Greetings!

I just wanted to check in with you all at NEARR regarding our dog that we adopted in Nov of 2001. We have moved from one New England state to another and Daisy is just doing fine.

You folks may remember her as “Precious” or”Annie”. We renamed her to Daisy and she seems to like the name.

We walk the beach with her and her little sister (Sparkles) every morning. They have me lots of friends there and we have a fun “dog people” community down here. I tell people about NEARR.com all the time and encourage them to check out the site.

Daisy has been my constant companion since we got her. I just can’t believe how close a human and a canine can get.

Daisy has a new little sister now. Her name is Sparkles.

You are doing a great service by bringing all this unconditional love to the world.

Thanks and be well.

Casey says hello to all his buddies at NEARR! Summer is off to a good start - he was very pleased to be invited to a really fun Memorial Day party, and play in a huge yard with two other retrievers. There was even a kiddie pool just for the dogs! Not as fun as really swimming, but great for splashing around, and making your paws all muddy just before getting into the car. We also had a guest from out of town, to give lots of extra pats and scratches over that weekend.

Casey did a very good deed this week, and donated blood at the Tufts hospital. He was very nosy about all the medical supplies, and didn’t want to lay still, but it was over very quickly. His energy was not at all diminished from the donation, and he got lots of treats and praise. I hope the future recipient gets a burst of Casey energy! Yesterday he met our new neighbor, a 9 week old Boston Terrier named Cleopatra. Despite his being more than 10 times her size, she was very happy to play with him, and quickly learned his paw-boxing game.

Casey continues to charm everyone he meets, and hog the bed at night to get plenty of beauty sleep. What a life!

Three short years ago on Memorial Day I blasted my way into the hearts of my new family. I remember it like yesterday. I hit the ground running and acted as if I had just been dropped out of an alien spaceship to wreak havoc on the unsuspecting earthlings. Yep, it’s me, Duke Skywalker checking in. I am 101 lbs of vanilla ice cream with an “eraser” nose, and I will be the first to admit that I am a very spoiled dog.

I’ve worked very hard to make certain that the old folks here understand that I am in charge and that their lot in life is to cater to my every need. Life is good here at the lake. One of my favorite pastimes is fishing. This consists of stalking fish that dare come close to my shoreline. When I see one I drop all 101 lbs of dynamite in a mighty cannonball splash and scare the fins right off of them.

Ok, I’ve never actually caught one but the fun is in the chase. I enjoy lying on the dock and checking out the girl dogs that might happen to cruise by in boats. I’m a chick magnet, and they love to see me laying out there sunning myself in my birthday suit!

I had a little problem last August. The old timer took me for a kayak ride and when I got out on the beach I took off running as fast as I could. I made a 180 degree full speed turn and on the way back to see Big Boss, I blew out the cruciate ligament in my left rear leg. Down Iwent and it was quite painful. Big Boss picked all 101 pounds of me up off of the lawn and carried me inside. Off we went to the vet and she confirmed the worst. She recommended we go to Vetcision in Waltham, MA for TPLO surgery. Dr. Huss patched me up, and I spent a couple of nights there with the nice staff who treated me really well.

I finally got to go home and then the long healing process began. I made out like a bandit. Every once in a while I would whimper and the folks would come running. I got that whimpering act down to a science. You wouldn’t believe the stuff I got…treats, ice cream, toys, chicken cooked special, etc. I healed well, but I nursed that little injury for about five months before Big Boss caught on. If I’m not 100% recovered by now, then I’m about 99%. I’m a bionic dog. I’m faster than I ever was. Been thinking about doing the other leg but the folks probably wouldn’t appreciate it.

I still love kids both big and small. They are my absolute favorite people on the planet. Mom has enclosed a photo of me and a little friend sharing a drink. I’m pretty fond of Mom. She keeps Big Boss in line and she buys the food in the house. I try and stay on her good side.

I lucked out when my spaceship landed on this little stretch of earth. I’m going to stay forever. Don’t beam me up Scotty……………I’m here for good.

Duke Skywalker
my name was Deuce when I first landed

P.S. Mom and Dad send a HUGE thank you to the caring people who surrendered me to NEARR, to my foster dad and to, all of the NEARR volunteers who matched and placed me with my forever family.

Can you believe its been 4 years! Since day one our Maisey has been a joy to be around. I have attached a shot taken as part of her portfolio for a recent photo contest. We were hoping that she would be chosen as the new black dog in the Black Dog Tavern contest but they went with another dog… Maisey was a very patient contestant but in the end an eleven year old dog named “Bob” won - he apparently was a clone of the original. Its a great story that the NEARR types would love:

https://www.theblackdog.com/PhotoContest.aspx

Maisey has been everything we could ever want in a family dog. She spends summers on the RI shore with all 15 grandchildren. She has been adopted by the entire extended family. She is a staple at family functions and sleeps over Grandma & Grandpa’s when we can’t take her with us. Again she has fit right in from the day we picked her up at the NEARR picnic back in 2003!

Thanks again for letting us have her and for all of the great work that you guys do!

Happy Summer

Maggie is still doing great…..she turned 12 in December! I have sent a couple of pictures of Maggie and her brother Rusty (he’s 13).