Hi Jennifer, things are going great with Patrick! We all love him so much. He is so much fun to play with! The cats are starting to get used to him being here and they are starting to come around and check him out. Patrick just wants to play with them, but I don't think it will be long before a couple of them are ready to play with him too. The kids are doing really well with him and my daughter just loves to play with him. He is sleeping with us at night.
We are calling him Jasper. It is not very easy to potty train when it is 0 degrees out but he will get the hang of it eventually. It is going to be a little warmer this weekend so hopefully we will have better luck. At least puppy accidents are very easy to clean up and we have wood floors. So no big deal.
Thanks so much for his family photos, I am going to save them. There is quite a difference in them. They are all so cute, I just hope Petra gets a good home soon. I feel sad that she is the last one left. Jenny
Susie -02/13/2008
Thought I’d send you a few pictures of our trip to the off lease dog park, at the WWI memorial. Susie had a very good time running around and playing. We definitely need to work on the verbal commands but she was very good with the other dogs and people. Getting her to come when she was called……well lets just say that didn't’t happen. I’m hopeful that she’ll begin to respond to verbal commands after being with us and adjusting to our voices. Jerry
Xena - 02/07/2008
Maggie 02/07/2008
Hi Virginia and All,Just wanted to update you on our little angel Maggie that we adopted in December. Maggie and her canine brother, Jake, just came back from the groomer and looked so cute that I had to send pics.
After being in a home in isolation for a year poor Maggie looked so brokenhearted when she came to us, but has adjusted well and is much loved by our family.
She has really perked up and in high spirits and enjoys being spoiled with love, treats, walks and toys. She and Jake are inseparable. We can’t imagine life without her! Thanks for all of your continued hard work! The Maddens
Finn (aka Donovan) 02/05/2008
Hi Virginia,
These pictures are long overdue, but here they are nonetheless. We love our Finn (previously Donovan, adopted in September 2007) so much and can’t imagine our lives without him! His personality is so different from our other lab, Rigley, so they are a hoot together.
He is such a lover and so sweet that I can’t imagine why anyone wouldn’t want him (but lucky us they didn’t).
The 6 foot fence is up and is holding him and I think he finally understands that we are his forever home. We’ve made several out of town trips with the dogs in tow, and he does great on the road too. We ended up getting an SUV to fit the dogs and us, so it’s amazing how our $150 dog turned into that. I don’t think my husband will fall for that one again, but I think we have reached our max on animals in our little house. I just wanted you to know (5 months later) that Finn is doing extremely well and definitely a part of our family. Miranda
Kansas (aka Big Mac) -02/04/2008
Hi Marianne! I am so sorry that it took such a long time to get this to you. I just want to let you know that we LOVE Big Mac.. whom we have renamed Kansas (in honor of where we got him!). He really is a joy - listens well - housebroke already! - and will begin puppy classes in a couple weeks. Another good thing is that we bought a house and he will soon have a big backyard to run around in! :) He is growing up to his former name though... last time he was weighed at 12 weeks he was 25 lbs! It is "anybody's guess" when it comes to knowing what he is! We have guesses from Mastiff to German Shepherd to others....we don't really care what he is though...he is just our cute Kansas! Thank you so much for your help during the adoption process...I know that I bugged you with emails!! Let everyone at TARA know that Kansas is AWESOME! Thanks again! Kelli & Fabien Lambert
Lucy -01/24/2008
Hi Virginia,
I wanted to update you and let you know that Lucy is doing fine. We've had our 1 year adoption anniversary this month.
I still can't let her out in the back yard except on a chain but she seems to have adjusted to it. We take lots of long walks when the weather allows.
She seems to think she is a lap dog and I've been bad about letting her get by with it. For a while she was in doggy daycare at Petsmart in Merriam which she didn't care for too much. She spent most of the day glued to the daycare worker rather than playing with other dogs. They called her Jumping Lucy because they couldn't contain her. I am working less hours now so am home with her quite a bit. Hope you are doing okay. Thanks for finding me a great dog.
Everyone who meets her loves her!
Pat Johnson
Siena (aka McMuffin) 01/16/2008
Thanks for the call tonight, Marianne. I'll be sure to let you know how the puppy class goes.
