(11.29.10)

Dear Houston Boxer Rescue Volunteers,

Here is a little update on "Trey", (now "Franklin") adopted May 27, 2010:  

When we first met Trey, and learned about his history, it was suggested that he was a bit pushy with Children - even to the point of possibly being dangerous to have in a house with little ones.  Also, we were warned that he probably didn't do well with cats. By this time, though, we had fallen in love with Trey through the pictures and personality profile, and we had a gut feeling that given a loving home and lots of structure would be good for a dog like Trey.

So, that first week was difficult.  But, we knew pretty much what we had gotten involved with, so we stuck it out.  Our kids, aged 10, 6 & 4 were troopers.  Our previous dog was extremely gentle and obedient, and so they certainly weren't used to a dog that they had to be afraid of.  The problem was that Trey believed that EVERYTHING was a play opportunity, and he took advantage of every toy left within his reach, even if it didn't belong to him!  He seemed to be unaffected by the hours we spent in purposeful play with him.  We tried everything to attempt to wear him out, but he just kept coming back for more!  There seemed to be no end to this dog's energy.

Hands and feet became highly guarded in our house after many run-ins with Trey's teeth!  He didn't really mean to bite them...he just saw each human extremity as four different ways to play with a person!  So, we had to teach the kids to stand like statues around Trey, because if they moved their hand or jumped or ran, they may run the risk of being chewed on!

After the first week, with twice daily walks, plenty of play, plenty of structure, dog-park time, and lots of love, Trey was finally showing signs that he was understanding his place in our  home, and was starting to get better about not gnawing on our hands and feet.  In that second week, he slept A LOT!!!!   I think he was so worn out from the first week's energy!

Over time, he dropped the biting, mostly, and began to even treat guests properly.  The kids slowly felt more secure about him, and eventually stopped asking us to "give Trey back"!  The cat was the last one to come around to seeing things Trey's way, but several months later, and the cat and dog are now good buddies.

Trey spends a good part of his day looking after kids.  From the minute we wake him up in the AM and he goes into each of their rooms to "check on" all three of them (or, for some reason the kids call this being woken up with a wet tongue)!  After that, he waits to play with the older child who has specifically bonded with Trey because they are both adopted!  And, as the kids do school in the school-room, Franklin sleeps with one eye open on the window bench seat where he can see what's going on in front of the house.

I hope you will enjoy seeing how Trey (and his tongue!!!) have fit into our family!

Thanks,
Amelia Blanco

(12.2.10)
I just wanted to touch base with you and let you know that Duke is doing great!  Since last October when we got him, we’ve learned so much about him.  He is so loving and playful and a joy to have as part of our family. 

First of all, he went for his annual checkup and is in great health – still heartworm free!  If you recall, he was terrified to ride in the car; not anymore.  The attached picture is from last week when we were traveling for Thanksgiving. 

He does all sorts of funny things like blow bubbles with his excessive drooling and spin in circles when we’re about to go for a run.  He and our other dog Bella are inseparable.  Thanks and hope you and your family have a joyous holiday season. 

Regards,
Selina H.

(11.16.10) We adopted Nellie (now her name is Laney, well Laney Lee to be exact! :) ) on May 15, just about 6 months ago. She is doing really well. She went from 36-37 pounds and is now about 50-51. We took her to training class this summer for 8 weeks, and really- it was training for us! :) She is very smart and picked up on everything quickly. She LOVES walks and playing with all her toys. She is a sweet, little cuddle bug, always wanting to sit in our laps and nuzzle up to us giving LOTS of kisses. She does well with all people and kids; although we are working keeping her calm around small children because she tries to jump on them. Laney is still a little crazy around other dogs. She whines to greet them but gets overly excited and it comes off to the other dog as aggressive and turns into a little spat. We're working on it! She has some boxer cousins that we'd love to get her with, but they have only been able to interact for a few minutes at a time. We've had some food allergy/environmental allergy struggles, but we are working to get those under control. She is on a limited ingredient diet and treats and currently trying to figure out the best treatment for her environmental allergies. Hopefully we will soon, we are getting to be regulars at the vet! :) We are so in love with our Laney Lee! She has been a great addition to our little family. We're so glad to be part of such a wonderful organization!