Hello,

I trust you are all doing well…..I grabbed my camera today and took some pictures of Zeus…Remember him ?

The bouncing baby chocolate lab missle? He’s almost 2-1/2 years old now, but he is still full of energy (still hits mach-2) and loving life … he still requires a walk a day and as much “fetch” as you can stand….but with the past two days being really great weather in our area, it was off to the beach for some serious swimming and try to tire the Zeus out: 1/2 hour swimming, plus a one hour walk…..Brandy goes with us also, but she is not in any of the pic’s ….

Zeus is doing well and just got a clean bill of health from the vet ….he is still high energy, but is calming down and learing “patience” if we are not playing with him here at the house the little girl next door asks “can Zeus come over and play ” and she tires Zeus out with a long game of fetch,they both enjoy each others company a lot (and it gives my arm a rest).

The other enjoyment in Zeus’s life is our dog pond/pool we built for the dogs in the back yard. This is Zeus’s cool down pond and when he plays he’ll jump right in the pond when he gets hot ……when he wants to play, he will roll his deflated basketball into the pond and then jump in and retreive it and roll it back in again and so on, it’s a ball to watch ……even better is when he can see a tennis ball at the bottom of the pond that has sunk and watching him think (the gears are turning), as he tries to figure out a way to rescue the ball….so far he has not figured out how to hold his breath long enough to retrieve the sunken ball, but he will shortly….

At Zeus’s vet check they asked me how much I feed the brown missle …..my response was”he gets six cups of food a day”, plus treats,and in eighteen months he has not gained a pound, and I have lost weight also , so Zeus is keeping us in shape to boot..

I could go on and on ,about Zeus, but the bottom line is life for my family would not be the same without Zeus around, he’s a great dog and by this time next year, I’m sure he’ll start to mature and slow down a bit more…..but the sparkel in his eyes, the drive to run and jump after anything without any fear, and yet the gentleness to cuddle up with you when he can and share a nap together is something all people should get to experience once in their life….the unconditional love I get from my three labs is priceless…I hope you enjoy the photo’s, and thanks NEARR, we should all learn a lot from our labs …as the bumper sticker states “Wag More, Bark Less”.

It has been a change filled year for Quita. She now has a human sister and they have become fast pals. Nyah (the sister) follows Quita around and even copies her behavior. Quita loves to be around Nyah and is always nearby if not right up against her. Quita feels it is her job to keep track of Nyah and certainly to put her to bed at night. There was a period of adjustment for all of us, but we have made it through the first year with flying colors.

Quita is very happy that the promised “dropped food” has materialized. Quita was our first and will always hold that special, spoiled place in our hearts. Life would be significantly less special without her in our family.

Another year come and gone - wherever does the time go! Sailor will be six years old this August and he has been part of our family for 5 !!??!!! years!!!! Can’t imagine life without him.

From day one he was laid back and easygoing and that just continues. He is just a happy, fun loving dog - just LOVE ME is all he asks. And that’s just what everyone he meets does. He’s my buddy and by my side whether I am out gardening, walking or his favorite - heading up to the marina to spend time on our saiboat. NO, he still doesn’t swim but he ALWAYS wears his lifejacket when we go out.

And hey - there’s nothing wrong with a clean, dry puppy on a boat!! Save the saltwater for fishing!

Some of this past year’s highlights include Sailor having his picture done in waterecolor from an admirer AND having his grandmother do a needlepoint picture of our photogenic darling! It’s a tough life - but he sure deserves it.

He sends licks and wags to all his NEARR friends and hopes everyone is well.

We have had Duke with us for a year now and it has been wonderful! He is happy, healthy and loving life. He is a true friend and family member! I have attached some pictures of Duke (chocolate lab) with Otis (yellow lab mix) and our new addition Winter (white lab mix). Thank you NEARR for bringing Duke into our lives. We love him!

Here are few photos of Miss Bailey (with the red collar) and her Lab sister, Holly, who crossed over the Rainbow Bridge earlier this month. Bailey is doing well and seems to be adapting to being an only dog pretty well.

Hello NEARR!

I believe that I have missed some scheduled updates, and I apologize for that - things have been crazy since we brought Jake home! No fault of his, of course. Just work and life all going nuts at the same time!

Jake is doing really well and seems quite content here at home. He’s gotten so comfortable here with us that we don’t have to crate him at night anymore, which is wonderful. He sleeps on a blanket in our room and hasn’t had a problem with chasing the cat or barking or anything else. He is still crated whenever we leave the house for more than a few minutes however. I don’t think he’ll be comfortable loose in the house without us until or unless we get another dog to keep him company. He and Gracie, our cat, have actually done very well - they are progressing along much faster than I thought they would. I figured it would at least a year for them to really settle down and be able to relax and ignore each other. But, not quite three months in and Gracie is willing to sit nose to nose with him for at least a few seconds, all with no hissing, spitting, snarling, scratching or chasing on anyone’s part! :) Seems like a good pace to me! Jake’s eating well (of course!) and we aren’t slipping him too many cookies! He and I still walk in the mornings and we have a new step to our evening routine - Jake and I go out into the yard and play ball. We have discovered that our Jake has an almost unhealthy obsession with tennis balls! He will play ball until he practically keels over from exhaustion…All it takes is one glimpse of a yellow (or not so yellow) tennis ball, and the dog is wide awake and ready to go! The attached picture will illustrate this for you!

We’ve taken a few overnight trips to visit family in the area and Jake has had the most excellent manners in the car and at other peoples’ houses. First thing anyone ever says when they see him is the same thing I said - “Oh my god, he’s HUGE!” Then they realize that this enormous wiggling 85lb sugar is just desperate to be patted and they just love him! He’s impressed everyone he’s met with his obedience and sweetness, and we (of course) couldn’t be happier!

Basically, Jake is good and so are we. He has merged seamlessly into our family - just feels like he’s always been here and always will be. I suppose that’s part of how three months went by so quickly! Hope you all are well, that your dogs are happy and find the homes they deserve sooner rather than later!

Hi All

Charlie has been with us for a month! He’s such a sweetie. Smart, loveable, and wants to please.

However….he does have some aggression issues with other dogs. I brought him to the dog behavior woman I used with out previous Golden, Max. She gave me a lot of pointers, suggestions, book, etc. so I am home schooling Charlie! It’s just amazing what he can remember (from previous training) when he has a gentle leader leash. We’ll continue to work on socialization; hopefully he’ll be able to come to the picnic in June!

His ears are much better. Interestingly, the trainer recommended that food with as little corn as possible seems to help. The food with lamb really helped Max’s skin problems. So, we are doing good and hope that you are too!