March 31, 2011

Rita's Millie is on her way!

Rita's Melissa adopted!

Congratulations to Rita's Melissa, who will be known as Nora, has found a new home with Jane and Alan.

Jane and Alan are a retired couple, who recently lost their girl, a 14-1/2 year old Lab, Scout. Alan likes to take frequent walks, and would take Scout for three 30-minute walks each day. After Alan and Jane met Melissa, we sat down and went over Melissa's allergies and the special diet she requires to keep the allergies in check. As we were talking, Alan wanted to take Melissa out on a walk, and she did great. While going over her known history and how she became such an amazing girl during her stay with us, Melissa let it be known that she wanted to go outside again. So, off Alan and Melissa went. At this point Jane said to me, Melissa's the one and this was confirmed by Alan upon their return from the second walk.

Melissa also gave the paws up sign, and took no time in telling me, 'Bobby, it's ok to go, I've found my new forever home! Hurry up and take my picture!'

Jane and Alan were so proud to let me know that their son and his family adopted a Golden from us about two years ago. Then, Jane pulled out the 2011 Fields of Gold calendar, proudly beaming and sharing with me that her son's boy Gus (Mr. G) is Mr. October 2011! He certainly is a beautiful boy. So, what a neat story here, son adopts, and now Mom and Dad, too!

We know that both Jane and Alan will provide a wonderful, loving and safe home for this girl who has been through so much during her previous life in Taiwan.

During Melissa's stay with us, it has been wonderful to watch and see this sweet girl blossom into a beautiful dozen roses, compared to when she first arrived from Taiwan as a very shy and timid girl. We were able to manage her allergies with the proper food, and her scratching had practically stopped. Her hair grew back in the many places where it had come off due to her scratching, and her coat now looks very full, shiny and beautiful. Melissa had the respect of our pups who were so kind to her, while careful not to play with her too rough. While on our walks, Melissa learned to leap after lizards, chase after birds (that were too far away), and see and smell the new and different surroundings she has probably never experienced before. Nestor even taught Melissa how to navigate going up and down the stairs, which comes in handy in her new forever home.

Melissa sends a big thank you to Rita, MJ and everyone in Taiwan who found and took such great care of Melissa, putting her on the road to recovery, and sending her to California. Melissa was happy to have been warmly received by the Welcome Waggin crew. She thanks Bethany for finding this great home! Nestor and I were very thankful for the opportunity for Melissa to have stayed with us as she begins her new life in the United States. A big thank you to Sandy for everything you have done and all the support you have given Melissa! Also, this wouldn't have been possible without Barbara's help!

Welcome home Melissa, now the Irish rose, Nora!

March 25, 2011

Maggie's Macy loses her housemate, Morgan

Just wanted to let you know that I "helped" Morgan cross the Rainbow Bridge today. She deteriorated rapidly the last few days and hadn't eaten (except force fed a bit of baby food) for a week. This morning when she didn't wag her tail or raise her head and didn't even want me snuggling with her - I knew it was time. I could tell she was absolutely miserable and had no quality of life left at all. I think she probably would have passed by herself either later today or tomorrow and I did not see any point in "prolonging" her obvious discomfort (even so they said she was not in pain - you definitely cannot feel great when you haven't eaten for a week).

So she is with Molly now - and IF there is a heaven - I know 100% for sure they are both there. They were both such amazing, loving and sweet dogs - and even so I adore Macy - she doesn't replace either Molly or Morgan - they each have their own individual personalities and are completely different. Nevertheless - Macy is a joy and will now get my undivided attention. I did feel bad because Morgan did require extra attention since she got sick (which I found out 2 weeks after getting Macy) and I have not spent a lot of one-on-one time with Macy playing with toys, teaching her to fetch etc. I now look forward to doing that - she is just an absolute delight and I am soo grateful I have her right now to help me thru this difficult time. She sure is a great "snuggle bug."

Anyway - hope your four-legged family are doing well. I haven't decided yet if I will get a "buddy" for Macy. I think she deserves to get my undivided attention for a while. I haven't had just one dog for 12-1/2 years now - it will be "different."

Anyhow - I will try to get some pics of Macy to send you in the near future - she is looking gorgeous - you should see her coat now - I get so many compliments on her - and everyone who meets her adores her - she has the cutest personality and is very "well mannered and cute" when meeting and greeting people.

I'll send some pics soon and keep in touch,
Denise and Macy

March 24, 2011

Happy Gotcha Day, Otto!

Wow, time really flies when you're having fun, because today is Otto's (formerly Rita's A-Fu) one year anniversary here with me. He's now 7 years old with the bounce and energy of a pup half his age. I'm so thankful to have this 90 pound bundle of love in my life. Thanks GRCGLA Rescue!

Janey

March 23, 2011

Welcome Maggie's Willy!

Willie arrived on Sunday. It was raining quite hard and we had to open the crate in the parking garage. He was very happy to arrive and is doing great - he's a wonderful dog!

March 14, 2011

Happy St. Patrick's Day from PangPang

It looks like Pang Pang found her Pot of Gold! Our fashion princess now has her bandannas (for every holiday & occasion) made especially for her by a staff member’s mom. She is a natural 'attention-getter' who knows how to pose, coax behind-the-year rubs and willingly smiles for the camera. She calmly and sweetly offers her paw, if for one second she is not the center of attention. She knows how to say, 'Look at me' without uttering a sound. There is no way to describe how much our seniors love her! Being able to take our golden girl to work where she brings so much joy, and then home again is such a blessing. Thank you again - Rita and all of you for making this possible.

Sharron

March 1, 2011

Update from Coco (Rita's Lecca)

Well what can I say about Coco other than she is perfect for us and absolutely wonderful. We think she is by far the best dog out there anyway (no offense to other dog families, if your dog was ours we would say the same about her too).

We have all gotten comfortable, some of us more than we should (meaning Coco). We bought Coco this huge fabulous dog bed, big, soft and perfectly comfortable. Does she use it? No, of course not. She prefers Charlie's favorite chair and takes full advantage of it when he is not home. She seems to understand that when he walks in the door she needs to appear as if she has been on the floor all day long. She has also taken an affinity for the couch which we do let her on as long as a sheet is on it. In fact, I think she is so smart that she seems to know when the sheet is not there she can't get on it.

Coco loves, loves, loves the pool. Unfortunately we have not been able to get a photo of her in the pool yet because she bounces in and bounces out as fast as she can. Its like watching a tennis ball bounce on the tennis court. She found the wading pool step the first day she was with us and will lie down on it, roll around and then bounce back out. Its very cute but can make it difficult to dry her off when it gets a little cold at night and its 10:30.

We have started training classes. Her food aggression has really improved. We can now put her food down, ask her to sit, and stay until we say OK you can eat. She is very smart. :-) However, we have not made much improvement in walking on a leash, or learning the phrase "no pool".

We took our first extended car ride up north this past weekend. She was a perfect dog. A great car rider and a very good guest. She loved playing with her "cousin" a black lab mix of some kind, and I do know she misses playing with the dogs at your house, Tom. So when we have a better handle on listening we will set up play dates.

I've attached two photos. Let me know if I need to resize them. One of the photos shows her stealing Charlie's chair. I love that one!

Thank you so very much for the opportunity to have Coco. She is a huge part of our family and its hard to imagine our lives without her. We love her so much!

We will keep updating you!

All our best
Mindy, Charlie, Chelsea, and Coco

PS Did I forget to say that she is so smart that she only "knows" her name when she wants to? Too cute and frustrating at times. lol