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