Charley - SC

An update from Deb, Charley's new furever mom...as you can see Charley is right at home! Good morning - I wanted to give you an update on Charley. He is adjusting extremely well. When we first picked him up last Sunday, he cried and howled for a good hour in the car. It was heartbreaking! He finally let his body relax and sat down. He soon slept a little. He has been my little buddy ever since. He was not so quick to get used to my husband, however. He growled and barked and bared his teeth at him several times on Sunday and Monday. I stayed home from work on Monday to help everyone with the adjustment. My pet sitter, Laura, who comes daily to walk the boys at midday, stopped by to meet Charley on Monday. He barked at her but started wagging his tail pretty quickly. Laura has been involved extensively in dog training and some rescue groups. While she was at the house, my husband stopped by from work. Charley went ballistic when he saw Walt, barking, growling, etc. Laura advised us to do two things - 1. ignore his outburst and go about your business and 2. for Walt to begin serving the food at mealtimes. We did these two things and have had NO further issues. After Walt fed Charley on Monday night, Charley curled up in Walt's lap on the couch! Our four-year old dachshund, Oliver, decided to ignore Charley's existence the first day spending the first 5-6 hours pretending that Charley wasn't there. Then that first night, Oliver decided he wanted to play with Charley. Charley was sleeping and Oliver started crying and poking him with his nose to try to get him up to play. Charley wasn't quite ready to play yet, though. On Tuesday night, however, they discovered the run and nip game where they now chase each other all over the house. They have become fast friends and both want to be in Momma's chair when she is working on her laptop. Also, by the way, the first night we set up a bed for Charley in our bedroom including the blanket he had come with. My husband and I got into bed and turned out the light. Immediately, Charley hopped up on the bed and looked at us like, "I'm not staying down there when you guys are up here!" He's been in the bed with us ever since! We could not have asked for a smoother transition! Charley has had NO house-breaking accidents, is eating and drinking well. He enjoys his daily walks with Laura and they are going to walk with me today. We visited the vet yesterday and he said everything looked fine except that he is about a pound and a half underweight and that he has a little gum disease which will need to be taken care of sometime in the next year. We took both boys at the same time. Charley did not want to get his temperature taken until he watched Oliver first. The vet has placed him on Revolution (like our Oliver) as it is the best heart worm medication here and also prevents the fleas and ticks. We gave Charley a bunny toy the first day. He has pulled most of the stuffing out but he likes his toy. He has not bothered any of Oliver's toys and vice versa. Thanks so much for helping bring our family together.

Chester - SC

Randy sent us an update on his new "son" Chester! Chester seems to be doing wonderful, especially when you consider he was in eight (8) homes in 2011. It's almost like he's wondering how long it will be until he's moved to his next house. But, so long as I'm here, he's a keeper. He's adjusting well. He and my Elly Grace are getting along and playing well and he seems to respect my old girl, Cheyenne. Chester came to be with me before Christmas and I had time off work and could stay home with him. I'd like to thank all the folks of FDR, especially Nadine Peacock, for the fast application process to ensure I'd have that time. It was very important to me not to get any new family member and then leave them when I go off to work. As Chester and I got to know one another, I noted immediately something about Chester was a different During my time off, we paid a visit to my vet for a meet and greet checkup. We also learned the dangers of being a double-dapple; much more prone to deafness and/or blindness and Chester may be blind in his right eye. He cloaks it very well, but with Chester being my 5th generation of Dachshunds, I knew. At the recommendation of my vet team, Chester and me have an appointment with a highly recommended canine ophthalmic specialist next Monday. Chester has some emotional issues (understandably) we are trying to understand and address. First, he has terrible separation anxiety when I leave to go to work and gets very upset. That is also a very good sign that he is bonding well with me and his new home. We are currently working on his near obsession with his toys. Likely a result of being moved so much, one of the few belongings that has remained with him on his journey in 2011 is his tractor tire that he chews - yes, a real tractor tire! :) But, even in three short weeks, he has made stellar progress. In all my years, oddly, Chester is my first boy. Never had a son before, but he has quickly become my buddy and Chester is definitely in his furever home. You folks can't have him back! :) I've attached a photo of him on the bed at the country place guarding his tire!

Choo Choo aka Whaley

All is well here with Choo Choo. We actually call him Whalye now, hard for me to scream "Choo Choo" I sound like a train. He is adjusting better everyday and is enjoying his new sister Maddie. Maddie is a 4 year old dachshund and the main reason I wanted to adopt another dog. He is like a part of the family now. Most of the time they lounge around together and play, he really brings back the puppy in her. It has been a great experience. He is very curious and tends to follow me around the house. He is very lovable and sweet though and he definitely enjoys the attention. I am very happy I decided to adopt with Furever DAchschund, it has been a great experience. I have forwarded you some pictures, I hope they go through.

Charlea

I wanted to forward a couple of email updates from Don and Nina who adopted Charlea last weekend. I think their story is extra special because it just happened by chance that they had adopted Charlea's daughter, Sophie, when she was a puppy from the same breeder in Vermont who gave us the breeder dogs. Sophie died last month from an immune mediated disease and they were devastated. They saw Charlea on Petfinder and noticed the odd spelling of her name as well as the fact that she looked like Sophie. They emailed me directly to find out for sure and they were not disappointed. I have included a couple of updates below. "Charlea is doing great here. She's still the tummy rub queen ever, of course, and sometimes gets so excited about tummy rubs and puppy talk that she starts vocalizing back, so that's fun. Lots of tail wags and paw wiggles. We have been amazed that she has settled in so well, without seeming to be wondering where all the other dogs are; we thought she'd miss doggy company, since virtually all her life, she has had lots of four-legged buddies. She's funny about going for walks; sometimes, she just sits and gives us the "you mean you want me to walk??? you've gotta be kidding..." look, and other times, she just scampers along, glad to be going. She's doing well with pottying outside, and last night, went to the door, and sat there looking at us until we realized she wasn't just idly sitting there, but was waiting to go out. Lots of praise and pats, and pieces of the treats you brought along for when she does go outside. We know she's house trained, but it's a new place, and we don't have a doggy door, so she probably needs some reinforcement. She does love those treats (and almost all other kids of foods, not that we give her lots of table food, but we were hulling strawberries the other night, and she looked really interested, and sure enough, gulp--yum! more??)."

Camper

Camper is doing just great. He is bonding with Alvin and they love to go outside side by side. Camper is like a reindeer. We play catch every morning after he does his morning business. He loves to run across the yard chasing the ball. He had a bath but he was squirming the whole time. He ran around the house like a rocket after he got out. He sleeps with us in bed and loves to cuddle. He has had a few accidents in the house but they are always after he comes in the house so now we tell him to go to the bathroom and he goes. He is still a work in progress but we have lots of patience. He has torn up about 12 of his favorite toys to shreds. He has even destroyed his Kong ball by biting it to shreds and the special Frisbee Kerensa bought him that is tear proof got ripped to shreds. He loves his food so no problems there. Everyone loves him when we take the boys for a walk around the neighborhood every day. He prances like a reindeer and jumps in the air like one when he chases the ball. We love him dearly and thank you for finding him for us. He is a lovebug and we really enjoy laughing at all the trouble he gets into. Have a great day. Cindy