Holly

We have had Holly (formerly Honey) for almost nine months now. From the first day we brought her home, she stole our hearts with her loving nature. She is very affectionate with all people, any age. I have taken her to an assisted living facility to do pet therapy several times now and the people there love her and look forward to our next visits. Holly is very gentle with them offering her paw nicely and only putting her paws on their laps if they invite her to, although she does sometimes need reminders from me about that. She enjoys all the petting and attention that she gets. One gentleman there had his picture taken with Holly and is going to have it put on a t-shirt! I hope to teach Holly some tricks so we can be even more entertaining and fun. Holly is a quick learner and wants so much to please and obey us. It is, of course, hard for her to resist chasing a critter in the backyard when she is off leash when we tell her not to, but she always comes back when called. She has a couple of neighborhood dogs that she befriended, one being a husky puppy, Cain, who has now surpassed her in size and strength and can out-wrestle her, but Holly is so much faster and more agile than he is. They play hard, but when Holly needs a break from Cain, she makes him chase her. They run around the pool and Holly has to actually lie down and wait for him to catch up to her. It is very comical. With unfamiliar dogs, we are working on a program to help her overcome her fear-based, on-leash reactivity, and that is coming along very well. Speaking of agility, we have taken Holly for agility training. She loves it. As a border collie, she is a natural. Joe and I as handlers, not so much, but we enjoy spending time together and learning. We are teaching Holly to catch a frisbee. She can catch it when we throw it to her. So now we are throwing it beyond her so she has to run and jump for it. It is taking awhile, but she is getting the hang of it. Considering Holly did not know how to play with us or even play fetch when we first got her, we think she has come a long way. She enjoys playing with us in our backyard. We play hide and seek, keep away with the football, and, Holly's favorite, tug of war. She will play tug endlessly, even without being rewarded with treats. Holly also enjoys our walks in the woods and is a great camping dog and travels contentedly in the car without any difficulty whatsoever. Holly is the perfect little girl inside the house. She waits patiently and quietly for us to be finished with or come home from work and then she is ready to go for a walk or play. She does still play by herself when she gets too bored tossing her toys up in the air and then pouncing upon them as well as playing with her squeaky toys, which are her favorites. She has never destroyed anything in our house, although she does rearrange things sometimes, like scattering clothes from a laundry basket or relocating a shoe. Holly has brought so much joy back into our home since our first dog died over a year ago. Despite being challenging at times, it has been a privilege to say that we rescued her, although, really, it is she who rescued us from the emptiness we felt with the loss of our previous dog. We love her to pieces!

Ludwig

I have to say that Ludwig keeps making huge strides. The first year we had him was really him getting used to us and making him trust us. He adjusted really well and he let us love him. The second year was him letting go of his history and becoming a playful puppy. He knows that we will never hurt him and that we only want the best for him. He rarely shows insecurity and knows his place in our "pack". He is absolutely attached to my boys. He sleeps with my oldest son - in his bed - and would not have it any other way. At the end of his day he wants to be with him wherever he is. He loves when his friends come over so that he can annoy them with whatever game he choices to play. Around my youngest son is when the border collie comes out. He has to wake him in the morning because he needs to know where he is. He climbs on his bed and waits for him to get up. Once he has gotten out of bed he follows him to the couch for his morning cuddle. He waits patiently to see him after we walk to school to get him. Once we are home or on the weekends he loves to follow him outside and watch over him. We play a game of "find Max" and Luddie never gets stumped. As you can see from the pictures he loves to play. Frisbee, soccer, baseball and tennis are his passions. BUT, any water is what he absolutely g oes crazy for. He loves to swim and play in the sprinklers in the summer. It is his daily exercise. He go through many sprinklers in the summer. As you can see from one of the pictures, he got his summer cut so that he stay cool and dry faster after his water fun. I can't say enough about him. He is truly a member of this family and we can't imagine not having him. I don't want to keep going on and on but just know that he is perfect and loved. If you have any questions or want more, just ask. I love talking about him.

