It’s been too long since I’ve been in touch about Daisy. We adopted her in the summer of ’05 and we so enjoy having her as part of our family. She was a bit over the top with separation anxiety when we first brought her home and, while she can sometimes still become a little anxious, she is so much better now. Hard to believe that three years have gone by so quickly. We all went through the loss of our long time family member, Casco, a fabulous yellow lab, last year and it broke our hearts. We’ve been a long time 2 lab family…so we may keep that tradition and add another lab to the family…but not quite yet. In the meantime just wanted to let you know that Daisy has been a great addition.

Two weeks in her new home and just lovin it. I think she’ll stay!! Ruby has just fit into our home and lifestyle with ease. She has become my constant shadow, never letting me get too far away before checking on me. Hopefully she will learn to know that I always return and she doesn’t need to get up and follow my every move.

Her rehab is going well. Her and I are both counting down the days til she can run and chase the ball! She hates sitting on the leash while Caly plays ball with my husband. The squirrels are teasing her too. We have taken her swimming a couple times and she does enjoy that alot. I’ll be taking radiographs of her knee the end of this week to show to the veterinarian that did the surgery, on Monday. All seems to be healing well …so this will tell. Wish us luck! We will keep you updated on her progress.

We are still enjoying Max immensely. He’s such a clown! After a recent visit to the vet, it turns out Max has Lyme Disease and Heartworms. The Lyme will be easily treated with a course of Doxycycline and he is in the early stage of Heartworm disease and that is being treated with a monthly dose of Heartgard Preventative. He will be rechecked in 3 months. Other than that things are going incredibly well. My 7 year old daughter is determined to teach him to roll over. I can’t wait to see that happen - he’s so tall and lanky! We love him very much. Max has completed our family.

Just checking in with an update on Ruby….she’s doing great! Snoozing right now. It was a busy day hanging out in the yard, helping in the garden (eating the vegetables!) and enjoying the beautiful weather. She has fit in well to our household, and big sister Calypso has shown her where all the good toys and treats are kept. They seem to be adjusting to all the new changes without much hesitation. She has gone to work with me a couple days this week and everyone loves her….and she loves all the attention. We are learning her ways and always wondering what life before NEARR was like for her. She is well mannered and lovable. Obviously she was well cared for and loved. I am attaching a picture of her taken today.

Kismet has been with us for 4 months now and is thriving.

We wouldn’t know she was a “special needs” dog (well, except for the vet bills, but we knew what we were getting into!). She seems perfectly normal on a day to day basis, and recent prognoses from vets is that they think her heart problems, while still significant, fall more into the category of “moderate,” versus the “severe” we thought we were starting with.

We have seen our regular vet plus the cardio/ultrasound specialist and are on a follow-up schedule for periodic observation. The doc cleared Kismet for a spay, so we had that done in August. She hated being kept idle at home for 10 days, but managed the e-collar just fine.

There’s a photo attached from today, and one taken in the same place when she had just arrived — she’s grown a lot! At 8 months she weighs in at about 53 pounds, so we’re thinking she may top out on the smaller side, at about 60-65. There are a couple of other photos attached showing her doing her favorite things (other than sleeping and swimming, that means chewing and chasing).

Behavior training practice has fallen by the wayside a bit since we finished our class in July. My husband keeps up far better than I do, and Kismet is a Daddy’s Girl as a result. I need to break out the treat bag and the clicker for some practice! I suppose being able to ease back on the training a bit is some indication that she has adapted well to life here with us and has sound good manners.

All’s well & we’re glad she’s part of our pack.

We are really enjoying Max! In just his first week he has been out to doggie playgroup with me Mon-Fri, he has gone swimming and is even going rollerblading with my husband! He’s a wonderful pet. I am pleasantly surprised that he has not had one accident! He is very loved by all of us. We plan to get him to the vet this week for a complete physical. He also has been to Petco twice - and he’s very well behaved.

I’ll be back in touch with the next update soon. We almost feel like Max has been with us all along - he fit right in from day one.

Duke Skywalker reporting in on the Fourth Anniversary of my Adoption! Life here in my forever home continues to keep getting better and better. A few months ago Big Boss and the Mrs. brought me a special present. It’s my very own little playmate, something they call a “granddaughter”. My job is to guard her every time she comes to visit. She is going on seven months old and likes to play with me. She jabbers some kind of foreign language and I lick her face. I know from past experience that I have to be gentle with her but that’s just my nature anyways. I’ve always loved kids from when I was a pup.

Big Boss says I’m in the prime of my life right now at age 35. He means age five but I have to humor him with this dog year’s thing. I still love to sleep in the morning and don’t really get too active until about four in the afternoon. Afternoons and evenings are my active time and Boss still takes me for long walks along a neat trail in the woods that has a brook. I swim, chase stuff through the woods, get really grubby and muddy and then watch Boss cringe when I get back in the pickup. He might as well forget about keeping it clean. It’s my truck and that’s just the way it is. You wanted me. Now deal with it!

I’ve had health issues but nothing I couldn’t handle. Guy dogs just suck up the pain and deal with it! First it was that blown out knee and TPLO surgery. I’m better and faster now than I was before. Boss gives me glucosamine and other stuff every day and I’ve never had any more problems. I had Lyme disease awhile back but my tests have been negative the last two years. I had stomach issues but Boss pays big money for some fancy vet prescription diet. I have pretty bad allergies and I also have a little problem with my south side. Boss has to “express” something on my rear end about once a month. I don’t think he’s fond of this particular procedure but I’m not exactly crazy about it myself. You wanted me. Now deal with it!

I’m still trying to catch a fish by myself out of our lake. This could be my year. I’ve tipped Boss over once already in the kayak. I love to do that. The secret is to stretch out and pretend to drink out of the lake. If I stretch far enough he’s gone. You’d think he’d learn but he doesn’t seem to catch on. People are so goofy sometimes.

Best to All
Duke Skywalker (NEARR Duece)