Spring 2010 Update:I just wanted to send you guys an update on Bravo (fka Rocko), who we adopted from you in July of 2008. I will try not to make this a novel. I am sure lots of your clients gush about the dogs they've adopted. But know this is an effort keeping it short!!! He is doing so well. After almost two years, he's finally figure out how to be a pet instead of just a dog. He's well behaved and loves to please, but he is loopy and goofy. I think he must be going through the puppyhood he never had... all 75 pounds of him. His little brother Border Collie keeps him amused (and drives him crazy). They never fight - Bravo is always the gentleman, which is good since our BC is often not.
I love taking him places because people always comment on how beautiful he is, and I get to tell him he was a rescue. He's also decided that everything soft in our house is his bed, whether that's a blanket on a the floor, or a futon, or sometimes even our laps (what little of him fits in our laps, anyway).
And after some solid training, I can walk or run with him with the leash just draped around my neck; he is a total showoff when we walk, with automatic sits when I stop and everything. I truly believe in many ways that Bravo rescued me, not the other way around; he is such a gentle, peaceful spirit and he is teaching me so much. I feel so lucky that we found each other and are able to love each other so purely. I'm looking forward to summer, when we can spend all our free time in the parks chasing squirrels and staring at the clouds together. He's so comfortable with his life now, I can even use him as a pillow, and he happily lays and sniffs the grass while I rest my head on him to read or relax. He is such a part of our lives now... we even put his pawprint in the cement along with our names when my fiancé and I bought our house and got a new driveway :)
I am attaching 4 pictures to put up on the site if you want them. One is of him using my fiancé as a pillow for a nice snooze; one is of him this past winter showing off his boots and a stick he found; one is of him and his little brother watching a squirrel out of front door, complete with matching floppy ears; and the last is of him, on one of our couches, attempting to soak up all the comforts of an "inside dog" life all at once. I hope these give you confidence that he is being treated well and that he is happy. I work as a vet tech now, and will be going back to school in the fall to get my board certification as a CVT, so he gets rockstar medical treatment, too ;) (My fiancé never had dogs growing up and initially was fairly unsure and uncomfortable around Bravo, and Bravo was equally unsure of him ... but now I catch Mark sneaking out to our living room at night to sit with Bravo in the dark, just stroking his head, and whispering to him, and putting his nose up to Bravo's to say goodnight. They're best buddies.)
If you ever need a volunteer or help with anything in the Chicagoland area, PLEASE don't hesitate to ask!!! Tiger Paton (and Bravo)
Bravo is more fun every day. There's not really a noticeable change from day to day, but over the last two weeks the difference is obvious. All morning today he followed me around and gave me kisses every few minutes. He is beginning to trust us, I think. He is more relaxed and lets me lay him out on his side and give him tummy rubs, which he wouldn't let me do the first few days he was here. He's also getting to be quite a ham. He doesn't hurt anything, but oh boy does he like exploring and carrying things around! He unpacked my entire karate bag the other day - all of my pads, my wallet, my sunglasses, everything was spread around my room, unhurt, just removed for inspection! And he was trotting around the house with a plastic hanger he'd stolen from my parents' room. He seems content - running around the yard, chasing his tail, playing with our border collie puppy and chasing him under the bed. He's become much more responsive to human voices and movements, and is doing well with his name (although he goes deaf if he sees a rabbit or squirrel). If he's sitting watching out of our front door on squirrel patrol (which he does a fair amount of the time) he will come back upstairs every few minutes and check to see where his people are. I think training will go well with him and he pretty much has the hand commands for sit and down figured out. Right now he has his nose in the dirty clothes so I should probably go get him out, but he's a really good guy and I'm so happy you guys rescued him so that he could come start a new life with us! He's just a big softie with a heart of gold.
Also, just as a side note, he ate all his food tonight and had seconds! I guess he reads my email and saw I'd been tattling on him ;)
Thanks a bunch for
all your efforts,
Katie, Art, Carol, Bravo and Brio
Hey Sue,
I wanted to give you an update on Bravo. Each day he settles in more. He's decided that my bed is his throne, after only ONE time allowing him up on it, so now he's up there all the time looking totally regal. He's fallen completely in love with the dog that lives behind us, and made good friends with the one next door, so he gets along with his neighbors which is always a big plus. Today we went to the pet store and he met an adorable 3 month old rescue puppy and was gentle as can be. Every day I work on sit, down, come, his name, and handling his feet (he's kind of sensitive about them, and they trap more dirt and grass chunks than I could have imagined) and he's definitely getting better. Not much can rip him away from the door when he sees a squirrel outside, but I really can't blame him. He's still pretty fearful of thunderstorms - we just had one come through, there were two tornadoes a few miles from us - but I just had him out with me, and we rubbed him down with a dryer sheet, and now he's just laying at my feet. Tomorrow we're getting some melatonin!
