Dear Christine and Diane,

Thank you for all your support in our adoption process. We are very happy to have Rhoda with us. She is everything you described and is settling in very well. At first she was pretty timid but she is coming along great and has had no accidents in the house. She had trouble with stairs at first but she is making progress every day mostly because she always wants to be where we are. She sleeps upstairs in our bedroom in her crate and has found a few other favorite spots in the house.

Rhoda is thrilled to explore in the back yard when we are out there. She has even established a pattern for investigations that starts with checking out the perimeter and eventually has her running full steam in diagonals across the grass. I don't think exercise will be an issue! She has enjoyed walking around the neighborhood with me and is pretty good on the leash although I get the impression she hasn't spent much time on a leash. We've been our about 4 times (between 1.5 to 2 miles each) because it's been raining most of the week. Beginning June 6th Rhoda and I are attending basic training together for 8 weeks every Thursday.

Rhoda is now a legal resident of Longmeadow and visited our vet on Thursday. He didn't seem to worried about her weight (she is now 36 pounds) and gave her the first of 2 Lyme Disease shots. He agreed that 1.5 cups of food each day is the right amount. I have been giving her a Milk Bone when we return from our walk. It turns out she likes Greenies too. On Tuesday she is going to the groomer for a summer cut and teeth cleaning. We asked around and a number of people recommended a groomer in Agawam.

Rhoda has visited with the dogs next door, dogs on our walks, and will have a Whippet visit during our cookout tomorrow. I'm pleased with her social skills. We took her to the pet store and she was terrific.

It feels like Rhoda is unfolding like a flower and as we've seen this much improvement in one week I know that she will feel totally at home in a few months. I've attached a few photos.

Again, thank you for the work you did with Rhoda and with so many of the other dogs. NEBR folks are special people.

Andrea

This is a photo of our newest little girl... Abby. She's full of energy, loves walks, jumping, and frolicing. We decided to give her a thrown, and how she loves it - She has a complete view of the backyard - Focus. What an excellent addition! Thank you NEBR.

Daffodil joined me on April 10, 2010. It had been a long trip for her - she was rescued as a stray in Tennessee and ended up in a shelter, rescued from the shelter by a NEBR volunteer, transported to her foster family in RI, and then I picked her up and took her home to Woburn. Hopefully she enjoys traveling, because since then we have moved alllll the way across the country to San Diego, and Daffodil rode shotgun (with a seat belt of course!) the whole 3,000 miles.

I remember when Christine told me they had a dog coming up from Tennesse who might be perfect for me - but they named her "Daffodil", and Christine wanted to change it. I said no! If I adopt her I'll just change it back. Daffodils are my favorite flowers and it seemed meant to be.

Sure enough, Daffodil is wonderful. She loves doing absolutely anything as long as she gets to be included. Her favorites include hiking, chasing dogs who are chasing balls at the park (but she has zero interest in chasing balls herself), going to the beach, and chasing squirrels. Since our move out West she has adapted quite nicely to the lack of squirrels and picked up chasing lizards. Her favorite part of going to the beach is getting a few inches into the water, laying on her belly, and doing the army crawl to really make sure the sand gets everywhere. She's pretty sure getting dirty is just the best, second only to belly rubs. She makes me laugh and her nickname is Goofball.

I'm so thankful for the wonderful people at NEBR who put Daffodil and I together. It is a fantastic organization that truly looks out for both the dogs and the adopters.

Best,

Jen

 

This lovable little pup is Holly or Holly Bear, as I call her (inspired by her foster mom).

Holly came into my life last January and we have been inseparable ever since.  I knew there was something special about her from the moment we met.  Holly was small (even for a Britt) yet snouty with an orange/white wiry coat and big amber eyes full of love.  Her personality is one of a kind.  She is an affectionate goofball who is highly intelligent and more curious than George despite having had a case of pin worms and an invasive re-spay surgery.

Holly is now around one and half, completely healthy and doing better than ever.  Initially, Holly was nervous and even intimidated by strangers. With lots of love and attention we have developed a strong bond, she now trusts her mom’s judgment and warms up quickly to both people and other dogs. She has recently graduated from Basic Obedience Class and spends time at Doggie Day Care while her mom is at work.  We plan to continue obedience training.  Although Holly is doing wonderfully, she is easily distracted and still has some learning to do.

