Hi Vickie, I've been meaning to touch base with you but have been busy with summer camp for the past few weeks. Ginny has continued to be the new love of my life. She is just the most fantastic dog I could have ever hoped for. All of my friends and co-workers are just as in love with her as I am, even those who aren't "dog people" or are scared of dogs. I take her almost everywhere with me and on the rare occasion that I leave her behind, she's been getting better and not crying when I leave. I think she's finally getting comfortable and learning that I am always going to come back.

Since I take her everywhere with me, this includes the horse shows. It's not safe for her to be on a leash when I'm in the ring coaching the kids so I got her a back pack type carrier to put her in so that she can stay with me. It's a little more than a little ridiculous but if you can't laugh at yourself then what fun is life! We are always the hit of the horse show and have ended up in several different peoples photo albums on facebook.

I also found a fantastic dog park about 2 miles from my house. She LOVES to go there and I think she has named herself the Mayor! She greets all of the dogs as they come in and then supervises the other dogs that are playing. It took a few weeks for her to start to play with the others and she is still trying to figure it out but I got her to start playing with a ball a little too.

We are working on voice commands so that I can take her with me off leash when I go on trail rides with the horses. She is doing quite well with this but still needs a little more work. She is so willing to please that she learns very quickly. I'll keep you posted on how it goes!

Hope your weather is getting a little better. Sounded like you were stuck in that awful heat wave

Hi Robin!

I hope you had a nice weekend!  Athena (who I've renamed Skylar because of her beautiful eye that looks like the sky) and I have had a wonderful weekend!  I really don't know how I lucked out with her- she's such an angel. We've gone for a bath, to the park and for many small walks but have had a pretty low key weekend as she seems pretty tired from the transport. She stays by my side 95% of the time but when I can't find her it's because she's snuck up to my bedroom to go take a nap. She loves the cool breeze on the Cape (where I live) so we've taken a couple naps outside in the shade. She also loves being indoors in the A/C.  I sprained my ankle last week and have been hobbling around but she's been so gentle with me- walking very slow when we walk and staying by my side. She keeps kissing my ankle so I think she can sense I'm hurt- it's amazing how dogs have a 6th sense. Knock on wood and I can't believe it but she hasn't gone the bathroom in the house yet so I think she may have been housetrained at some point :) I've pretty much let her have free roam of the house and I'm so glad I didn't buy a crate. She also gets along so well with my cat!  She didn't pay much attention to my cat at first (other than wagging her tail) but today I caught her licking my cat across the face. It was so cute. My cat was startled. haha.  I took a couple days off work this week to spend with her so tomorrow we're going to check out a doggie daycare place and meet a couple of dog walkers for the couple days I'll be at work.  We also have plans to head to a state park and the beach later in the week.  I'm attaching a few pics but I may need to send them over a couple emails. I'll continue to keep you updated and send pics but I wanted to let you know she's in good hands and finally has the loving home she deserved :)  Thanks so much for everything!!

Angela