In any case, we have had sort of a wild time lately with dogs. As we told you Brio, our border collie puppy, had been returned to the breeder with genetic defects and temperament issues. When we took him back, the breeder offered to take him for a week or two and see what she could do with him. We agreed not because we were going to take him back, but because when we took him back she was pretty rough on him and my mom really wanted to just go back and make sure he was okay. In any case, a few days ago she went back to see him, and it was clear he had been really badly mistreated. He obeyed her, but his tail was between his legs, shoulders hunched, and he had become hand-shy. She was hitting him and leash-correcting him hard enough to make him yelp over and over, and he was cowering in fear. We couldn't, in good faith, leave him there to be abused, so we brought him home. The breeder has really improved him - he doesn't hardly mouth at all and he is much more calm, but it came at a price. In any case, the puppy is here with us now, and he and Bravo get along really well. They love playing together and chasing each other around the yard. Bravo can get up on my bed and Brio is too short, and Brio can get under the bed but Bravo is too big, so they tend to chase each other around the bed a lot, but it's hysterical to watch them play. Bravo is such a gymnast! He can jump straight over Brio, and Brio is small enough that he can run under Bravo, so it's like watching a circus. They've spent a lot of time apart just to give Bravo adequate time with us and we have worked hard to make sure Bravo gets plenty of attention and opportunities to bond. Things seem to be going well, though. The other day I had both of them out, and I told both of them to sit and then lay down, and they did it in unison! It was adorable. It's not really the ideal situation we were hoping for, but we couldn't watch Brio get beaten up, and Bravo is just too sweet to give up. We're making it work and the dogs seem happy. Bravo is actually snoring at my feet right now, I think he's all pooped out from the stress of the storm. Also, the dermatitis on his neck is healing up nicely with this powder the vet gave us.
Anyway, Bravo starts basic obedience September 8th. The place we're taking him has drop-in training sessions on Fridays so we are thinking of taking him up there a few times between now and then to get used to things. With his temperament he has a great start, and we're excited to see him learn.
I am sending you some more pictures. One of him is from just now, napping at my feet, flat as a rug. Thanks again for pairing us up with such a sweetheart.
Katie
P.S. Did you know Bravo eats tennis balls? It's true. Literally, he chomps them in half. We got some heavy-duty ones for him today. Good thing he's so gentle with people because boy, those jaws are strong!
Bravo is doing well. The ride home went really well; he barked once at the cars but I gave him a pretty harsh "no" and he was fine the rest of the way home. I was half-heartedly teaching him "down" on the way and he definitely was catching on. I think he will be a great learner, although it appears his knowledge of "sit" was left at your house! When he got into our house he immediately curled up into a tiny cowering ball in the corner of our entryway and we couldn't move him for about 5 minutes. But we finally got him downstairs with treats and gave him some water and brushed him out in the garage a bit (he is DEFINITELY blowing his coat! I'm sure the stress isn't helping). He was pretty nervous last night but through it all he kept wagging his tail and coming back to us to check in and get love, and he finally started laying down and calming. We just kept it low key, sitting on the floor with him. He slept until about 5:45 and then was whining; I think the stress upset his tummy a little. He had about half his food this morning with some cottage cheese. As for the rest of the morning he's been on a couple of short walks and explored the yard a bit; the rest of the time he's been in the house attached to me (literally, i tied the leash to my belt), exploring the house. He's definitely still nervous - he's panting like crazy, and it's not just from being hot, but he's doing better this morning than last night and I'm sure the improvements will continue. He's taking a rest in his crate right now with an ice cube. We've been keeping a close eye on him but he hasn't tried to mark in the house (cross your fingers!). He still wants to be outside more than inside, I think; he found all the doors the go outside and has either whined or scratched at them as we walked by. I hope he learns to be content in the house, because he is mostly going to be an Inside Dog, and I don't want him to be unhappy. In any case, despite his being scared, his tail has been wagging almost nonstop, he's given us tons of kisses and snuggles, and has generally been a sweetie. I think once he settles down he's going to be an AWESOME dog. My mom is in love with him and my dad has completely lost his marbles over him (he said goodnight to him like 3 different times). I gave him a couple corrections for trying to get on the furniture and the table (our table is JUST the right height for him to rest his head on!), and he hasn't tried since. He's being a good boy, just distracted and scared, but he'll get over it. He looks magnificent when he's sitting on our floor, even in the ocean of undercoat that our carpet has become.
I'm sending a few pictures of Bravo hanging out with his new gal; let me know if they dont come through. I'll send another email to you in a week or so with our "happy tails" story and a picture or two to put up.
Thanks so much for everything, Bravo really seems like my dream dog, he just needs a little training :)
Katie