It’s been a month since we got Max and Eric and I am so amazed at how well he has adjusted to our family. He’s already claimed his favorite spots in the house to lie down and chill out, like on the ottoman and under the dining room table, and he and Missy have come to terms with being both together and enjoying their alone time. I think both of them have realized this arrangement is permanent and that absence can in fact make the heart grown fonder…They were inseparable for the first 3 weeks but seem to have become more comfortable acting independently without jealousy or curiosity of what the other is doing - Max has even come in the house before her a few times.

Max continues to visit the vet on Saturdays and isn’t all that thrilled with the staff, but we continue to work on short and positive visits. His big appointment for a more thorough exam and shots is coming up in April, so we hope he will be more comfortable by then. The trainer and other owners in our obedience class comment every week on how much more confident and outgoing Max becomes. He confuses sit and down but we are working on clarifying with him. He’s so eager to please he sometimes confuses his commands and does a mix of tricks. We’re working on it in class and at home. We realize in class that Missy helps him cheat at home!

We are so happy to have Max in our family and the personality he brings to our lives!

We can’t believe it’s been 9 months since Ruby came to us. We feel like she has been with us forever. When she first came, she wouldn’t play fetch. Now, everyday at 4:00 she starts pestering my husband to go for the afternoon walk and throw the tennis ball. She isn’t happy until she is exhausted. She and Bumper, our now 11 year old golden get along beautifully. He exhibits almost none of the possessiveness we had in the beginning. It took six months, but now they even play together. Sometimes Ruby initiates it, sometimes Bumper initiates it, but they both run around (actually, Ruby runs around, Bumper waits for her to come to him) with tails wagging and fur flying. With all this exercise, Ruby has lost 10 pounds and is now at her perfect weight. Last fall, Teddy, a cat rescued by a friend who couldn’t keep him, joined our family and in many ways, is part of the pack. When someone comes to the door, the dogs come running and Teddy is right behind them with Ruby’s wagging tail whacking him in the head. He doesn’t seem to mind.

There haven’t been many thunderstorms since the fall, but she is much less skittish than she was and the one storm we had, she was a little nervous, but not bad at all. She becomes a lap dog and jumps into David’s lap on his recliner until it passes.

We feel very lucky that Ruby is with us and we think she is lucky as well!

Angie recently celebrated her 13th Birthday, so it seemed an update should be in order for such a big age! She celebrated with a “romp” on the beach and had a takeout steak dinner (as did Woodford). She has loved all the snow we’ve had so she can roll around belly up in it. She’s slowed with her arthritis, and is a little more stubborn about getting out for walks. But she hops right up when the girls are eating so she can go after crumbs. She’s a little cranky in her older age with a new puppy next door. She’s a funny girl.

Woodford is holding his own. We had another scary time with him in January where he developed a horrible infection in his blood, liver, and abdomin, and had a surgery and was at Tufts (which took amazing care of him) for a week. But once again, he has proved to be an amazingly tough and resilient guy. He is slowly but steadily improving at home, back to short walks and loving the extra food as we put weight back on his bones. He charmed everyone at Tufts! And he still is the cutest, most comfortable sleeper ever.

They both are so loved and we are blessed to have them with us.