Holly enjoys peanut butter, squeaky toys, meeting new friends, long walks or runs and sleeping in with her mommy on weekends.  She is a truly happy girl and she has the smile to prove it, literally. Her energy is contagious and she has brought so much joy into my life that words can’t even begin to explain it.

“You don’t rescue a dog. They rescue you.”

Thank you NEBR. Holly is the perfect match for me.  

 

Things are going amazing with Bruce, the dog formerly known as Shane. He has added so much to our life that I get a little teary eyed thinking about it. I discovered I find true enjoyment in training Bruce and researching training methods. He can sit, lay down, jump, spin, roll over, "hop through" a hoola hoop, stay (even when we run away from him, which is pretty irresistible) plus a few more tricks. He loves car rides, and we even brought him down to Cambridge, Mass, to give him some serious exposure to the sights and sounds of city life.

I have an acquaintance who raised a puppy to be a seeing eye dog. She is extremely impressed with Bruce and suggested that we go on to train him to be a therapy dog to visit nursing homes and hospitals. He is extremely social with people of all ages ( kids he loves a little too much and we are working on this) and dogs of all sizes. He is quite the social butterfly. Two weeks ago we brought Bruce to visit a dog, Deacon, who needed some positive doggy experience. Deacon had not only become completely blind in the past year, he had been attacked by an unknown animal and was now very fearful. After a few hours together and a hike in the woods suddenly the two dogs were playing. Blind and fearful Deacon was in long unused play bow! Once Bruce figured out "keep away" with the toys wasn't working the two dogs played for about two hours straight.

Chris has brought Bruce out on about an hour hike every morning since Bruce got his puppy shots. Rain, sleet, or blizzard they hike in the park near our house. Chris stayed in great shape this winter thanks to Bruce.

We have had one big scare since getting Bruce at the very beginning of April. He had just had a growth spurt and could now reach the kitchen counter, which I did not realize. I stepped outside for just a moment and I came back to see an extremely happy Bruce and a very empty bag of what had been raw, un-risen, pizza dough. We rushed to the emergency clinic and made it just as the first painful, yeasty burps began. He spent the night and was fine when we got him the next day.

I have included pictures (too many, I am sure) spanning from months ago to present. At the end you will find photos of the fenced area Bruce has when he hangs outside. He has a covered section that is an old carport and a section in the sun with bushes and dirt. He has a children's wading pool in the shade on hot days for him to splash in, a couple of beds, and a crate, although he hasn't been using that. This area is used just for hanging out for short periods of time rather than an area to run. He gets that time on his morning hikes and evening walks now that the days are longer. We don't use it very often because our life style is to bring him with us on our outings, and if we aren't outside adventuring, then he is inside with me since I am home during the day.

Sorry for the extremely long winded email, but I always jump at the chance to gush about Bruce. I hope you all at the brittany rescue can enjoy knowing that a pup that you rescued and adopted out has found his way into an extremely loving life and home! We are so happy to have worked with you all. Chris and I need to wait until we have a bigger house, but we definitely want to be doggy foster parents in the future and give back some of the good fortune we have had.

Thank you,

-Shannon

We adopted Fenway (aka Speedy, although his papers have this reversed, we prefer Fenway) in June 2011, It is the greatest feeling when people see or ask about Fenway whether on the street, at the vet, Kennel, or just talking with friends how well received the concept of pet adoption is! First and foremost because he is such a good looking pet they have the perception only full bred/ good ;looking dogs come from a rescue. Fenway from day one has been a "velcro doggy" and as I look at him sitting on top of my feet while I write this, I realize this will never change!  His energy at 4 +/- years is like it was the day we picked him up, with no signs of slowing up! He is always the first thing my wife and I see waking up in the morning with his stubby tail wagging, jumping, and ready to go play. If anyone we know has or ever will consider a dog, NEBR will be the first answer and we always suggest adoption. To think that someone gave up Fenway because of excessive barking, which by the way he had not barked probably the first six months we had him, is unbelievable when his barking is clearly excitement and wanting attention and playtime! After having many other breeds growing up and with my family, I would say Brittanys are by far the best experience. My wife says he is almost like a human! The kids continue to give him daily minute long hugs. He is perfect size for a dog and still being small enough for a lap sitter and not too big to kick off the bed when he wants to get comfortable. We cannot thank you enough and although we have not participated in any events we enjoy reading the newsletters and seeing other stories! Feel free to put anyone in touch with me if they have any questions and I would highly recommend the painless process and many years of companionship and enjoyment.

Thx,

Jeff Goodnough