The Story of Rocket J. Squirrel

My blonde, pink nosed and brown eyed son Rocky (also known as Rocket J. Squirrel, after Rocky the Flying Squirrel of Rocky and Bullwinkle fame) came to live with Katie (my 7 yr. old Sable Shepherd) and me the middle of October 2004. This was only 2 months after I adopted Katie who had been a brood bitch her entire life and was now being retired. The breeder (where I had gotten my first 2 shepherds) called me and asked me to take her because she wanted Katie to have an excellent home to live out her remaining years. Knowing how well treated and spoiled my other 2 had been she knew I was the one to be Katie's new Mom. I certainly had my hands full, with 2 new children who had been outdoors most of their lives!
Rocky was the survivor of a fire that left him without home. When his foster parents, Jay and Melinda, brought him to visit Kate and I, I fell in love with the boy. I guess you could say it was love at first sight.
Having been tied out all of his young life, Rocky has been adjusting to living in the house and learning house rules. He adores his stuffed animal collection and his 3 favorite ones are the "crew". The crew consists of Moose, Bear and Pig (AKA Pig Boy). When Rocky is upset or frustrated, I tell him to get his toys and he will then proceed to shake, toss about and occasionally chew one of the three guys. Bear is currently in pre-op awaiting surgery on his hand.
Rocky also has taken a definite liking to rawhide and bones the bigger the better. In addition, did I mention that he thinks he is a lap dog and that he likes to be in the driver's seat when we go out in the truck?
When Rocky first arrived, he was just beginning to learn his commands. I currently have the "sit command" down very well, the "stay command" is coming along but the "come command" is when the mood strikes him. We are working on that though and in the meantime he has a very large restricted area to run, play and explore. You see Rocky now resides in a log home on six acres, in the foothills of the Adirondacks, in Newport, New York.
Although both my children are characters and keep me on my toes at all times, I would not trade either of them for anything.

It was love at first sight for Holly's new family. The moment they met Holly they knew she was worth waiting for. Holly still needed her spay surgery and heartworm treatment so for over two months, the family waited. Meanwhile, their seven year old daughter, Kaitlyn, showed off Holly's pictures at school and even made Holly a Valentine's day card. The night before they were to finally pick her up was "like Christmas eve. We were so excited, we couldn't even sleep." And it looks as if Holly is just as happy. Not only does she now have Keith and Kristy to love and spoil her, but she has two children (Kaitlyn and Madison) to cuddle with.

** Hannah **

When we first saw Hannah we saw a scared little girl that needed a loving home. We now see a beautiful, happy, smart, brave & loving girl that brings us joy and love everyday.

Hannah has gone through her first obedience class and did wonderful. At first she was a little nervous, but as class went on you could tell she loved being there. One of her favorite things to do is go for a car ride. We are truly blessed that she has come into our lives.

Massimo (R) has joined his new family!!!! He has a wonderful Mom named Cori and her housemate named Jessy to spoil him along with 2 other playmates (a big sister named Zoey to teach him how to be a wonderful dog and to keep his little "puppy behind" in line and another puppy named Calvin [pictured on left] to run off his puppy energy with).
Cori's update: Everything is going great with the pups! Zoey has taken the role of "moderator". She stands by the puppies while they play and steps in when she thinks they're getting too rough. They usually crawl in bed with me and mouth each other for a few minutes, and then Massi jumps out of bed, grabs a toy, and brings it back to play tug-of-war with Zoey. In fact, in the mornings, he starts crying at 5:30 am, not because he has to go out, but because he wants to play! So, we've kind of gotten in the routine of getting up then, taking him out, coming back in and letting him play with Zoey in the bed for half an hour, and then we take all three out for a walk or to play.