Molly

Molly is, of course, an absolute delight. Very healthy, except for some fatty masses. She has slimmed down and gets plenty of exercise. She walks well on a leash and we take her for walks every day. As you may recall, we wondered about the length of walk she could handle. Well, she does 3 miles with ease now. If she is becomes overheated while walking, she will simply stop and lie down- not in physical distress, she is just letting us know. This has only happened twice, as Annie and I are easily trainable. > Annie had been working with her with the ball. At first, it would bounce off her head. Now, she can easily catch or retrieve it. She does not yet always return the ball, however. > She can be in the yard without the leash, altho we have to watch her closely. But she now listens to commands and will stop, if she starts to run after another dog. She also still barks at other dogs outside, if she is inside. But we are working on both of these. > She is a very loving dog, and well-loved in return. Annie is her alpha dog, of course, and Molly tracks what she is doing very closely. She is not left alone for any length of time, although she has not shown any signs of anxiety from being alone, other than sadness. > Annie asks me to tell you that she has been thinking of you often and would like to visit this fall, perhaps on the way to Ann Arbor.

Molly

Molly is, of course, an absolute delight. Very healthy, except for some fatty masses. She has slimmed down and gets plenty of exercise. She walks well on a leash and we take her for walks every day. As you may recall, we wondered about the length of walk she could handle. Well, she does 3 miles with ease now. If she is becomes overheated while walking, she will simply stop and lie down- not in physical distress, she is just letting us know. This has only happened twice, as Annie and I are easily trainable. > Annie had been working with her with the ball. At first, it would bounce off her head. Now, she can easily catch or retrieve it. She does not yet always return the ball, however. > She can be in the yard without the leash, altho we have to watch her closely. But she now listens to commands and will stop, if she starts to run after another dog. She also still barks at other dogs outside, if she is inside. But we are working on both of these. > She is a very loving dog, and well-loved in return. Annie is her alpha dog, of course, and Molly tracks what she is doing very closely. She is not left alone for any length of time, although she has not shown any signs of anxiety from being alone, other than sadness. > Annie asks me to tell you that she has been thinking of you often and would like to visit this fall, perhaps on the way to Ann Arbor.

Izabel

Having lost my best friend I was hesitant to open my heart again and wondered if it would be fair, there were big paws to fill. Knowing what joy I had I knew I had to accept the challenge. Early on in my search I ran into a pup named Izabel, what an adorable pup and so full of life. The description told of her personality, enjoying laying in the yard watching the birds fly over is what caught my eye and with that I had to meet this girl. I was looking for a dog that might enjoy camping, hiking and hopefully agility. Then I was told that this beautiful little girl might have hip problems. I stopped looking for dogs because I knew I had found my girl but was concerned about the hips. Izabel needed a home and her eyes told me it was with me. I drove eleven hours to Southern Illinois to meet Izabel and was greeted on the step by a big barking dog. Once inside the big dog was eager to meet me yet was hesitant. Though I stayed there for a couple hours it only took an instant for me to know this was the pup. I didn’t care if this little girl had bad hips or not. If she wasn’t able to do the activities I already enjoyed, we would find our own activities. This was my girl. Izabel and I played, walked and once back inside she laid by my feet. With my application now being actively reviewed it was time for me to head home, Izabel laid in front of the door and did not want me to leave. Two long weeks later I was notified that I had been approved by the board and accepted to adopt Izabel. I drove the eleven hour journey once again to bring my little girl home. Izabel was afraid, in her short life she had already been through so much and now I was giving her a forever home. It’s now been six months since I have adopted Izabel and what a ride it has been. I started with a pup that was very uncertain of herself and life as a whole and have worked very hard to give her the confidence she needs. The most important thing I have done for Izabel has been giving her my love, patience, allowing her to see that life is not that scary and that she can trust me. She has gone from a fearful little pup to a confident young dog with her own ideas. In the past six months we have completed beginner and intermediate obedience classes, taken 2 trips to the BWCAW, taken sheep herding lessons and been on half a dozen other camping/hiking trips. She’s a wonderful, happy and healthy little girl whose hips don’t seem to be a problem. Some day I hope to participate in agility, this only if she wants to and her body is healthy. I often have wondered what breeds Izabel is but know that it’s her heart that I love and that’s what matters most. Izabel is exactly what I needed after loosing my Rilee girl. Rilee had shown me more happiness than I even knew existed and I was afraid I had lost that forever. Izabel has brought laughter into my life, I have never laughed so much. How did I get so lucky? In the beginning I was worried if I could love another pup and concerned about the giant paws this new pup would need to fill. This concern has long since vanished and Izabel has shown me that she has no intentions of filling Rilee’s paw prints, she’s making her own tracks. Thank you so much for allowing me to adopt Izabel and thank you so much for giving her a loving and supportive foster home until I found her. Izabel is an amazing girl and has already taught me much. Thank You! Jami and Izabel