On 11 August, Sidney announces:

The Airezona Airedales were criss-crossing the state today. B.J. came from Prescott to Tucson and BLACKIE went from Tucson to the White Mountains in central Arizona. Much Zen to B.J., BLACKIE & their families! ADOPTED!!

And more news about MADELINE, when Lloyd & Melissa write on 12 August:

MADELINE has been doing much better lately. She and Tocchet have become the best of friends. Tocchet is still a little possesive of all his toys, but this doesn't seem to bother MADELINE.

MADELINE is no longer afraid of many things. She is no longer shy about going outside. When I come home from work, the first thing I do is let the dogs out. They both go running outside and chase each other around the house. MADELINE has even taken to digging huge holes in the backyard. She is a very proficient digger.

We have also taken MADELINE on several car rides, which she loves. She has been introduced to many different people, and loves each new person she meets. She is still a little tentative around males.

Thank you so much for our wonderful dog.

On 15 August, Audrey reports that . . .

MAGGIE is doing great.

Minus: I brought her into the house immediately and so far, I have lost about five pairs of shoes (of course, not five pairs but one of each pair), miscellaneous plastic items, and I have to tie the metal (supposedly-dog-proof ) garbage can to the kitchen table. The worst was when she got ahold of a plastic bottle of Crisco. The carpet now smells terrible, but this one was my fault.

Plus: I love her - she is the sweetest dog and follows me from room to room. She is learning and now we play the game when I get home from work of going through the house and she takes great pride in the fact she has not destroyed anything. She is house-trained (or has adapted quickly) and makes it through the day.

She gets along really well with my other airedale, Indy. She pushes him out of the way to go outside, but has learned to wait her turn for treats. She knows now she has a new home and has settled in well. She managed to get out the front door one day when I came home from work. She literally bolted through a small space of a few inches between the door and me. Panic time, couldn't run her down, a neighbor got her vehicle out to get her, and the neighborhood was in chase. She turned around, run past all of us and went by herself to my side gate and waited for me. (Prayer answered!!!!)

I am very happy I adopted MAGGIE. She is pure love and in her way, says thank you everyday (she loves to give kisses). She is so cute to watch when she is happy as she wags her tail so hard, her little rear end actually swings from side to side. Yes, single ladies love their Airedales!!! She also protects her yard now, along with her trusty companion.

Thank you for the update on the other dogs. I am going to Minnesota for two weeks and MAGGIE & Indy are going to be boarded at Kathy's. When I talked to Kathy to set it up, she was really wondering about BUDDY/BUSTER. She was very happy to hear that BUDDY/BUSTER is doing well (I think he was her favorite.)

On 19 August, Teresa & Ted report . . .

Just a quick update on GINGER - her grooming appointment was a success! We went to Alameda for a family get together and there GINGER met two other Airedales; the male, Cortez, decided he had a new girlfriend (GINGER wasn't interested). We then headed south for a couple of days at the beach. GINGER loved the ocean, spending some time trying to bite the waves. She was a excellent traveler; she only barked once during the night. She really loves going in the car and everywhere we stopped she made friends. This girl is so special and each day we love her more.

And several updates on CHARLIE from Tom & Dee and Molly & Bridget:

3 August:

Well, it's another day and of course it started with CHARLIE looking at all of us with that, "who are you people and dogs and why am I here?" look. He went out and came back into the house twice yesterday, and if he walks by where one of us is sitting, he allows us to reach out and scratch behind his ears and all along his back.

Late last night he was out with the girls and started barking at something - a really big bark! They were playing in the dark and drinking out of the large water bowl all together.

But early this morning, he was back to running the fence and was actually rearing up in the back corner, trying to get out. I got him back to the house and now he is sleeping in his crate. We are leaving the crate door open and letting him explore the house, which he does every so often. He did eat at least half of his food last night, and later had milk bones with the girls. What he really gets excited about is cheddar cheese! That's what I coaxed him in with this morning.

I think our girls are too obnoxious for him - not the other way around, at least not at this stage. We may need to buy a larger crate, as it is his security blanket, but not quite large enough to be really comfortable.

We'll let you know of any breakthroughs in the life of CHARLIE.

6 August:

I think CHARLIE is doing really well. He has stopped running the fence and will come to me out in the yard for petting whenever I call him. This morning he looked at Tom with the old "I've never seen you before" look, but then later came up to be petted.

His main aim in life is to get into the kitchen and will fly in the door whenever I ask him if he wants to come in. Unfortunately, this morning Bridget also decided to fly in the door and CHARLIE ended up running in place on top of her on the tile floor! They managed to get upright and didn't seem to have any lasting trauma.

They were all out nosing around the building in the back of the yard early this morning, CHARLIE with his tail up and his nose to the woodpile. He really comes alive at night and will run and grab up rawhides and toss them in the air. He makes these gazelle-like leaps, going over Bridget if she gets in the way. He spooks around in the daytime, but at night is at his best. When we went to bed last night, they were all lying in the front yard, each in a crater in the dirt, chewing on rawhides.

Bridget wants to play early in the day, but he is too distracted and won't. There have been people to the house to give estimates on things we are trying to get done and friends came over one evening and he does just fine. He is very curious about visitors, and as long as they don't reach out,he is content to stand quite close and watch them. He did let my friend pet him after she had been here a while.

18 August:

We think CHARLIE is doing really well. We just came home from town and Bridget & CHARLIE both got up with tails wagging and greeted both of us. It's the first time we have gone off with CHARLIE's crate door open, but in the middle of the day, there isn't much movement from any of them.

When Tom first comes home from work, CHARLIE wags, but ducks away from being petted. Later, once Tom has managed to rub CHARLIE's ears and back, everything is OK and he will come when Tom calls to him.

Is he too obnoxious for the girls?? I don't think any dog can top Bridget for pure obnoxiousness! She manages to get his collar off at least once an evening. They play really hard and rough, but so far no one has seriously bared teeth. Belle (a Collie playmate who comes out to play once a week) came out Thursday morning and they had a great time as it was cloudy with a light rain off and on.

When our girls played out and just wanted to rest, Belle, as usual, barked in their ears trying to get them up. But CHARLIE came to the rescue and they launched a running fit in huge loops through the yard and carport, jumping over the sleeping girls.

Friday morning he was lying out by the gate, hoping Belle was coming back, I think! Are you sure he is two or three years old? He seems younger when he starts making laps through the yard, around the house, and out by the fence, grinning the whole time.

CHARLIE is putting on some weight, and does love to eat. We haven't tried going for a ride in the truck yet, but we all went for a neighborhood walk Saturday morning and he pranced down the road with no pulling or spooking around. Unfortunately, all the neighborhood dogs were inside, I guess, as CHARLIE didn't get to meet a single one of the many. Maybe we'll try again tomorrow morning.

As far as we're concerned, CHARLIE has a home here and hope you'll feel the same way when you come to see us.

And an update on ONYX, SHADOW & Melissa:

ONYX will let me tickle his ears and scratch under his chin WHEN he feels like it. SHADOW wants desperately to get in on the lovin', too, but scoots away as soon as you move in his direction. We've got a ways to go here . . .

I'm limping along without aid of cane or walker.