Roxy is on the left, her brother Ringo (also a NEARR dog) is on the right

Roxy is the fourth dog S. & I have adopted over the years. She is my most challenging and most rewarding. She’s far from the perfect dog but so many things have improved since we adopted her in late February that I just want let everyone know that we humans need to hang in there and give second-hand dogs a chance.

Roxy loves to go for walks, loves to go anywhere and she goes happy crazy; barking, dancing in circle that kind of thing. She has finally learned that if she want to go out she needs to sit quietly so I can put on her gear. She still does that happy dog dance but as soon as I pick up the leash she settled right down.

When we encounter other people and dogs she will bark, pull on the lease and generally terrorize people (and dogs). I used to avoid people but now I don’t. I make sure I carry lots of treats and am able to make the encounter much more pleasant. We still have miles to travel here but she’s getting so much better that walking her is more enjoyable.

Patience (and lots and lots of training) has it’s rewards!

Fenway is doing great! We took him on his first camping trip. It was a little chaotic with three dogs, but he did very well. We hiked daily, he swam in some small rapids, scared us to death, then jumped back in to do it again. He’s something of a Doggie Daredevil, I suppose.

He also spent a recent weekend in Boston and toured the town. He went to Newbury St. on a Saturday night and dined al fresco with us, successfully. We took him to the Public Gardens and Boston Common, through Downtown Crossing, toured the North End the day after Italy won the World Cup and finally, saw Old Ironsides in Charlestown. He played in the sprinklers with the kids at Columbus Park.

Fenway still receives about an hour or daily fetch with his favorite ball, an Orbee from Planet Dog. He swims at least four times per week in our lake and when it’s too hot, he simply lies in the water and plays in the mud. He has a good life.

On a day to day basis he is doing very well. He has matured and settled into a routine, but he is still Mr. Personality and a ton of laughs every day. He’s always doing something silly, he’s so curious and all about having a good time.

The photos are from about a week ago down at our lake.

Mort is having a great summer! We bought him his own plastic swimming pool, which he loves to splash around in on hot days. He’s not allowed in our pool, so it lets him in on the fun. We also continue to walk 3 miles to the lake 3-4 times a week so that he can go swimming. We just returned from 3 weeks in NH, where he reveled in swimming in the lake for hours each day….he loves to fetch sticks and footballs, jumping off the dock after them. He pulled out logs and entire branches, dragging them up the beach, and expecting us to throw them back into the water! He also hiked with us regularly over various mountain trails, sniffing out bears and porcupines (luckily, we didn’t encounter any). He has really become a great companion for all of us. He gets along great with other dogs on the lake, and loves to play with not only our boys, but other children. One of his favorite games is badminton, during which he eats the birdies. Needless to say, we bought dozens of new birdies at Wal-Mart. He keeps us all very busy, and is the perfect match for our 3 energetic teen-aged boys and their friends.

I’ve attached some recent pictures of Mort. Hope you enjoy them.

Thanks again for choosing us as Mort’s family.