drinks, but we’ll keep him!

Here’s a little update on Jake - Jake is doing fabulous - Every day he gets better and better - He’s such a good boy - Sam and Jake’s tiffs get lesser and lesser - Jake seems to enjoy all the attention and especially food treats he’s getting - It’s funny watching him taste new things - He’s doing very well with the invisible fence - I have to admit he’s was very well trained before he came to us which just makes it that much easier - He went to the vets Wednesday - The vet thought he was in very good shape - clipped his nails - very well behaved - watch him and Sam interact and thought this was a very good match especially since we are experienced animal people - He adores my son, S., and S. is smitten with him also - He also likes the comforts and freedom of our home and all the attention he gets - We absolutely adore him.

Christian is awesome… We had an “incident” this spring with him tipping the canoe over in the middle of a very cold lake - I had to swim pretty far- but it was kind of funny… He gets so excited on the (water) canoe - so I went and bought a bigger flat bottom boat (I spoil em) - so he rides on the bow.. — much safer for all of us !

He really is a big teddy bear. We know he loves living with us and is very happy.

I attached a recent picture of the “kids” napping and a picture from our winter walk on the lake…

I’ve looked over some of my notes of the last year, and I have to say, the first few months were interesting with Casey. He was mostly wonderful, but he expended a lot of energy pushing, challenging, trying so hard to see where he fit in, as we realize, now. I can’t stress how important training is. We thought we were doing well with him, but then we got to class. Casey is a quick learner, and he and we blindly found a class with a terrific trainer. We’re in our third course (intermediate), and he’s learning to heel - the heel part is going to be slow in coming, just as walking on loose leash was for months and months. For the first time, Casey went through a class without the gentle leader. That’s a real step for him. We must say, he is a big critter, so when he’s being rambunctious, he can be hard to handle. You can imagine that the Gentle Leader has come in handy over the past year.

All our friends say “Casey has a drinking problem” - He’s a MESS with drinking water, and I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve had to change clothes = he comes over after eating or drinking and plonks his chin on my leg… Never mind the extra food on his chin, seconds, eh?

Anyway, I still can’t get over the faith his first family had in NEARR, giving him up not knowing where he’d end up. I’m not sure I could do it, myself. Though we would imagine that there are a lot of appropriate homes for a dog like Casey, we do feel that he got lucky when he came home with us. We lead such an active traveling life, perfect for a large active dog. We want to make sure that the family knows that he’s a beloved member of our family. He’s had a great first year with us. He’s been to Acadia National Park, Popham Beach (several times), the Adirondacks (many times), New Hampsire/the Whites most weekends, then, locally, he goes to doggy day care, but he also gets his share of romps in the Middlesex Fells every day. One of these days, we’re going to try out how he does if we mountain bike with him. We’re very very grateful that Casey came into our lives.

Hudson is adjusting well to his new home. It only took him 2 days to earn the nickname “Houdini” after he jumped over our fence. (We are currently looking into solutions to that problem.) He loves going for long walks and does great on his gentle lead. (Although one of his favorite things to do is rub his face on the grass and try to get it off.) We found some fenced in fields at the park up the street where we have been taking him to play ball. He is so fast! Hudson is learning his new name, but does appear to have selective hearing. We absolutely love having him here. He makes us laugh with his funny noises and by throwing himself on the ground when he is tired. He loves car rides and can’t wait to stick his head out the window. We are looking forward to spending the summer with him, I wonder if he’ll swim??

Well it’s been nine months since Willie became part of our family. He has been a lot of fun, and also some work, but we are enjoying it all! He has so much energy so we make sure every day he gets enough exercise – either that or he’s up at 2 a.m. ready to play. We’ve learned the hard way….but keeping him active is also keeping us active, so I don’t have any complaints. He has finally stopped tearing apart his toys which is nice. When I throw them in the washing machine, he will sit there and wait for them to come out – you wonder what he thinks is going on. He makes us laugh all the time. The other night I picked up the newspaper and started to read – he left my side on the couch, and went across the room and lay down, and glared at me the whole time. When I put the paper down, he came back to my side.

Fenway is doing great. He discovered water and swimming is now his favorite form of exercise. With the lake practically on our property, he goes pretty much every day. He loves to run out there, chasing off the Canadian geese and then swim after them for a little bit. He took to the water just like a fish and now will jump in for a swim just for the heck of it. He’s turned into a pretty great fetch player and gets excited when he sees the Chuck-It.

He refuses to go up or down the spiral staircase, but that’s okay with us. It gives Camden and the cat a hideaway when they are tired of him as he can annoy them when they are trying to snooze. He is fine with the cat and will try to play with her sometimes. When I am in the basement doing laundry or whatever, he sits with his paws over the ‘hole’ in the floor (it’s a spiral staircase with rails) and drops toys down for me to throw back up. He thinks it’s a great game and I’m sure he could play it for hours.

He is all dog. He loves a game anytime, anyplace. He is always happy and up for anything. Loves the mud, rolls around in it. He is goofy and he actually makes us laugh quite a bit. It’s been fun introducing him to new things. He is great around the horses that we walk by on our weekend hikes. Great with all dogs. Good with cats. He now sits for anything he wants and he is really turning into a great dog. Today he peed on the neighbor’s arm on accident. Thank God he has two male Labs.

Shadow is doing beautifully in his new family and home. He LOVES his Labby siblings and has learned to be a well-behaved member of his new pack. He does like to act the “big man on campus” part at times, but is quick to respond to corrections – either from the other dogs or from his humans. He is usually the first one to respond to a recall and is a constant sponge for love, petting and praise. To watch him run in our large fenced yard, you’d NEVER guess that just 6 ½ months ago there was some question as to whether his back leg could be saved. He is “The Black Stallion” in Lab form when in full gallop! Thank you to NEARR and to all the wonderful people who supported his recovery with their love, good wishes and financial contributions. Shadow thanks you - and so do we!

She is doing just great! Still going strong at age 11. We just couldn’t imagine life without her!!

We are all fine. I like spring. Lots of interesting stuff to eat, and the burrs are everywhere. This is good, as I get brushed every night!

Pretty soon the river will be down and we’ll all be able to go swimming again. I’m psyched…no bathing cap required….

My acupuncture is going really well……no seizures so far (knock on wood)….

Mom will be in touch. I love you all. I’m still the happiest guy on the planet. Vermont has been good to me. Thank you all for bringing me here.

I send you all a big slobber.

I think that Cookie was one of the first dogs that you placed, and we wanted you to know how much joy she brings into our lives. I took Cookie to the vet yesterday for her annual checkup and vaccinations, and was reminded that she has been with our family for 5 years now!!! She always had a bit of a wild streak, and that still emerges occasionally (she literally climbs trees chasing squirrels) and she still doesn’t appreciate being around other dogs (the reason why we don’t attend the annual picnic), but in general she is the most gentle and loving friend you could hope to find. She adores our 2 teenage children and their friends. She is my faithful exercise companion (2-3 miles/day rain or shine), and in the winter, she sleeps on the bed at night right between my husband and me, keeping everyone warm. I know it is trite, but none of us could imagine life without her, and give thanks daily that she is part of our family. Thank you again for bringing us together.

Lucy is doing very well, she seems to be very happy in her new life. She has been very busy swimming, training and taking long walks. We are definitely enjoying the warm weather. She’s gained a few pounds and she looks great. Thanks again for making her part of my life.