05/24/04
Update on Kia:  She doing real good.  She is also eating well.  We can tell she had some obedience class in the past so we're just polishing those skills.   Yesterday, we took her for a 3 mile trail walk.  This weekend if all goes well we will take her camping.  My wife is her companion most of the day.  After school/work, the kids and I got her.  We love Kia so much and we can tell she love us too.  Kia had lost a few pounds due to lots of walking, running, and playing.  But she is still beautiful and always carries a smiling face.  We brush her everyday to keep her hair healthy. Most of our neighbors greets her every time they see her.  She kinda a popular dog in the neighborhood.      
By the way, I got the microchip paperwork.  OK got to go.  Thanks for giving us Kia.

05/18/04
Thank you for writing and checking in on Sasha, feel free to do so any time.  We know we aren't the only people that care about her and it doesn't bother us in the slightest.  We are all doing very well and Sasha is doing wonderful. The major adjustment period for Sasha and our sheltie, Tavish, appears to be over and life has settled into a more normal routine.  We still deal with jealousy issues over attention occasionally and toys mostly from both our dogs but it isn't as frequent as it used to be.  At the very least, they seem to have developed a minimal understanding of each other - and considering the vast differences between the breeds, that's about the best we can hope for!  
Sasha is SUCH a darling girl.  Our entire family refers to her as "Nanna" as a nickname as she is so mothering, checks on everybody and is always right there making sure you're doing whatever it is you're doing correctly.  I must say though, she spends a great amount of her time trying to calm Tavish down - it's pretty funny to watch her put her big paw on his nose to give him the clue to quiet down.  Doesn't really work though.  
She has gained some weight since you last saw her, nothing too extravagant, maybe 5 to 7 pounds, but she looks lovely. When she first came to live with us, she didn't play with toys all that well, but look out now!  She'll play fetch occasionally for short periods, but loves tug-o-war and tag and is so gentle in each sport. 
All in all, she is doing very well and is a wonderful addition to our family.  The Sheltie may not agree all the time, but that's what happens when an only child gets a sibling!  We are taking both pups to the Oregon Coast for a long weekend next month and looking forward to the romps in the surf.  Tavish is a total beach bum, I think he'd sell Dustin and I for a life at the beach at any given moment, and we are hoping Sasha will enjoy herself just as much.
Again, feel free to contact us anytime you have questions, want an update, picture or even if you would like to see her.  I'm sure we could arrange something. 

05/16/04
SHEBA IS DOING GREAT. SHE LOVES WATER, PEOPLE OF ALL SIZES, WALKS, CAR RIDES & HER BACK YARD. SHE HAS TAKEN A COUPLE OF DIVES INTO THE KOI POND & TOLERATES THE THREE PARROTS. SHE CRATES UP NOW WITHOUT HESITATION, EATS WELL & GETS PLENTY OF EXERCISE WITH OR WITH OUT US. SHE SHED HER WINTER COAT LAST MONTH & THERE WAS ENOUGH FUZZ TO MAKE ANOTHER DOG. WE STILL LOOK AT YOUR WEB PAGE TO SEE IF TIPO HAS BEEN ADOPTED & FEEL BAD THAT SOMEONE HASN'T RECOGNIZED HIS QUALITIES. SHEBA IS A JOY TO LIVE WITH & WE CAN'T THANK YOU ENOUGH FOR BRINGING US TOGETHER. YOUR GROUP IS REALLY SPECIAL & ALL OF YOUR HARD WORK IS APPRECIATED BY THOSE THAT ADOPT THIS SPECIAL BREED OF DOG.
PS. SHE DOES SLEEP ON THE BED!

05/15/04
Sitka is turning out to be a really great dog also. He plays well with my female, and my male is tolerating him okay too. The greatest blessing is that I can walk all three together, and that is a fun sight for the neighbors! Of course I am still kenneling him when I'm gone at work, and he is pretty much willing to go in there and curl up in the dog house. The neighbors have not complained about him being noisy either. He has not made any further attempts to escape.
His latest adventure was this morning--his first trip to the local off-leash park where I used to take Red Ash. Oh my, if you could just see the look on his face! It was as if he had died and gone to heaven!
I was really cautious about letting him off-leash. For a little while there was a weiner dog yapping at his feet and since his description says he is not good with small dogs, I was concerned he would go after the little guy. But he was a perfect gentleman.
He had the time of his life. My colleague came along with his two greyhounds. His female greyhound can be a little aggressive--she took one look at Sitka's big ears and just grabbed hold of one and wouldn't let go. She dragged him all over the park by his ear and finally he just went belly up and we pulled her off him. He was more bewildered than anything. Who would have thought a greyhound could take down a malamute!
When we got down to the water, Sitka just ran along the beach knee deep. The male greyhound is a swimmer. After about the third time watching that greyhound fetch his toy out of the water, Sitka waded in deeper and deeper and all of a sudden he was swimming. He loved the water! Couldn't keep him out of it after that!
He flushed a little bird out of a bush and chased it around for a good 3 minutes. I don't know why the bird didn't fly higher, but for the longest time it flew just at his eye level, and he was only about 5 feet behind it. He is amazingly fast--and prey-driven!!
The funniest part of our adventure was trying to corral Sitka and get him back to the car. Remember Barb's description of him running around the field with 3 people chasing him? Well, he would not let me or my friend near him so I was just planning on staying there until he exhausted himself, when he ventured close to a professional dog walker and I yelled out, "If you would just grab onto that malamute I would be eternally grateful!" and she did. By the time I got to her, she was saying, "Are you being a typical malamute?" Oh yeah.
I don't know Sitka nearly as well as Trixie, but from what I've seen so far, he is a great dog, socialized properly by somebody anyway.

05/09/04
      Things are going great with all of us.  Yesterday we brought Kia to the Vet for a physical.  Kia was very well-behaved and got along great with her vet.  At first, we were worried about her not eating, but now she gobbles things down.  I guess you were right, she was just adjusting to her new environment.  We also got Kia licensed.
      She has been getting plenty of exercise.  We walk her at least twice a day for an hour at a time and she enjoys playing with us in our yard.  In fact, yesterday we went to Ilahee state park and hiked the whole route.  She had fun sniffing and adventuring with us. 
      Kia has fit right into our family!  She gets so much attention from us and our neighbors.  She constantly gets petted and brushed.  Her coat is looking really good.
      Well, that's what’s been happening.  Thanks for everything!