07/16/05
   Sorry its been so long. The "Bug" has been awful. We continue to make progress. The only person Tuck is still nervous with is Doug's Mom. We are not sure why, but he has his own timing, and we cont. to be patient. Everything else is good. He is successfully visiting in the house the past three days. No major upsets with the boys. Poof slapped him in the face the first time, but all he did was jerk his head back and then came to me. Paddy seems to really like him. He snuffled him good, and lets Tucker nose him and snuffle without any fluffing. I think Poof would like to play, he's just sooo big. They are both mischievous characters, so I won't be surprised if they develop a game or two. As Tuck gets more comfy, there have been a few naughty behaviors. A little chewing on a lawn chair after a reprimand, Ran over to the neighbors yard when I was putting the van in the yard to unload groceries. He doesn't bother when Doug does it. I'm the buddy, He's the Boss. He did come to me after I got his leash, and went after him. There really hasn't been anything significant that he has done wrong. Adjustments of the magnitude he is going through are not easy. But he is doing splendidly, all things considered. I cont. to make progress with his grooming. He can be testy, but nothing scary. He has snapped, but not with intent to bite, only letting me know that wasn't comfortable. It can be anywhere, on any given day. I Just reassure him, pet a little, and go back to it. He sighs, and relaxes again. So just a little perseverance, and he will go along with it. I feel very safe with him. Just need to work on discipline. He is very smart, and we hope, with time, will cont. to relax and feel better and more confident. That time in is the key. As you can tell, we are very happy with Tucker, and again, thank you for making all of this possible. Are their any more formalities to go through to finalize the adoption? Monday will be the beginning of the third week, and I can't see any reason to make any changes. We love our Tucker! I hope to have new pics. again soon, if you would like me to cont. sharing.

06/29/05
    I am pleased to say that things are progressing very positively here. Tug seemed to enjoy the ride home. Our kennel is a cage type, so he got to smell and see, and he was calmer than I expected. He Ran the yard, and marked the edges. Stayed away from us for a while, though you could tell he wanted to make contact. Poor honey was so shy. By the time he had been here three hours, he ate some food from my hand and then scarfed the rest in his bowl. The Polley's had told us he probably wouldn't eat for days! He had a good night outside. No barking or whining or any worrisome behaviors. I checked on him a couple of times after bathroom trips, and he was sleeping all laid out on his side in the middle of the yard.
   This morning he was chasing a crow, and looking very free and easy. He was leery of me at first, but it didn't take long for him to come for a pet. He loves it when I massage his rump. It was off and on all day. He would be friendly without hesitation, and the next time I went out, he would stay out of reach. Doug was away getting a sleep study done for apnea, so I have had the most contact. He let me groom on him this afternoon for over an hour. He let me work on his rear area without a quibble. As a matter of fact he napped through most of it!
  Other than the first few minutes he was here, and all our neighborhood kids showed up to greet him, He has not been doing any urinating when he is touched. The one 10 yr. old boy was getting his face kissed before the end of the evening last night. And he ran to greet him this morning when he returned to visit Tug
   Cindy, I am so thrilled with the changes Tug has made since we took him out of the Polley's. Most of the things they warned us about have not happened. He is not pining for them. We haven't brought him in the house yet. The kitties are not entirely thrilled yet, and we are letting them adjust to his presence at the slider. There was a couple of tousles when he bumped the screen trying to sniff at them. They are the ones who were aggressive. Not Tug. He had been whining to them earlier the same as he does to the dogs next door that he can visit with through the fence. I felt he wanted to be pals. He did lunge at the screen after Poof attacked, and Paddy joined in. But he didn't look vicious, more like he was playing. Nick, the ten yr. old, called him away, and he did without any hesitation.
  He was leery of Doug when he came home, but with a little coaxing, he let him pet him. So now that I've written the novel of Tug's first day in his new life. You can rest easy, that things are going very well indeed. He seems to be adjusting very well for the insecure mess we first met. The Polleys were amazed we got near him, let alone how well it went. I feel a strong connection with him, and since I will be spending the most time with him, it’s a thrill. I will be happy to keep you updated every few days if you like. The big test will be when he is ready to come in the house, which he was showing signs this evening that he would like to. If the boys don't get with the program, we will put them in a room when Tug is in. I really think that they will adapt, Paddy showed a lot of interest, and only fluffed if Poof did. So there are more adventures to come.
   Thanks to you and all the volunteers who made this possible. We are delighted with Tug.

03/22/05
Tia is doing very well. She has made herself right at home. We noticed a small abscess on her belly, but we took her to the vet and got it taken care of. She has a lot of love to give and wants to please whoever she is around. She gets lots of attention and gets a bit excited when Bonnie comes home at 7:00 pm. Try telling a dog no running in the house when they are overly excited. She is actually sleeping in front of the tv right now. She behaves well in the house (except for the above mentioned episode). She is such a good dog. We are glad we chose her. Had a funny thing happen last week when Bonnie went to put her outside to go to bed. She jumped up on the bed, put her head on the pillow and was ready for bed. Just like she belonged there. She gives lots of kisses and receives lots of hugs and kisses.  She is well trained and knows "no" when she is told no. We can't say enough things about her. We love this dog. We hope she knows she is here to stay.

02/07/05
I know that it has been over my two-week trial period, and I wanted to say that....
Chobi (aka: Ty is the best dog ever. really. Ever, in the history of the world.... and you can never have him back. :)
Anyway, i really wanted to thank everyone that came out to centennial and helped me with my choice. Chobi (choe-bee) seems pretty happy here in the Tri-Cities. He has two good friends next door that he is always eager to play with. He is always quiet, unless he believes he's going to go on a run. He has a new doghouse that he never uses, but he is not keen on escaping or digging either - so everybody is happy. He seems to know most commands already and has even come with shaking hands and catching biscuits installed. :)
I ended up going went with a different name since he had only been named Ty for a week. I mulled over a few other names, including Tyger, but went with Chobi (Bengali for Photograph) in the end.

09/05/04
Tequila is doing better every day as is our other turkeys. She hardly ever barks (which is nice considering our Husky won't shut up and he's loud) and when Tequila does bark at the neighbors it's a low bark, so they probably don't even hear her. She has some definite issues to overcome. As Teri probably told you Tequila throws a fit when you place a leash on her, we have a fenced acre the dogs roam so that is nice for her. She also scrounges for food like it’s going to be her last meal. But she has already made strides with that one. I have never seen a dog sit on her butt and sit pretty as fast as Tequila does, now that she's learned that’s when I'll give her treats. She's also learning patience to let the other dogs get their treats without grabbing them from me. She still doesn't like the doggie’s bedroom though. I think it's to enclosed and that scares her for some reason. Like she's been left in a room for too long or something. So we let her sleep outside and are hoping with time and increase frequency of her coming in and hanging out that that fear will go away. She sure is beautiful. I can't imagine someone leaving her behind.