DESTINY

[9.22.10] (Destiny now) Dixie is doing wonderfully! She has really become a part of our family. She is starting to fill out and we have found a few toys she likes to play with. We play together every evening when I get home and she really burns up energy in the backyard. She runs so fast I can’t keep up with her. She is so funny how she will run circles out back and try to play chase with us. She is quite a prissy thing in the morning, I have to practically drag her outside as she doesn’t like to “go” in the wet grass! Two weeks ago my son brought his Lhasa Apso over to see how they would get along. I brought Dixie outside on the leash. She was so excited to see him, wagging her tail. She started to sniff him and he tried to go Alpha male on her and snapped at her. She snapped at him and then he peed cuz he was so scared of her! LOL We brought them in the house and he hid behind his mamma the whole time. We kept her on the leash but she did really well. The most impressive thing about Dixie is the way she behaved this past week. Last Thursday night we had houseguests descend upon us. I was nervous about this. A family of 6; mom, dad, 3 yr old girl and a set of 19 month old triplets! Nothing to be worried about with Dixie! She has been so good with these children. They have petted, poked, and prodded her, and she has been absolutely beautifully behaved. We have had to move her food and water dishes because of the children, and she has taken it in stride. Their dad, my cousin, has remarked everyday how great she is with the kids and can’t believe such a wonderful dog had to be rescued!

DIANN

(10.29.09) “Jenny (aka. Diann) has made a wonderful addition to our family. One problem she had when we adopted her was that she was about 20 pounds overweight. We put her on a regimen of diet and exercise (hence the name Jenny, as in "Jenny Craig.") We are proud to say that she is now a healthy 68 pounds with plenty of energy. She also had an irritating skin rash on her neck which she was on medication for and was attributed to seasonal allergies. The skin rash is completely resolved and her occasional allergies are successfully treated with benadryl, when necessary. Surprisingly, Jenny came to us with some basic training. We discovered she was already leash-trained. She always walks on our right side and keeps her feet even with ours, rarely walking ahead of us or pulling on the leash. She also knows basic commands: sit, stay, and shake. She was also house trained, so the only thing we had to work on was crate training. Now she goes in her crate by herself, without any prompting. We rarely crate her except at night or when we have to leave her alone for a few hours (she has a slight chewing problem when left alone.) Jenny started off very shy in her new home and very timid around visitors. Since settling in, she has become more outgoing and welcomes any visitors with plenty of playful attention. We expected a boxer to be naturally protective and alert us to strangers on the property. However, the opposite is true. She is so friendly with people that she sees strangers as just another person to play with her. In fact, she rarely barks. To say the least, we do not have a watch dog. But we have so much more - we have a new family member. Jenny has even built a relationship with the cat! Basically their relationship consists of staying in their own space. The cat quickly let Jenny know where she stands, and Jenny has agreed to let the cat remain "Queen-Bee" and stay out of her space. If Jenny gets too close, the cat growls, hisses, and swats at her to put Jenny back in her place. They basically co-exist. Some of her favorite things to do are go for walks around the lake, ride ANYWHERE in the truck, go to Petsmart, play fetch with her ball or stick, and watch the deer at the fence line. She has figured out that if she barks at the deer, they will run away. So now, she watches them quietly, and sometimes a brave deer will actually approach the fence to check her out. Quite amazing to watch. Thank you so much for allowing us to have such a wonderful new addition to our family. She is much loved and welcomed in our home. We are so happy to have her. She really is a great pet.

DILLON

(10.29.09) “Hi! I wanted to let you know how Dillon is doing since we adopted him in March. He's definitely found his forever home!!! I just can't believe we were able to get such a wonderful dog so quickly! He came house and crate trained which was fabulous. He's currently enrolled in obedience school, and is the best in the class (I may be a bit biased)! He knows sit, stay, down, shake, heel, etc. My two daughters, Alexandra age 6 and Ashton age 4, absolutely adore him! This morning my younger daughter, Ashton, was curled up in the chair with him, and yesterday she was using her pretend Dr. Kit to give him a check-up. Although we all love him, he really seems to be Ashton's dog. He loves licking her, and she actually loves it too! Ashton's preschool teachers told us that since we adopted Dillon, she has really opened up in school and become a lot more talkative. She's always been a little shy, but she comes alive when talking about Dillon. Our big boy has been a wonderful addition to our family! Thanks to everyone at HBR for all you do for these beautiful dogs!

