Goober Goes to His Forever Home

My Oobie Goobie Gooberson was adopted last Thursday. He went to live with Kelley Simmons and her daughter in Delaware.

For those that dont remember, Goober was on the Euth list at the SPCA in New York. His owners dropped him there to be put to sleep because he was "too sick". Tara B worked fast to get him pulled before it was too late and he was on his way to us in PA. When he arrived he was missing most of his hair. We suspected mange but figured out over time that it was allergies that had been neglected for a very long time.

Goober spent the next few months trying new foods and new meds. His hair started to grow back rapidly. He went from not moving at all because of how uncomfortable he was, to chugging his little butt all over the house and demanding walks. He is a complete lovebug and had become quite the mommas boy. He also became quite famous on our facebook page, people actually emailed Sheryl asking for more updates. He is our little celebrity.

While many thought he would be my first failed foster ;) I stuck to the thought that we would only adopt him out if someone better than us came along, figured I was pretty safe there! Well, I thought wrong. The Simmons specifically wanted Goober, they were well versed in his allergy issues and any problems he could develop down the road, and they had a quiet home for him to spend his senior days in. I couldn't compete.

Goober has been doing great in his new home. They love him to death. He has been given the royal spa treatment and they play with him constantly. They have already taught him "sit" and are working on "down".

I couldn't have asked for anything better for my little grumbly old man.

Lisa Vaughan
Allentown PA

Happy Gotcha Day Lady and Buster!

From Rebecca's Blog  2 Bostons and a Preemie

2 Years!
Today is a big and special day in our house.  7/18 marks the 2 year anniversary of our adoption of Buster & Lady!

I can't believe we've had them with us for 2 years already.  They are more than comfortable here with us, and are having a blast.  They love Judith and often use her as a salt lick, which is really ironic because the kid's tasting super salty right now with the heat (people with CF lose salt very quickly, especially through sweat).  Both dogs are patient with her exploration of them, especially Lady because Judith is favoring her right now during her CPT time - she likes to reach out and touch her jowls and neck, and feel her soft fur.  Buster's not too fond of Judith when she gets super loud because she disturbs his beauty, or "boo"ty sleep (see what I did there?) as I like to call it!  Lady still follows me to the nursery whenever I change Judith's diaper (Buster follows most of the time too, but if he's sleeping under his blankets he won't follow) to make sure that everything is fine.  Lunchtime is their new favorite time of day, because they know they'll get to clean up and finish whatever solid is left in Judith's bowl.

Most of you don't know their story, so I would like to share it with you!

A little more than 2 years ago, John & I decided that we wanted to get a dog.  We were in the middle of TTC, and still having a rough time with it.  The economy was stinking, and I couldn't find temp work to fill in the gaps - things were pretty darn lonely here, so we decided since having a baby more than likely wasn't in the very near future, we would get a dog.  The timing was perfect because I was home and would be able to train a puppy if necessary.

We had to decide on what type of dog to get.  John grew up with boxers, I grew up with terriers (an airedale when I was a baby, and a westie through my school and college years).  We didn't want anything too big because we didn't have the space, so a boxer was eliminated from the list.  We thought about a westie, but I didn't think it was fair to bring a westie to a home where there wasn't ample yard space to run around in.  We talked, and decided that we wanted either a Boston or a Frenchie.  We had fallen in love with a church member's Bostons, so we settled on a Boston.

We thought about a puppy, but that really wasn't for us at the time.  Rescue suited us much better.  I began looking into rescues, and I stumbled across the Northeast Boston Terrier Rescue.  We saw some of their fosters on Petfinder, and knew we had to fill out the adoption application.  We had a phone interview, and a couple days later we got another phone call: they wanted to know if we would be willing to take 2 dogs.  I remember John hesitated, and after a bit of discussion we said yes.

During this time, Buster & Lady were surrendered to a shelter.  They were and are incredibly bonded, and the shelter knew they had to be placed together.  If my memory serves me correctly, the shelter knew that this may not be possible, so they contacted the rescue to see if they could help.  Enter Buster & Lady's wonderful foster family - they got them into the rescue through agreeing to foster them!

We were able to talk to Buster & Lady's foster mommy over the phone, and she told us all about them.  We knew that Buster has a sensitive personality, and he was very sad in the shelter.  We also learned that Lady is very dominant and protective of Buster (oh, and we also found out that she's ball crazy).  We began making arrangements to pick the 2 of them up once everyone got word that our home inspection went well.  The date was set, and we began preparing for our new additions!

