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