Adopted April and August 2006

5/29/11

All of our Forget Me Not dog friends, Crystal, Jack, and Ace [adopted 2010], are doing great. Ace (the pit bull we adopted about 18 months ago) is well integrated into the family. (He and Crystal didn’t get along at first, but they’re fine now.) He still chases our cat Johnny from time to time, but when Johnny gets tired of it he just turns around and slaps Ace on the nose. All the critters are healthy, happy, and loved.

9/27/06:

Jack! He's adorable! What a love bug that guy is. He and Crystal adore each other. They're best buds. And yes, Crystal is still Queen of the Dawgs. John is definitely getting more sun time. The dogs play with each other and with the kids, so Crystal doesn't tease John so much. And John and Jack have become good friends! Jack plays with John, but never chews on him, so John thinks he's great.

Dang, can that puppy eat. The little dude puts away more chow than I would have thought possible. But he's not fat, he's just growing like a weed. He's gotten over his nervousness about Daniel. They're good pals. He's gotten over his nervousness about other things too. He used to cringe if you tried to pick him up, and he was jumpy about sudden noises, but now he's cool with it all.

Thank YOU for giving us the opportunity to adopt the little guy. He's the perfect addition to our family. Crystal is much happier, John is much happier, and we're delighted to have such a sweet little soul among us. 

9/3/06:

We picked up Chevy yesterday, right on schedule. He is just so adorable! I felt really bad because he didn’t' want to leave his "pack" of doggie friends in the parking lot, and he was very worried in the car. But we all cuddled him and petted him, and he put his head in Orion's lap and cuddled.

When we got home, he met Crystal, and it was love at first sight! Well, maybe not first sight, but within the first five minutes. Chevy came up to Crystal very tentatively. Crystal backed away from him at first (she can be shy around dogs). Pretty soon they were poking each other with their noses in a friendly sort of way. Then Chevy did a play bow/wiggle, and Crystal's eyes got huge! You could practically hear her thinking "YIPPEE! That thing speaks my language!" Then they started playing in earnest. Those two wore each other out! They tore all over the yard, partying with the kids and having a grand old time. Chevy ate a big dinner, then crawled under Orion's bed and went to sleep. (He seems to like "dens.")

Chevy, Crystal and the kids have had another fun day today. He's snuggled up on the couch with me now, and Crystal is on the floor next to me chomping a chewie. There's been very little grouching from anybody. Crystal has growled Chevy a time or two over chew toys, but nothing serious, just the standard "back off, I'm dominant" thing. And you're right, he rolls right over for her, so things don't go any farther. They're getting along fabulously.

Chevy is such a sweet little fellow! He was pretty shy at first, particularly around Daniel, which makes me wonder if a man was mean to him at some point. But he's relaxed quite a bit today. And he's so loving and cuddly! We're all crazy about the boy. Fenris has renamed Chevy "Jack." (He's obsessed with Pirates of the Caribbean.) Jack seems to like his new name just fine. He's very interested in John, the cat. He dances around and woofs at Johnny, sometimes poking him with his nose but never biting. John keeps staring at Jack, as if wondering "What is that thing, anyway?" I think he's really happy that Crystal is playing with Jack and not teasing him anymore! Thank you for giving us the opportunity to adopt this dear little guy. He's very special.

7/28/06:

Wow, has it really been three months? In some ways it seems even longer--Crystal is such an important part of our family. She's doing very well. She's a healthy, happy girl, although she did have one kind of strange health issue last month. The lymph glands in her face (the ones located near her cheekbones) swelled up for no apparent reason. A course of antibiotics and light steroids seemed to clear it up, and it hasn't come back. Our vet wasn't sure exactly what caused it. She thought it might have been latent bacteria from Crystal's exposure to river water, but that was just a guess. At any rate, she's just fine now. Oh, she's grown a little bit. She's now about 45 pounds, and a little taller than she was.

Crystal's personality is delightful. She's such a sweet, funny girl. Very affectionate, but with a mind of her own, and a great sense of humor. The boys have a great time playing with her in the sprinklers and kiddy pool. Being a spaniel, she loves the water and splashes right along with them. She does a fabulous "cannonball."

She's doing very well in obedience. We're doing clicker-training with her, and it's working just fine. I don't know if you ever got to see Crystal just open up and run, but that dog is FAST! She zooms around the yard like a furry rocketship. We're thinking of doing some backyard agility with her when she's old enough (about 18 months, evidently, for full joint development). We're not interested in serious competition--I don't believe in pushing my kids OR dogs. But Crystal seems like a girl who would love to have a "job," so we thought we'd give it a try.

Her only behavioral issue is a shyness around new dogs. She tends to bark loudly at them when she first sees them. She acts agitated and worried, shifting her weight and hiding behind me. Once they're introduced, she mellows out, and they do the usual sniff routine and will even play together. It's not a big deal, but I hate to see her stress out. I know exposure to more dogs would help her get over this, but that's tough to accomplish because of her extreme carsickness. We don't travel with her more than we absolutely have to, because she just gets so ill, poor baby. We're hoping that her carsickness improves with age. There's also a park opening up less than a mile away from us this fall, so that may be a place for her to visit with other dogs.

We're grateful for Crystal every day. She is a wonderful friend and companion. Thank you for letting us adopt her, and thank you for your ongoing work with other critters. I will certainly keep in touch, and send you updates from time to time. I love to brag about my furry "baby."