Our "Precious" family addition

Precious----that was my grandma's favorite word. She called everything she held dear to her, "precious". It took much soul-searching, eliciting suggestions from others and looking deep into the eyes of this cute little puppy (that we had adopted from Furry Friends), before we finally realized that the name Precious was just perfect for her. Precious was part of a litter of pups that was born on December 3, 2010 to a hound mix (Kara) that a Furry Friends' foster mom had lovingly taken in. We had never gotten a puppy before, so we weren't too sure exactly what to expect. Cleaning up those piles of "messes", plus getting up at 3AM to take her out so we didn't have to clean up "messes" (ha! ha!), was a bit of a challenge, but we're happy to say that after about two and a half weeks of being in our family, Precious is now housebroken!! We already had 2 adult dogs in our family, and weren't sure how Precious was going to be received by them, but happily they now all get along
and love to play together too!! Precious has found her place in our family and now feels right at home with us, as you can see in the picture! I'm sure my grandma feels we named her right too, as Precious truly is "precious" to us!!! Thanks much to all the Furry Friends Network people for helping us in our search and with all the housebreaking "advice"! You all surely are God' angels to these special dogs! Thanks again!

How Brita joined our Family

The day after Christmas of 2005 was a sad day for us. That was the day we were forced to say goodbye to our beloved little black furball, Rascal. Rascal was 15 years old and we believe she was ready to go. It still was hard to say goodbye to her even though we knew it was time to let her go. Three months later, in March of 2006, we knew it was time to fill the void that losing Rascal brought to us, so we began searching through the pictures on the Furry Friends Network. For some reason, we repeatedly were drawn back to the picture of a beautiful Husky mix whose name was Brita. Brita is the German word for "strength" and Brita truly is a dog that had/has much inner strength. When Brita was but a pup herself, she had a litter of pups of her own, however, 5 of the 8 pups did not survive. Brita fell into a depression and wouldn't eat. She lost much weight and was pencil thin, however she soon realized that she still had 3 pups to take of. She dug down deep within herself
and found the strength she needed to care for these 3 remaining pups. She surely was named correctly, as she truly did rise to the occasion and demonstrated great inner strength after losing those pups. So where is Brita now, you ask? She's now healthy (her weight is perfect!) and well and enjoying her days with her new family! Brita wants to thank all the humans who helped her to find this family and for all who played a part in saving her life. She surely does have a good life now and she's eternally grateful!! Doggie kisses to Furry Friends!!

Dexter, adopted Nov. 2008

(Re-submitting this due to typos and the picture errors.)

On a pleasant September Sunday afternoon in 2008, we took our Dachschund, Ollie, to the dogpark, Canine Meadows for some exercise and playtime. While there, we saw an old friend, Shari, who had a Dachshund and aother dog with her. We admired the Dachshund and were told that he was a rescued dog from Furry Friends Netwrk and she was providing a foster home for him. Dester, at that time was about 5 months old. We "introduced" Dexter to Ollie. They immediately played well together, romping through the park. We had both been talking about getting a second dog. That evening we went on the FFN website to familiarize ourselves with the organization. The more we talked, we knew that Dexter had to become the new canine addiion to our family. The next day, we called Shari and started the adoption process. On Nov. 8, 2008, we brought him home.
Dexter will be three years old in May, 2011. He has been a wonderful addition to our family. For his first 41/2 years, Ollie as an "only dog". Having a companion has been great for Ollie. Dexter is a very smart dog. He keeps Ollie busy, rompng and playng with their wide variety of toys. We live adjacent to a city park and Dexter just loves to go to the park. He is great with our grandchildren. He is a dog with a lot of character. We rescued Dexter, but we like to think that he found us just at the time when we wanted and needed another dog.

Pictures: Dexter, alone; Ollie, left, Dexter, right

Diane and Harry Kehler

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File #0 Ollie & Dexter (2).jpg exceeds the maximum file size. Error: 1.

