Roxy

Roxy is doing amazing. She came to work with me almost every day this week (I wanted to leave her alone for a while to get used to the idea of being alone - she did great). She hangs out in my office and is quiet, even when I leave her to go to meetings. She was super shy when people first started coming in to meet her, but she now will stay where she is, sniff their hands and let them pet her.

Last night we went to an outdoor movie where there were tons of people and dogs and food and distractions, She was great! We went for a walk and practiced "heel" which we learned at the training class on Thursday night and she was not scared at all during the movie. Strangers came over and pet her and she met some new dogs and she was so good. 

 - A

Nathan

Hi , 

I just wanted to say thank you for bringing me together with my family. Since I arrived in Edmonton, I have done a lot. First, the snow was something weird and it took me until the end of the winter to realise that I can have fun in this. I also brought a pet with me, but they didn't allow me to keep it. They said that a tick is no good for me! Then they enrolled me into a dog class (I got direct into the intermediate and I did well in there) it was a lot of fun but I don't like to follow all the commands. Right now I have a good friend (a huge pit bull) and we play a lot together. During the day, I still have my siesta and I really like to go on trips. Driving in the car is great fun by they still don't let me drive. Everytime I go on the driverseat, they make me go back. Well, I wrote enough, I have to go back on my couch and relax from this hard work.

Thanks for all,

Nathan

Vida

Hello! I just wanted to let you know how Vida is doing. She is really settling in. I leave her loose in the house when I'm at work and she has been perfect. We are getting less tangled on our walks, and I've had her in a public off leash area (on leash of course) and she was fine. The two dogs are playing nicely, she likes to pounce on Van Buren, but he just takes it in stride and I think he really enjoys it. She has been a monkey and found lots of gross things to eat in the yard, like a petrified carrot and a big dried worm. Here I am feeding high quality food and she eats dried worms-what money I could save . I have signed up for a dog class that starts next week, I am looking forward to it as it will help with socialization with other people, they have a "pass the puppy" part where each owner gets to handle the others dog. I'll let you know how it goes.




Charlie

Just thought I'd let you know how Charlie is doing. He's sleeping at my feet just now - he snores!

It took him about a week before he was comfortable looking us in the eyes. He tended to avoid eye-contact but now he's much more engaged and lively. I think he's figuring out that we're not going to hurt him. He's working hard on his housebreaking - he has accidents from time-to-time, usually in the basement but he's getting better - and he's even learned how to fetch (fetching's the easy part. Just try getting it back from him! He hides under the patio furniture with all the toys where he KNOWS we can't get him!). Sid the Terrier is a big help of course - he's teaching Charlie some basic manners and two days ago, we heard Charlie bark for the first time!

Still not really crazy about the crate but he loves his basket and sleeps there every night without any trouble. He's enjoying his walks and eats well. We had him to our vet's and they noticed he's missing his front teeth - they're there, they're just worn down to nothing. Almost flush with the gums - so we're being very careful with the kind of food he gets to help him avoid gum disease in the future.

Charlie is a lovey little fellow - very easy-going and quiet. I hope we'll see more and more of his personality come out over the next few weeks - he can be a little clown and a terrible scamp. His latest trick is to sneak up behind Sid and dab his paw at him. This tag usually ends up in a wrestling match but don't worry, Sid knows how to handle himself. For an old dog, he does pretty well. Of course, he cheats outrageously too. They really seem to be enjoying themselves.

Recently (nearly three weeks ago) we adopted Rufus, we had been looking as a family to get a dog for a while and after looking at puppies in pet stores and the extremely high high prices they wanted to charge, we decided we would rather our money went to rescuing a dog that really needed a home!  We could not have asked for a better dog!  We had already gone through the process to adopt another dog but unfortunately she passed away before we were able to meet her.  So we started looking again and found Rufus!!  He honestly has just fit right into our family and we can not imagine our lives without him.  He absolutely loves the kids and in just three days he has learned so many tricks!  He was house trained when we got him and he knows the rules of the house and follows them with no problem.  He really enjoys playing in the back yard with the kids and also loves sleeping with my oldest daughter all snuggled together!

Anyone who is looking to adopt an animal, we would highly recommend going through Pawsitive Match Shelter!  They truly are the angels of animals and we appreciate all that they do to save these animals so that we can adopt them!!

TJ and the Larson Clan!




Nacho

It was June 2009, and we waited patiently at the airport to pick up our new addition. Nacho( formally Flash) came to us as an awkward, shy, somewhat fearful pup. We were not sure what to expect when we picked him up and brought him home. We took one look into his amber colored eyes and he made us melt.
It has been 8 months now and Nacho is turning out to be a wonderful family pet. We call him our big dope. He is so easy going and eager to please. He loves going everywhere with us and I believe that us having 2 young children, has brought him out of his shyness and fearfulness much quicker.
He has completed his first level in Obedience and as we are finding out, he loves balls and are now looking into agility or flyball. He may of had a rough start in life and we want to give him every chance now to enjoy it.
Thank you so much for everything thing your organization does. This has been such a rewarding experience for us.