Ruby has been with us for a little over two years and she has been a joy.
She is now 8 and you’ll notice from the pictures that her face has turned a
little gray. She still is afraid during thunderstorms despite trying
everything. So, we just wait it out together, in the shower or in the
basement. The pictures show her in her favorite positions - sitting on a
chair in the living room watching the world go by out of our picture window
(actually, she is just watching for squirrels and rabbits). And playing catch over and over and over again.
Thank you NEARR for bringing her into our family.

Here are a few pictures and highlights of life with Sir Prince over the past few months.

Sir Prince Charming Cinnamon has had a healthy and happy winter and spring. His majesty is particularly excited about the arrival of summer as it means more opportunities to eat tall grass, swim freely with other dogs and chase people (me) around on bikes. He also is psyched to have ice loaded into his water bowl to quench his thirst after running after all those rabbits in the back yard. The arrival of hot weather has also triggered a constant shedding of his yellow-white coat which, given his large size, keeps the house, driveway and yard full of tumbleweed-like furballs. People still are surprised to hear of his age (10 ½) given his energy level. Sir Prince is still prone to eating anything vaguely edible if left to it. But we have adjusted to that tendency. Dishes are quickly cleared off the table or he will take up the task, sometimes resulting in broken dishes. Apples aren’t left in the counter top fruit bowl because the bowl will mysteriously empty itself. It is hard to believe that next month will mark one year since he came here as a foster. Frequently, I think of the NEARR volunteer that brought him here: the first thing she said to me was, “this is a really great dog”. I agree.

Riley is doing great! Super lovable and well-mannered as ever! He’s up-to-date on all of his shots (I took him for a lyme disease booster last week) and he continues to be an awesome addition to our home. He’s very popular with our neighbors as well!!!

I wanted everyone who loves Koal to know that I’m now living near my two daughters and they both love dogs and I taught them to respect and care for all life. I spent yesterday and this morning with my daughter and they have a dog that Koal has met before and developed a close relationship and had a tremendous time. We all let our friends on the couch and in bed if they want.

The back yard is fenced in and Koal is in heaven except dealing with the heat. I make sure he comes in every 15-20 minutes and add ice to his water. We have central air and ceramic tile floors, which he loves. Also he has a kiddy pool to keep cool while we play.

He still thinks that he is 3 years old and I have to stop him to rest. Thank you for caring and always know Koal is a very big part of my life and best friend.

Xena is doing just fine….she is now 62 lbs and in great shape. The vet is very impressed with her and how well she is doing. She is getting along very well with my other black lab - we go on long walks together all the time on the local bike trail. Yesterday, she went swimming as she played fetch…she loves the water. She is an absolute lovey…and is always giving kisses…I couldn’t be happier with my choice…I love her!!!

Bruno is doing very well. He is enjoying his new home. He’s at the foot of the bed at night, does very well while we are at work, and always greets us at the door when we get home. Enjoys rides in the truck, swimming, lots of walking, and of course, playing ball. Slight improvement at getting a long with other dogs. The picture is of Bruno in the raspberry bushes. His visit to the vet went very well. He’s in good health. Thanks NEARR.

Rocky has adjusted very easily and quickly into out home. He is extremely well-behaved. I slept on the dining room floor for 2 nights, Rocky practically on top of me. We are feeding him inside our dog crate. On the third night he went into the crate on his own and stayed the night. During the day he will often lie down in the crate. (We rarely if ever close the door.)

He loves riding in the back of our car (tail gate with fence) and relished walking (rather running) off-leash on a dead-end road. Always comes on command.

Bella here reporting in from my new home! Sorry it took me so long to write, but I have had so many balls to chase, laps to run, and bones to chew that I have not had much time! My new family keeps me very busy and I love it! I have SO much energy that I love to run around my family’s pool and explore my new back yard. I used to get so excited around my new family that I would jump all over them, but I have been working with my trainer and getting much better.

I have a lot of friends in my new neighborhood and enjoy running and wrestling with them. I have been trying to learn how to swim in my family’s pool. As you can see from my attached photo I am quite comfortable on the top stair, but get nervous going much further. My family is working on helping me feel more comfortable in the water because they can tell how eager I am to go in!

I am very playful, loving and adventurous. I have a few things I need to work on like walking better on my leash and barking for attention, but I am improving every day. I love that I am now the 8th member of my new family! I crave attention and love that now I have 7 people to follow around all the time!

My trainer told me that I am very smart and that I need to be mentally challenged to keep me sharp. So my family has gotten me new mind challenging toys and started scattering my food around so that I can play “find.” It is so much fun! I am adjusting so well to my new home. I can just tell that my new family has fallen in love with me :) Can’t wait to check back in with another update !
Love Bella

Hello Everyone!
Padfoot here……..a month late posting about my life (because I am having so much fun it’s ridiculous!) I have settled in nicely in my forever home and I overheard Dad saying he can’t imagine life without me, so I know I have the “peeps” wrapped!

Lets see….what has been happening? Well, I completed private lessons for being a good doggie… of course I excelled (at everything except other dogs…) I just can’t seem to be nice when someone barks at me. Mom is working on it though and she says I’ll get there (whatever that means…)

With this nice warm weather comes swimming. Boy oh boy do I LOVE to swim! I go a couple of times a week and I even tried to retrieve a duck! It does tire me out though… I usually follow up with a nap under the apple tree! We go for lots of nice walks at Dad’s secret fishing spot and there is a big pond and a swimming hole and I love them both! I am the king of the yard now. I especially like laying in the middle of the vegetable garden… the cucumbers make a nice soft bed but the “peeps” do a lot of yelling of my name when I rest in the raised beds (they love me…what can I say?)

Did see my first rabbit the other day…wooo hoooo! I am the slayer of all rodents large and small. I have caught chipmunks, squirrels and mice and moles. (I have always said that I see no need for cats in this world) In fact, those are the one thing I have not caught yet even though they saunter through our yard daily and I do give it the “old college try”! Did I mention that I caught a goldfinch and when Dad saw that I was chewing I promptly spit it out…. he laughed and said it looked like a yellow spit ball! Mom was grossed out! I felt bad….

Anyway, I have been so good that we go out for “Rover’s Reward” at the local ice cream spot. It consists of a small amount of vanilla softserve with 3 dog biscuits and a healthy portion of peanut butter sauce. I clean that up at the speed of light, don’t leave a trace anywhere! UMMMMMMMM! Yes, life is good. I had my first real bath the other day because when we were visiting a friend I found the good smelling cow manure her cows produce and I promptly rolled to my hearts delight! Ahhhhhh, Eau d’ Hereford….my personal choice!

Well, that’s all for now. I have squeaky balls and basketballs to chase and chipmunks to terrorize….. ;-)

Much love to all! (as I have lots to give)

Paddy (a.k.a.Padfoot, a.k.a. Sirius Black)