Here's a link to my blog posts that include pics and plenty of stories of McMuffin (who we named Siena, hehe):
She's a very good and smart puppy. I do quite a bit of training with her and she responds very well, even though she still has her rambunctious moments just like any puppy. :)
We're very happy to have her!!! I'll send more pics as she grows even more! Jennipher
Caddie (aka Jennie) 01/15/2008
Virginia and T.A.R.A., It's been almost a year now since I started looking for a dog who was going to be a perfect fit for me, and I want to report that things with Caddie couldn't be better! I'm so thankful for all of you, for matching me with Caddie (Jenny) and then driving to Branson to bring her to me! Every time I tell the story of how I adopted my dog, people are amazed at how much you do to place your animals in good homes.
As you know, the first few weeks were rough for Caddie. She was so timid and insecure, didn't enjoy being outside, and retreated to a closet or bathroom anytime I had people visiting. Now, it's like she's a completely different dog!
Over time, she started to feel safer and more secure in her new home.
One of the big signals for me was when she stopped being afraid of the passing cars. For the first several weeks our walks were interrupted anytime someone drove by us; she would stop completely and refuse to continue walking until the car had passed. When the day finally came that she ignored the cars driving by, I knew she had passed over from "stray" mentality to "full-fledged pampered house pet." And then her true personality began to shine through.
She's still as sweet as can be and one of the best-behaved animals I've ever met. But now she's figured out what "play" is, loves taking long walks with me, and has become a total cuddler (when before, she seemed unsure about too much attention and certainly never initiated it). She loves to greet anyone who visits with a wagging tail and a kiss, but she's a total non-barker and non-jumper (SUCH good manners, for which I can take no credit).
Of course, some surprises came when she discovered her more outgoing personality. For instance, she's learned that she rather enjoys chasing cats, much to my chagrin. :) One of my pet-sitters took Caddie to her home when I was out of town, and apparently she terrorized their cat and he hid in a box for two days. Thankfully, Caddie hasn't shown any aggression toward the rabbits, just curiosity. I get the feeling she'd like to chase them, too, so they all still have separate playtime in the living room; the rabbits one night, Caddie the next.
She's also become an avid chewer. When she finally started playing with her toys, I realized she can't have anything plastic - she destroyed a whiff le ball in less than two minutes. Tennis balls, flimsy stuffed animals... shredded, and quickly. Rope toys and the Kong have held up pretty well, though. She doesn't quite get the concept of fetch, but she does get excited if I throw something; she'll run and grab it, and then hunker down and start chewing. Amazingly (and in true good-mannered Caddie style), she seems to know which toys are hers and okay for chewing, and she hasn't chewed up any of my personal items (she's so well-behaved, I'm spoiled for any other dog).
We start obedience training this month! She so smart and seems very teachable, but until just a few weeks ago she hadn't had the confidence for it. If I spoke to her in any kind of "command" voice, she'd automatically go into a submissive posture and disregard whatever I said. But the past couple weeks we've successfully been working on "heel" and "sit" every time before we leave the house for a walk, so I can put her leash on. She's doing so well, I decided she was ready for classes. I'm excited for the socialization with other dogs that will provide her, too.
I've attached several pictures as well. She's still really camera shy... I've made several unsuccessful attempts to get her looking happy, but no matter how goofy or playful she's acting, as soon as the camera comes out, she freezes up. She was really not excited about posing for the Christmas picture, but we finally got one where she didn't have such a tortured look on her face. :) Hope you all are doing well! Thank you again for all that you do! Jenny Komsthoeft
Foxfire - 01/05/08
Hi Amy,
Thanks for the email. We absolutely love Foxfire! He is warm, gentle, caring, and extremely loving. He warmed up to both my daughter and I in only a few hours, which surprised me very much considering on the ride home from A Dog's Fun Place he wanted to sit in the backseat all by himself. Once we got home and he was perfect and wanted to be pet within a few hours. We have had a few people over to the house and he also warmed up to them almost immediately. I am so happy with him and am ecstatic to have him in our family.
He is a little jealous of the other dog, which I find a little amusing since the other dog we adopted is 5 years old and very laid back. When we pet Pepper (he is Pekinese), Foxfire gets very jealous and tries to compete for all of the attention. They get along very well, though. I can't wait to get our backyard fenced in since Foxfire loves to go for walks and run outside. It will be great to see how he will react when he has so much space to play in since right now he has to stay on the leash. We do have the retractable leash so it goes allot further than a normal leash does.
Well, I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year. Thank you allowing us to adopt Foxfire, we love him.
Sherry
