Jennifer, our scout down South, just sent up this lovely dog. He is about 3, and has a delightful personality. LOVES people, likes other dogs. Energetic but not hyper. He was found as a stray. The shelter kept him for quite a long time but no one came for him. He is an athletic boy so will need lots of exercise. He has had some training but our guess is that he was on the lamb for a while.

He will have his health exam on Monday and will be set to go.

Max has a wonderful new home and is just thrilled.

Sadie is a one year old little girl who was released to us by a military family who cannot keep her on the base. She is great with kids and other animals. She is currently trained to sit, lie down, fetch and will sit next to you until you give her the release command to get the tennis ball, fully house broken, stay, she stays off furniture.

She is fully crate trained. She loves kids, people, and other animals. She has never been aggressive towards anyone. The only minor thing is she has some anxiety when left alone and has chewed up a barbies leg [editor comment: this made me smile. My dogs have done way worse]

For the most part she can easily be left alone. She was trained to walk on the left side of you using a gentle lead leash and is good on walks and runs.

Sadie is with a loving family who have a dear little boy and a great dog. They love to run, go on hikes and have a great time.

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This is Brandy now called Mysie. Animal Humane called us about a 10 year old owner turn in. They said she was edgy with children, bit the vet and was grumpy. So one of our scouts went to get her. We got her cleaned up, found she was just fine with the other dogs, took her to the vet with no problem. We asked someone to foster her. They have fallen in love with her. Here is their note.

Do you think this is one happy dog!!!

She’s become my ‘little’ velcro dog.

Mysie is a very traditional Scottish girls name (our dogs are always Scottish, the cats are French). Mysie Mae Collins McTaggart–quite a mouthful for one dog.

You should have seen her last night. I rode my bike home from work and so treated myself to a leisurely beer on the back deck. We were sitting there enjoying the nice afternoon sun and she proceeded to put on quite the show with her squeaky toy in the grass–tossing it in the air, rolling around, biting it so it would squeak. And of course the more we laughed the more she performed.

I don’t think it’s a good idea to consider agility…that will have to wait for a younger dog with more robust hips. And still not sure what to do about the doggie door (she’s really too large to squeeze through–or at least that’s what she’s decided). I am saddened to think that in 2-3-4 years I’m likely to be back in that gut-wrenching situation of having to make decisions about quality of life. But as one friend reminded me, for whatever years we have together we will both benefit.

Bo will be four years old in July. He was bought in Germany when he was seven weeks old. He loves to play soccer, doesn’t like to swim (unusual for a retriever), and loves to dig. He likes to lie on your feet. He doesn’t eat table food at all so you could pretty much put your plate down and he wouldn’t try to get it. However he does like a good bone. Bo is a little timid around men, but this usually will go away after a couple of days. He is excellent with children. He was raised with three children; the youngest was two. He has no health problems, and his shots are current. He will be neutered soon. He has been around other dogs, but he doesn’t like cats.

Bo is now a cherished member of the Sanchez family in Las Cruces. He in going to enjoy playtime in the big back yard and quiet time indoors.

Here is an update from his foster owner.

Bo is doing well. He stayed quietly in the sun room overnight… no accidents… no barking. He’s only barked once today at something we missed outside… He’s good in the house… waits at room doors to get permission to enter… he has already figured out that carpeted rooms here are off limits…

He does not know how to walk quietly on leash… he needs to be tired out first… then he is better… we’ll practice walking… it’s good for both of us… It would be perfect if we could play fetch for ten or fifteen minutes to tire him out and then walk… but no large fenced area … Bo has very good hearing … and a good nose… with his activity level, small size, good nose, and hearing he might make a good drug sniffer dog or structural collapse rescue dog… he knew to look up when a helicopter passed over on our walk… I’ve seen lots of dogs never get that…

The other side of his hearing ability is he is noise shy… any sudden noise startles him. I we spent some time watching a cement truck unload today… that is a process full of sudden strange noises… he did ok… wasted no time leaving when the lesson was over. His former owner reports that he is afraid of thunder but will just stay close to you and lie at your feet.

Bo loves to play fetch… doesn’t chew the rawhide chews… just wants to play fetch with them. He brings the toy back, sits and waits to have it taken and thrown again… I bet he would be a good frisbee player too.

For more information on Bo, call Jackie at 575-382-7804 or e-mail johnstonranch@totacc.com