DUG

(9.24.09) Dug and I are doing FABULOUS!!! Although his adoption started out like a mail-order-bride situation, he certainly has surpassed every expectation I had. I knew when I saw his picture online, that he was the dog for me. First, he looked like my last Boxer, Jake. Then, when I read about his mellow temperament, I was sold---I am a lover of the rescue dogs, but I knew I was not capable of handling a "tough case". His 11 hour trip home to Park City, Utah, was uneventful and really nice. Satellite Radio and Cruise Control made the drive to Santa Fe bearable, and his addition on the way back made it wonderful! He has been in his forever home for 3 1/2 weeks now and I am so pleased. He settled in nicely. The first day back, my neighbors invited us to hike this great trail behind my neighborhood. With his new friends Lucy and Bear (Chocolate and Black labs, respectively), we set out on a morning hike. It was pretty warm, even for the morning, and the altitude (7500ft) didn't help his little sea-level stamina---he ambled up the trail, stopped and gratefully drank a lot of water, and did very well on the hike up to the top. On the way down, and near the end of the loop, the Labs bounded off for the creek and jumped in after the rocks we throw for them to chase---No one told Dug he isn't a Lab, so he bounded right in after them! He doesn't swim like the Labs, but he wades up to his chest, gets his undercarriage cooled off, and drinks the mountain run -off water. He's met neighbors, and friends pack dogs, and he is a GEM with all of them! I wanted to get his diet in the proper place, so we went to our local "Love Your Pet Bakery" where they have raw food for his new diet (more about that later). The owners of the store have 3 GIGANTIC Newfoundlands---in fact, when we went into the store, I still had my sunglasses on and I thought they were bearskin rugs (not uncommon out here); when they jumped up to greet us I was certainly surprised (as was Dug)! He stood stock still and let the dogs sniff him out, then he just laid on the floor with them. He's a mellow man. Our most recent hike with a pack of dogs included a Brittany Spaniel---since no one told Dug he isn't a flushing dog, he just followed the Spaniel into the brush and did flushing behaviors! His diet has made him into a trim and muscle-y good looking boy. As I said, he eats raw. So two times a day he gets a 1/2lb of either Elk, Venison, or Buffalo mixed with vegetables and bone. Once weekly he has a Dairy Day where he gets organic cottage cheese, maple yogurt, and a raw egg with the shell. He LOVES his food! He gets Elk bones and some tendons. His coat is sleek, soft, and shiny. He hasn't shed much yet either. He has good manners, and we're still working on some of them (Jumping on me when he wants attention, and counter-surfing). Otherwise, he is good on the leash, LOVES the car where he can stick his head out of the sunroof and smell the area. He is great with all people, big and small children (he loves the little ones as they taste like the food they've been trying to eat!). We watch "The Dog Whisperer" and get pointers, as well as read anything Cesar Milan puts out! He sleeps in his own bed at night, and never gets up. My job as a Nurse Midwife makes for some odd hours, and often I am flying out of the house in the middle of the night, or returning late in the evening. He rolls with all of the punches, and does just fine. I have neighbors that come over to walk him while I am out, and he never misses a day of exercise. He mostly gets 2 walks a day. I could babble on and on about how much I adore him and how happy we both are, but I will end this Opus of an email. I'll send pictures as soon as I figure out how to upload them to my computer. Dug's previous foster mother is on Facebook, so I send her pics of him when I can. If there is anything else I can say or do, please let me know! --- xoxoDanielle (and Dug)