When Melissa heard about the 3,815 tickets sold at the Airezona 19 Raffle, raising $2,179.40, she wrote:

Sidney just sent me the wonderful news from some wonderful people!

To everyone who contributed time, effort, goods and those who bought tickets, a heartfelt Thank You. You actually had me tearful . . .

Now that the blurriness is going away, I can write this. All these guys would say "Awwoooo" and give licks, lurps and puppy kisses to all of you!

. . . and Sidney adds:

We cannot thank you enough for all that you have done. It makes concentrating on the welfare of the Airedales a lot easier when you don't also have to worry about how to pay the bills.

The Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier breeder who runs a boarding kennel and has been providing free boarding for six of our dogs informed us she needs her space back by June 20th. Everyone in Arizona has apparently left to escape the heat and has boarded their dogs, but I was finally able to find a kennel here in Tucson that can take the dogs and is giving us a great rate of $7.50 per day, per dog. Even at that great price, at $45 a day for six dogs, it will quickly add up.

Because of illness and all of the females going into heat and the logistics of one or two people trying to move 19 dogs around, neutering and spaying has been delayed. I hope to be able to begin that as soon as I have moved them down to Tucson. I have a couple of possibilities as foster homes - keep your fingers crossed.

Thank you to each one of you who purchased a ticket, and to the wonderful people who donated items for the raffle, but I especially want to thank Christine Sheffer, Monica Mahn, Andréa Denninger & Lydia Ross for their energy, organization, imagination, generosity, skill and unfailing support.

You are all wonderful!!

On 19 June, Sidney reports:

I stopped and visited with Melissa for an hour yesterday on my way to the kennel to pick up the six Airedales and bring them back to Tucson. She is doing really well . . . using a walker to get around (her son calls her Thumper). She was starting physical therapy yesterday afternoon and they expect her to be healed in about six weeks.

ROSIE, the red girl who is with Melissa, will now come up beside Melissa & Ted and let them pet her. She came up by me as Melissa's dogs mobbed me for pets & kisses, but couldn't quite let herself stand still to be petted. Every time I moved, she would skitter out the dog door and then peep her head back in until I was settled. Then she would come back in again and get close. ADOPTED!!

I didn't get to see ONYX & SHADOW . . . they were out in the yard under a tree somewhere. They apparently come up to the back door every night for dinner, but they haven't quite dared to come inside yet. (Both are AVAILABLE)

Thankfully, CHELSEA's Foster Mom was able to take off work and drove to Tucson with two of the Airedales so I was able to get them all here in one trip. INDY & BLACKIE are coming up from Ajo to get neutered today and I will pick them up to bring them to the kennel. As Debbie said, "BLACKIE will be so happy to have his harem back and, yet, so disappointed!"

I have one possible foster home and one possible adopter, so everyone keep your fingers crossed. Pam Green, the owner of the kennel, has been great working the phones to all her customers and contacts to get the word out. One of her friends with Great Pyrenees Rescue has a source for free dog food and will deliver it to the kennel for the Airedales.

Pam has a young man staying with her who is in training as a dog trainer (Pam also has a training school). She asked if I would mind if he worked with the dogs as he has trained all kinds of breeds, but never a terrier. I met him and he is a really nice guy and will work with them in his spare time (no charge).

I've sent the word out to all of my Tucson Airedale friends and adopters and people will be going by the kennel in shifts to try to help socialize the Airedales.

I was encouraged yesterday by the behavior of the dogs. The only really, really shy one is poor LESLIE. We had to carry her from the car to the kennel.

GRACE & CHARLIE would kind of wrap themselves between your legs as you tried to walk. Everyone felt better when ERNESTINE was out leading the pack. I think she must have been the female leader the way BLACKIE was the male leader. ADOPTED!!

CHARLIE was not terrified at all by the other dogs. I think what probably happened is that as the youngest male, the other males did jump all over him to make sure he understood his lowly position on the totem pole and, terriers being what they are, the rest of the pack would join in. I think as long as he is not thrown out in the yard with the pack, he will be just fine. ADOPTED!!

I love ERNESTINE . . . she isn't bad on the leash and is just a lovely, confident Airedale. She looks better "in person" than she does in her picture and I will try to get a better shot of her. She does well with her pack and most other dogs, but it is going to be an individual thing as to whether she can be placed with another dog and I assume no c*ts. ADOPTED!!

SAM, who has been called BUDDY by the folks in Phoenix, is a WONDERFUL dog . . . what a great obedience dog he would make. He is so eager to do what you want and knows "sit" and "shake." He does mark everything, but he is an unaltered male with two females in heat, so it is understandable. As Lydia noted in a message to the list, it will take six months after he is neutered before there will be any real difference in his behavior, but hopefully there will be someone willing to put in the effort to housetrain him. I think he is the most adoptable, so I may try him over here first after he is neutered. I may not be able to have him here with Jack & Riley, but I'll give it a try. ADOPTED!!

NINA is such a sweetie. She is the smallest of the girls and very quiet, but not overly shy. I would love to get her into a home where her personality could blossom. ADOPTED!!

Pam's groomer will try to clip LESLIE, GRACE & CHARLIE after they have settled in. She will at least try to get a nice Airedale head on them so we can get some good pictures. I'll have her see what she can do with BLACKIE's head as well, although he is so freaked by clippers, it may have to be a gradual hand scissors job. ADOPTED!!

Report from CHELSEA's foster mom, 20 June:

The vet estimates CHELSEA is about 18 months. She's about 50 pounds and needs to gain a few pounds. She has some separation anxiety if left alone without other dogs around. ADOPTED!!

She's still very shy of new people, and shakes and hides under my feet. I haven't really tried much training, she does know what "no" means and comes when called, sort of.

CHELSEA
ADOPTED!!

She cannot take any loud noises (although she's getting used to the vacuum cleaner), even the opening of a plastic container "pop" startled her into a run, so she'll need a lot of work, and someone to be with her a lot, so a retired person would be great.

CHELSEA

CHELSEA (in front) plays with her foster brother Bailey

She is very gentle on lead, still trying to figure out how being on a leash works, but very gentle about it. She is very affectionate and clingy, to the point that she wants to sit in the big chair with me all the time. I think this would transfer to anyone who was kind to her. ADOPTED!!