On 18 July, ERNESTINE went home:

ERNESTINE's new mom flew over from San Francisco and picked her up this morning. She rented a car and is driving to L.A., where her husband will meet her with their car and they will spend the night at her sister's, then drive back home to where ERNESTINE will live a life of luxury in a house overlooking the Bay. They have dog walkers lined up for every day and will take her out on the bridle paths near their house for walks in the evening (they own a couple of horses).

ERNESTINE looked great! I gave her a bath last night and kept her on leash all morning so she couldn't stick her head down a hole the way she loves to. Her black coat was gleaming and I think she has lost of few pounds, so she looks sleek and young. Connie kept saying, "No way is this dog eight years old." ERNESTINE immediately gave Connie kisses and jumped into her car without even a glance back. Unfortunately, the battery was dead in my camera, but Connie promised to send lots of pictures.

Later that day, LESLIE comes back:

LESLIE's foster family had an emergency come up where they have to leave town for the weekend. We discussed having a neighbor come in or taking LESLIE to a kennel and finally decided that the best thing for her would be to bring her to my house and let her bunk with her brother.

I drove up to pick her up at noon and am delighted with the progress she has made. She still feels safest in her crate, but the milling around of children doesn't bother her. When we got her out of the crate, her tail was down (because of me mostly), but her body posture is much more confident.

Stephanie said that the other evening LESLIE kept insisting on going to the front door (they have been only taking her out into the back yard) and she finally decided to see what would happen and LESLIE took her for a jog around the block . . . twice.

When I got her home, LESLIE was delighted to see her brother and my dogs and was wiggle-wiggle-wiggle all over the place. CHARLIE was very happy to see her, as well, although I'm not sure his delight was purely brotherly. I didn't have time to let them do too much socializing, but it will be fun to see how they all do this evening. ADOPTED!!

CHARLIE & LESLIE
ADOPTED!!
(LESLIE's Forever Name is LILLY)

On Saturday:

LESLIE is doing great! While she still doesn't want me to reach out to pet her, if I casually walk up to her side and slowly start petting, she enjoys getting rubbed all over. She is not bothered by noises at all (I guess living with five children, including an infant, gets you used to loud noises). She hangs around the living room with Jack, Riley, Rose & me, while CHARLIE prefers to retreat to his bedroom at the end of the kitchen.

I did the Tellington Touch Leopard all over both of them this morning and they both stood and let me do it without trying to escape, even when I gave them the opportunity.

I let everyone run around the big yard off leash and they all enjoyed that, even CHARLIE. I thought CHARLIE might hide in a corner somewhere, but he stayed close by and came right back in the house. Once was enough, however. On the next walk he decided to stay behind in his bedroom.

They don't like having the camera pointed at them. ADOPTED!!

CHARLIE & LESLIE snoozing in their crates side by side
(the angle is weird because I had to sneak up on them)
ADOPTED!!
(LESLIE's Forever Name is LILLY)

On 20 July, Connie reports:

We made it safe and sound . . . a non-event trip to Los Angeles I am happy to say. ERNESTINE lay on the car floor for about an hour, and finally decided that the seat with the blanket was a better bet. She slept most of the way, drank little, but did take every cookie I offered. We made it to L.A. at 3:00 p.m. and I probably stopped for a total of an hour for gas and potty breaks.

She made herself right to home at my sister's, didn't chase the cats, very friendly to all the kids that came by. She did get excited when a dog went by but not in an aggressive way. Friday night we slept at a hotel - she cried a little, like a nightmare but went right back to sleep. In the morning, she immediately went to the door to go outside. Had a touch of diarrhea so I gave her some plain yogurt to settle her stomach with her dog food.

We've decided on a name -- GRACIE for Gracie Allen & George Burns. Cute, comical with a lot of intelligence behind it.

GRACIE slept on the way back to San Francisco, drank little again. She made up for it when we got home -- we turned our back for a second and suddenly heard the slurping of water from the living room. She creatively went to a waterfall I have on a sofa table in the living room and helped herself. She gently put her paws on the table to lick --- my Giant would have knock the whole thing over! She slept on her big doggie bed without hesitation. She woke up early and sat there looking out the picture window till we woke up . . . too cute.

She has taken a strong shine to Ken . . . as I suspected she would. We are working on the doggie door - she does it when food is the motivator, urinated outside but took a bowel movement in the living room when we were upstairs. We should have walked her right away. Our bad.

She is definitely is not a jumper. She scrambles into our Yukon on the side and will not jump in from the back. We won't have to worry about the side fence. I plan to ask our vet about gluocosamine given her age.

We took her to the Doggie Park this morning. She was great. Off leash, she immediately went to the huddle of no less than 10 pugs playing, sniffing, saying hi . . . romped over the to Big Guys and hit upon a small poodle who was in a bad mood. No problem, she just trotted away.

Suddenly she picked up steam like a rabbit, heading to the Labs playing fetch into the lagoon. I sent Ken after her to head her off but at a slow lope he didn't have a chance. The next thing I knew, GRACIE was trotting through the 2' deep mud, with Ken sinking 3' deep behind her.

We bathed her out at the barn so she's back to looking like a princess rather than the mudpie who left the park.

The Doggie bag you gave me was wonderful! It contained a purple collar & leash, Airedale Terrier stationary, a purple stuffed toy, liver treats, a towel, and soap with a terrier on it . . . very nice.

GRACIE is sleeping next me to as I write in my office. She has had a good first day. Tomorrow, Ken is taking her to Dr. Comilla, our vet.

Thank you - she's perfect for us.

And the next day, Ken writes:

Well, today is a work from home day for me and I have a shadow (GRACIE). She is really settling in and making herself quite comfy! I am also impressed by her astute hearing . . . she can be upstairs, the TV blasting, and she hears every time that refrigerator door opens!

I took her to the vet today for a followup and everything was great!