July 19 rolled around, and John & I waited anxiously in a parking lot in New Jersey.  Before we knew it, Buster, Lady, their foster mommy, and 1 foster sister were rolling into the lot!  Buster wasn't seen right away, but Lady was - she was in the driver's seat, on her foster mommy's lap!  Buster was very unsure about what was happening, and seemed very sad overall.  Lady definitely didn't care - she greeted us, and jumped into the back of the car pretty quickly, ready to head off to her next adventure.  We spent some time together, going over instructions for their feedings and learning how to care for Lady's eye.  John & I signed the official adoption papers, and were able to leave with our new furbabies!  We packed them into the car and headed home.

Lady was comfortable with us after about 36 hours - the proof was waking up the second day they were here and finding her in the bed (surprise!).  Buster took a bit longer to settle in, but he was up on the bed too the night after Lady decided to take the plunge.  Overall, though, it took them about 3 months to really feel comfortable and begin to realize they wouldn't be moved suddenly again.  The first couple of times they had to stay with my parents overnight for whatever reason were tricky, and once Buster realized he was coming home, he was fine (we're back to square one with that though after they had to spend a week with my parents while I was hospitalized from the preeclampsia and Judith's birth).

Buster & Lady, happy 2 years in your forever home!  We can't wait for many, many more great years to come!
Rebecca and John Brewster

Happy Gotcha Day Lenny!

As we begin this summer, it brings memories of last summer and Lenny’s arrival at our house.  It had been nine months since we lost our Boston Terrier Cookie and we decided we needed another Boston in our home. So we filled out the NEBTR paper work, had an interview, then a home visit, and waited.

At the end of June, we were so excited to get a call from Carolyn at Kamp Kanine. Carolyn said she thought she had “the” dog for us. His name was Leonard; he had a very rough first year with the family who surrendered him and still had difficulty with new people.

We went to Carolyn’s to meet Leonard aka Lenny and Len (his names fit him well). He wasn’t too interested in us, but we fell in love with him right away. To make him more comfortable with us, we paid him a second visit and on our third visit on July 17th we brought him home.

It took Lenny a little while to settle into our house and find his favorite spots; most having to do with being able to look outside and/ or sleeping. But the backyard has become his absolute favorite place. When he is outside Lenny loves to chase bugs, stalk squirrels, birds, and rabbits, sit in the sun and shade, play catch, watch/bark at people as they pass by the house, and play with Tucker. Tucker is a one year old Shiatsu who lives next door and is Lenny’s best friend. They began their friendship by running back and forth together on each side of the fence between our yards. Now they have several play dates each day and Lenny is friends with Tucker’s entire family.

Lenny loves to go for rides in the car, any kind of treat, to learn new things, play ball, go the park, go on walks, get up early in the summer (ugh!), play in the snow (but he won’t go out without his favorite jacket or sweater), and snuggle. Every time one of us comes in the front door (whether we are gone for 2 minutes or 2 hours) we get the best greetings from him.  He makes us smile each and every day!

We have been working with Elisa (from Big Tail Waggin), a wonderful trainer, to help Lenny get over his aggressive fear of strangers. Even though he still has difficulty, he is so much less apprehensive and improves daily! Once Lenny knows you, you are his friend forever.

On this Lenny’s Gotcha date, we wanted to thank you all at NEBTR for all you do that brought Lenny into our lives and hearts.

Lenny’s Family (the De Rockers)

New Fosters Ozzy and and His Seeing Eye Boston Rocky

Harry is a 8 year old blind Norwich Terrier mix. He's amazingly sweet, and a bit rambuncious for a blind dog. Ozzy, the overweight Boston, is also 8 years old. The boys have grown up together and were surrendered to a Philadelphia shelter because their owner lost his home. It was heart breaking to see this grown man in tears, giving up his best friends. The shelter told the owner that it would do its best to keep them together, but couldn't make any guarantees. It seems that Harry is quite dependent on Ozzy. He uses him to 'see'.

NEBTR stepped in and since this is a heartbreaking story was determined to keep these boys together since they have lost everything else.

On a busy holiday weekend, a group of dedicated volunteers arranged for a transport of the boys to their foster home in upstate New York. Here are some pictures of that transport.

Thanks to everyone who helped out these poor little guys!