(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