Acquiring a dog may be the only opportunity a human ever has
to choose a relative. ~ Mordecai Siegal
"Charlie"
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When we picked up Charlie we didn't know what to expect.
But what we found was a devoted family who love each of
their puppies. Ann, Steve and the kids each had to spend a
few minutes with Charlie to say goodbye. We immediately
knew that our dog was given as much love for the past two
months as we will give him the rest of our lives.
Getting an Australian Labradoodle was the best decision we
could make. Charlie is as smart as he is adorable. Within a
few weeks he was housebroken and began to learn how to
sit, lie down, and fetch. Training has been a piece of cake.
His temperament is so calm yet he is energetic (but not too
energetic!) We have yet to go on a walk where people don't
stop to ask us about him.
Thanks, Ann and Steve, for bringing Charlie into our lives!
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Anne, Ross, and Charlie
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Dear Greens
I must tell you that Sheila is the most loved and spoiled dog on the face
of the earth. Duane and I, our daughters and anyone else who has met
her just adore her. She's got the most pleasant demeanor and she can
make anyone laugh. She has an insane number of doggy toys that we
rotate to keep her happy, but her favorite toy to play with is people.
She loves fetch and is really good at it. She is so happy.
At home she seems very content. She was very easy to housebreak.
We never had any issues with sleeping either. From the first night, she
has gone in her cage when the lights go out and waits patiently in the
morning for the door to open. We tried to get rid of the cage after we
could trust her in the house, but she seems to prefer her "bed" so we
put it back up. She is a lover of ritual. Each morning when the door
opens, she jumps up on the bed to say good morning to each of us,
then waddles down the stairs to go outside. When she comes in, she
gets her treat, then jumps up on the couch for "huggie time". We can't
skip any of this. She insists.
You were right about her loving water. Soon after we got her home, we
bought her a wading pool, which she took to like a duck. She also
loves baths. She actually sticks her head under the running water. For
a while, we had a hard time getting her to "come" if she was having a
good time in the yard, but we solved that with giving her a treat that has
cheese whiz squirted on the top. She'll do anything for cheese. Our
college-age daughters loved her when they came home for Christmas.
The had a harder time leaving her than us when they had to go back.
The Obama's would be doing themselves a great favor by deciding on
a labradoodle. It doesn't matter what kind of a day you've had, this dog
will make you laugh. Getting her was one of the best decisions we've
ever made.
Patti and Duane
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Dear Greens:
We are so in love!!! He is so smart and loveable. I took him to the
adult day care with me today and he was loved by everyone. He
spent over an hour on the tummy of a brain injured 25 yr old
(Casey slept and the young man showed signs of loving it) His
mother was present at the time: we both teared up. How do they
know to do that? All of the other 70 to 96 years olds enjoyed him
too.
Marie insists I bring him back (she loves dogs and wants one,
again) He is pretty much trained (or are we?) only 2 mistakes in
3 days. Why did we wait so long to experience this?
LUV, Jean
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Dear Ann and Steve,
Just an update to let you know how well Chloe is doing! She’s a delight. You
couldn’t have chosen a better puppy for us as she is active enough to keep
up with our outdoor oriented life, yet calm enough to be perfectly happy living
in our small city apartment.
We’re still adjusting to our lives as “minor celebrities” as Chloe’s guardians.
People constantly stop us to ask questions about her, to comment on how
beautiful she is, and even to take pictures of her. More recently a woman
drove past us, parked her car, got out, and followed us just to be able to pet
Chloe. My favorite comment was from a teenage boy we passed in the park.
He said “Your dog is so cute it looks fake.”
But she’s not just adorable; she’s also incredibly smart. We have a tiny
kitchen and we cook quite a bit. We didn’t want her underfoot to avoid spilling
sauces or hot water on her. Instead, we simply trained her not to enter the
room. Even if a toy rolls in there, she will wait patiently at the kitchen entrance
for one of us to get it for her.
Of course her intelligence also means that she can be really devious at times.
We once discovered that she had a hidden stash of things she’s not allowed
to have (leaves from plants in particular) hidden under a blanket outside of
her crate. When we discovered her attending to her stash she simply looked
at us, carefully placed the blanket back on top, and sat on it as if to say
“Nope. Nothing going on here.”
We love her to pieces and so does everyone else that meets her. She’s
sweet and playful and great with children. The trainer at her puppy class
thinks she might make a great therapy dog if we continue with training. So I
guess we’ll see where the next year takes that!
Thank you again – for everything! You’ve been amazing to work with and so
responsive to all of our questions.
Karen and Jason
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"I'm fairly certain that Chloe thinks we're too
incompetent to take care of our baby. She
makes sure that we know when he's crying
(as if we can't hear it), when we're burping
him too hard, etc."
Karen
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Cute photos of Traveler at his graduation!! He is now ready
to carry out and perfect the 24 commands he learned. He
has been socialized around other dogs, house trained,
learned manners around strangers and babies (who love to
pet him) and to sit and pose for pictures (people stop us to
take them) while greeting strangers. He will soon be a
perfectly behaved doggie... That is until the cat wanders too
close to him! The cat is now days walking up to him and
sniffing him to test him... Cats! All the neighbor children are
helping him learn how to play nicely with little ones. They love
him!
Lin & Glenn
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Traveler at his puppy school graduation
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Chloe is a great big sister. She is in
love with him. She's very gentle and
gives his feet lots of kisses, but she's
also rather protective. She does NOT
like it when we lift him into the air above
our heads. She cries and jumps up to
try to pull him back down. I think she's
aftaid that we'll drop him. :)
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