Ben

Lexi (aka Smudge)

We just wanted to give you all an update on Smudge, now Lexi. We adopted her on June 3/06 at 3 months of age, or so we think. She is doing absolutely wonderful. When we first brought Lexi home we did have a few issues, but with the help of Lori Holt and Go Boldly, she is turning into an awesome dog. Lexi is now 10 months old, and her vet Dr Meger, has given her a clean bill of health. She has been all over the province. This past summer at only 4 months of age she went on an 8 hour hike, 2300 feet in elevation. By the end of the day she was our group's mascot. A very tired mascot, but a mascot none the same!! :)
Lexi absolutely adores people. Every time she goes to the dog park, it's not the dogs that she wants to meet, it's their people. If you ever go to the dog park and a little brindle coloured dog pokes her head up at you, it's likely to be Lexi. Mind you, she is great with other dogs and cats (as can be seen by the picture) she just prefers humans. When she does decide to play with other dogs, she loves to have them chase her. Of course, they never can catch her. She's a fast one!! I guess it's the greyhound in her. She always seems to need to be in charge as well with the other dogs. If there's a lot of horsing around, then she barks and barks until everyone settles down. Her big brother Walter (the cat) has adjusted and they are fast becoming best friends.
We've attached some pictures of her that we would love for you to include in your website. She's pretty hard to see because of her colouring.
We must admit that it has taken a lot of time and effort for Lexi to become the dog that she is slowly turning into. But we both agree, it was well worth it.
Thanks SCARS for such an amazing addition to our family.
Jeanette and Nancy

Rufus

I am sending you a picture of Rufus. As you can see, he is not the timid and filthy critter he was; he's turned out to be a very handsome and goofy 1-1/2 to 2 year old.

He is now neutered and was an angel about not licking. He doesn't try "having his way" with all the other dogs we meet any more, which is nice. He is so good at figuring out what we want and then doing it. We only have to tell him things once or twice and he tries to remember it. He comes when we call him, with ears a-flopping, and our daily walks and trips to the park are really a joy for all of us. We are going to start doggie school at the end of the month. I think he will enjoy it.

He did not know about playing when we got him. Other dogs would try to play with him and he'd just stand there. He also didn't know anything about toys. It has been really wonderful watching him figure it out. He is still awkward with other dogs - he likes them and they like him, but he doesn't know how to interact and he looks quite funny running around in circles while they try to play. He's getting the idea though. Also when we got him, he was really bothered if you tried to touch his collar and when we got out the leash he would run away. Now he hears it jingle on the hook and knows it's a good thing. When we try to put the leash on him, he still lays on his back with his paws curled up so it's hard to get at his collar. But once the leash is on, away we go, with him bouncing and wiggling all over.

He is terrified of the garage and won't have anything to do with the dog house (darn!). We sure do wonder about his "story". If you ever hear anything about where he came from, would you let us know? We can't believe someone is not out looking for this prince of a dog. In the meantime, our "Black Gold Terrier" (we made that up for when people ask!) is a source of huge entertainment and happiness for both of us.

Thanks so much for finding him for us. **Judy and Richard