Dear Greens

I must tell you that Sheila is the most loved and spoiled dog on the face
of the earth.  Duane and I, our daughters and anyone else who has met
her just adore her.  She's got the most pleasant demeanor and she can
make anyone laugh.  She has an insane number of doggy toys that we
rotate to keep her happy, but her favorite toy to play with is people.  
She loves fetch and is really good at it.  She is so happy.  

At home she seems very content.  She was very easy to housebreak.  
We never had any issues with sleeping either.  From the first night, she
has gone in her cage when the lights go out and waits patiently in the
morning for the door to open.  We tried to get rid of the cage after we
could trust her in the house, but she seems to prefer her "bed" so we
put it back up.  She is a lover of ritual.  Each morning when the door
opens, she jumps up on the bed to say good morning to each of us,
then waddles down the stairs to go outside.  When she comes in, she
gets her treat, then jumps up on the couch for "huggie time".  We can't
skip any of this.  She insists.  

You were right about her loving water.  Soon after we got her home, we
bought her a wading pool, which she took to like a duck.  She also
loves baths.  She actually sticks her head under the running water.  For
a while, we had a hard time getting her to "come" if she was having a
good time in the yard, but we solved that with giving her a treat that has
cheese whiz squirted on the top.  She'll do anything for cheese.  Our
college-age daughters loved her when they came home for Christmas.  
The had a harder time leaving her than us when they had to go back.  

The Obama's would be doing themselves a great favor by deciding on
a labradoodle.  It doesn't matter what kind of a day you've had, this dog
will make you laugh.  Getting her was one of the best decisions we've
ever made.

Patti and Duane
"Casey"
"Sheila"
Dear Ann and Steve,

Just an update to let you know how well Chloe is doing! She’s a
delight. You couldn’t have chosen a better puppy for us as she is
active enough to keep up with our outdoor oriented life, yet calm
enough to be perfectly happy living in our small city apartment.

We’re still adjusting to our lives as “minor celebrities” as Chloe’s
guardians. People constantly stop us to ask questions about
her, to comment on how beautiful she is, and even to take
pictures of her.  More recently a woman drove past us, parked her
car, got out, and followed us just to be able to pet Chloe. My
favorite comment was from a teenage boy we passed in the park.
He said “Your dog is so cute it looks fake.”

But she’s not just adorable; she’s also incredibly smart. We have
a tiny kitchen and we cook quite a bit. We didn’t want her
underfoot to avoid spilling sauces or hot water on her. Instead,
we simply trained her not to enter the room. Even if a toy rolls in
there, she will wait patiently at the kitchen entrance for one of us
to get it for her.  

Of course her intelligence also means that she can be really
devious at times. We once discovered that she had a hidden
stash of things she’s not allowed to have (leaves from plants in
particular) hidden under a blanket outside of her crate. When we
discovered her attending to her stash she simply looked at us,
carefully placed the blanket back on top, and sat on it as if to say
“Nope. Nothing going on here.”

We love her to pieces and so does everyone else that meets her.
She’s sweet and playful and great with children. The trainer at her
puppy class thinks she might make a great therapy dog if we
continue with training. So I guess we’ll see where the next year
takes that!

Thank you again – for everything! You’ve been amazing to work
with and so response to all of our questions.

Karen and Jason
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