Saturday, May 23, 2009

Katie gets a new home..


Well... it was a hard decision to make but it had to be done. Today I placed Katie with two wonderful woman from Florance Oregon. Lynn Eddie and Bernadine Cadek are neighbors of Bill and Debbie Whittaker who now own Cassie. They spotted Cassie on a walk one day and decided to ask where she came from. The Whittakers were happy to recommend me to them. Lynn had had Westies before throughout her life and after her wonderful boy Murphy at 17 great years of life passed a few years ago they decided it was time... Katie took to them instantly and I knew it would be a great match.
Now I have more friends to visit on the beautiful Oregon Coast..

Gavin from Alaska!




WOW, Tell me that little man is not handsome!!!
In the words of Bill and Norma..
Chris

Gavin just returned from getting his last puppy shots and a rabies shot in Ketchikan. He weighed in at 9.5# and the Vet said he looks good at that weight. We're still hand feeding him and he's slowing down on his eating.

On the ferry Gavin spent three hours each way, on the car deck by himself without incident. I purchased a new camera so I'm able to send you some updated pictures.

He took his first trip down to the boat harbor and toured our boat. I told him if he's real good I'll take him Coho fishing in August. We found out that he hates the windshield wipers, he'll have to adjust, we get about 110 inches of rain a year.

Bill, Norma, & Gavin


Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Henri will be returning home.... Yippy!!!


I have to admit this made me tear up and cry in happiness for Henri, Bella, Ella and Jeff...

Hi Friends and Family,

As many of you know, Henri has been staying with Jeannette Melchior for the past few weeks to give our family some much needed rest. We have been to visit Henri several times and we have spoken with Jeannette almost daily to check on the little guy. He has been having a wonderful time at "Summer Camp". He has been playing lots of soccer, wrestling with Lily Rose, and being mentored by Miss Lily on the proper techniques of hole digging. He, also, learned open soda pop and encountered his first possium.

Our current plan is to have Henri return home to our family. An amazing community response and some creative thinking has made this return possible. Funding has been secured to assist with Henri's medical care for the next year. In addition, Jeannette has agreed to be Henri's fairy Godmother, to provide breaks for us when my medical needs more attention. We are over the moon about this outcome. The community support for Henri and our family has been incredible. We feel truly blessed by all this generosity.

We will keep you posted on Henri's medical progress and our story. Attached are 2 photos taken Sunday at Jeannette's. As you can see Henri is green from his nonstop soccer matches on the lawn. If you look closely, you will see a slightly darker green area between his eyes from headpunting the ball across the lawn.

Sincerely,
Ella, Jeff, Bella, and Baby Henri

Sunday, May 10, 2009

From Cassie to her Mother Haley on Mother's Day.


Dear Momma Haley –

I just wanted to send you a great big hug and a very wet kiss on your very 1st Mother’s Day. You were a WONDERFUL Mom to me (and Piper and Gavin, too) and I’ll never forget you! Have a GREAT DAY!!

Love, Cassie

PS: To Piper & Gavin – I know you’re having wonderful lives and hope that you’ll be sending some new pics so that I can see how much you’ve grown.

Bill & Debbie (and Cassie, too!)

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Cassie goes to School...







Dear Uncle Chris –
School Started Yesterday – and I already have homework. YIPPEE!!

As you know, Mom & Dad started my training very early – almost as soon as I first got to my new home. I liked the clicker, LOVED the treats, and quickly picked up on SIT, DOWN, COME, FETCH and HEEL. STAY and WAIT are still a little challenging because I am just a puppy after all. I can only wait just sooooo long. Unfortunately, I also wanted to focus on the treat bag instead of on my lessons. HEEL particularly became a problem. I was getting out in front and looking at the bag instead of paying attention and looking at Mom & Dad. Oh well…. That quickly came to an end last night when our trainer Gary came for my first private lesson. (Group lessons still have to wait until at least summer school.)

Gary critiqued what Mom & Dad were doing with me, praised them for what they were doing right, and taught them some new tricks for getting better results from me. Gee…. I guess they’re in school too!! We now have some great additions to our daily training routines and I’ve been able to practice outside in the beautiful spring weather.

I guess that at 7 ½ pounds I need to start acting more like a little lady. I’ll save that for on-leash right now BUT I still really look forward to my off-leash romps and runs. WHAT JOY!!

Sending hugs up to you, Cassie

Bill & Debbie (and Cassie, too!)
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