Dexter, adopted Nov. 2008

On a pleasant September Sunday afternoon in 2008, we took our Dachschund, Ollie, to the dogpark, Canine Meadows for some exercise and playtime. While there, we saw an old friend, Shari, who had a Dachshund and aother dog with her. We admired the Dachshund and were told that he was a rescued dog from Furry Friends Netwrk and she was providing a foster home for him. Dester, at that time ws aout 5 months old. We "introduced" Dexter to Ollie. They immediately played well together, romping through the park. We had both been talking about getting a second dog. That evening we went on the FFN website to familiarize ourselves with the organization. The more we talked, we knew that Dexter had to become the new canine addiion to our family. The next day, we called Shari and started the adoption process. On Nov. 8, 2008, we brought him home.

Dexter will be three years old in May, 2011. He has been a wonderful addition to our family. For his first 41/2 years, Ollie as an "only dog". Having a companion has been great for Ollie. Dexter is a very smart dog. He keeps Ollie busy, rompng and playng with their wide variety of toys. We live adjacent to a city park and Dexter just loves to go to the park. He is great with our grandchildren. He is a dog with a lot of character. We rescued Dexter, but we like to think that he found us just at the time when we wanted and needed another dog.

Pictures: Dexter, alone; Ollie, left, Dexter, right

Diane and Harry Kehler
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File #0 Ollie & Dexter.jpg exceeds the maximum file size. Error: 1.

Mattie

Mattie came to live with me at the end of May 2008. She is such a loving and well behaved dog, I can't understand why her previous caregivers gave her up to a shelter. As soon as I sit down on the sofa, she's there on my lap. She greets everyone with a lick. I saw a sign once that read, "Beware of dog. He can't hold his licker." That's Mattie. When the alarm goes off in the morning, and I put my feet down on the floor, she's right there licking my knees. That's her morning greeting.
We had a little problem with her adjusting to the cat when she first joined our family, but they get along ok now. I would'nt say Mattie likes the cat, but she tolerates him.
Mattie helps me keep in shape because she loves to go for walks. We walk twice every day, no matter what the weather. I take her for a walk before I go to work in the morning, and again after I get home from work in the evening. She loves the snow and the cold. She has a very thick coat of fur. She's not fond of the summer heat, so I get her trimmed each year at the beginning of Summer. I've included pictures of her with her winter coat and summer haircut.

Bart and Kip, adopted January 2009

This Christmas was wonderful for the boys. Joan and her daughters, who adopted them as puppies and had to surrender them after a family crisis, have kept in touch and sent presents. This year they sent gifts, including one from Elli, a sheltie adopted from another rescue. They LOVED the treats. We think Elli and Bart would like the toys, if they ever got to play with them. Kip loves toys so much. He's always got one in his mouth. When you call him, he goes back to pick up a toy before he comes. I often say he's like a woman with a purse, he won't go anywhere without his toy. In any case, it was so funny to watch him as Christmas Day progressed, taking command of all the toys. The photo of Kip shows that eventually he ended up with all three, giving a low growl if anyone (canine or feline) came near so that he thought a toy was threatened. The next day I noticed Bart and Kip in their crates. Kip had all the Christmas toys with him and a pile of other toys right outside of his
crate. When I shared this story with Joan she said that this was classic Kip, that he often had all the dog and cat toys in his crate, and sometimes people toys as well.
So, Kip is still the clown. He makes us all laugh so much, with his toys and with his howl whenever someone scratches his hips or tummy. And he is the ultimate couch potato. Though he will get off the couch if we insist, clearly he is out of sorts when he has to. Bart, on the other hand (as his picture suggests), is such a serious, sensitive dog. He doesn't so much look for affection as give it. Alvin, Makaya and I each think we're Bart's favorite because of his seeking each of us out to put his head in a lap. And he has become the therapy dog. Kip doesn't have the talent, though he greets most of the clients and makes them laugh. In fact, all three dogs come out to greet clients, then when I send them back into the private side of the house Kip and Elli go easily, then spend the time hanging out together. But when I'm coaxing the dogs out of the office area, Bart lies down. (He's learned from Gandhi, passive resistance.) It's like he's saying "Mom, I really want to stay," an
d, unless there's a compelling reason not to, I let him stay. Much of the time he greets the client and goes to sleep, unless or until the client is crying. When someone cries he comes over and puts his head in their lap. A few people are oblivious, but others have thrown their arms around him and cried into his fur. It's so touching it makes me cry.
And here is a photo of Makaya with the three dogs on Christmas. It only took 14 pictures to get this one (LOL).