First of all thank you to Janet for doing this fun contest and a

A little about her.. she is our first Chesapeake and she changed our lives in ways that I never could have predicted. Chessea opened our eyes to the possibilities of what a CBR can do. We fell in love with the characteristics of the breed; athleticism, intelligence, bravery and the strongest swimmer of all the retriever breed, not to mention, the love, loyalty and joy that they bring to their families.

We wanted to share this with others and we now have a small breeding program and Chessea is our foundation bitch. Many of our dogs have titled in AKC events, such as Conformation, Obedience, Rally, Agility and Hunt. As Chessea enters her golden years (she’s 11.5 years old) we reflect on all that she has given us and we hope to have her in our lives for many years to come.

Sincerely, Debra and James Rodden

York River Chesapeakes

Kiki

Last winter, Kiki tore her knee and could not walk well. As a result, in June, she had TPLO, (tibial plateau eveling osteotomy) surgery, during which they put a plate in her leg. Confined to a small room for 3 months, Kiki slowly recovered. She is now back to running and jumping. Kiki lives with 4 cats, and boasts that she earned her CGC, Canine Good Citizen award for her 3rd birthday in October. :) She loves to sleep on the bed, but insists on having her own pillow!

This is a good reminder to keep your dog leased near lakes and rivers when the weather is not cold enough to freeze a body of water all the way through.

Midnight

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/hiker-dog-rescued-la-mountain-15255841

I need to be placed in an extraordinary home. I am a very good boy but I have behaviors that will need to be handled by a very experienced dog person. I may need the help of a certified trainer to help my new owner polish me into the dog of their dreams. I have a very high prey drive and my person will have to continue to help me to refocus my attention. For that reason, I will not be able to live with any cats or small dogs. I probably should be an only dog, although, it is possible that I may be able to live with a large breed female that will put me in my place. I cannot live with any children because I do not realize how huge I am and I would be too much to handle for any child no matter what age.

My person will need to devote a great deal of time helping me to become the outstanding dog I know I will be. I will also need a fenced-in yard so that I don’t charge out of the yard after squirrels, small dogs or the neighbors’ cats. If you are still reading this and still think I am awesome you are probably the person for me. I am a fairly expensive dog to maintain because my good friends at the animal shelter have me on a dehydrated raw diet because of the health issues I had when I first came to the shelter. I am doing so beautifully on that food, it would be in my best interest to continue me on that diet for the rest of my life. My food costs about $310 per month, which is a tidy sum, but well worth the cost to keep me in excellent health.

I know I will be the dog of your dreams but we will have to work as a team to make that happen with consistency, devotion, and love. We know we are looking for the needle in the haystack for this magnificent dog. Could that needle be you? Please consider giving Zeus a home for the holidays. If you are interested in adopting me, please contact the Duxbury Animal Shelter at (781) 934-6424. Thank You!!

It requires a big heart to adopt an older dog, and a larger one to take in two inseparable dogs with health problems. Both long-haired Dachshunds were severely overweight when they came to live with Meredith. Bitsy weighed 25 pounds, and Bubbles weighed 32 pounds! Bubbles has a heart murmur, and recently had surgery to remove 100 bladder stones! Bitsy, who is believed to be Bubbles’ Mom was most likely used as a “breeder” at the mill. She was recently spayed at age 12, and at the same time had a non-cancerous mammary tumor removed. Both girls are now fine and flourishing! They have each lost 1/3 of their weight, and are beauties! The before and after photos tell the story of love and a wonderful home.

These 2 girls are sweet, happy and very friendly. During the time I spent with them, each passerby had to stop and admire the pair. They have great energy, and  tail wagging tempos to match. Extremely affectionate and sweet, their favorite passtime is to walk with their new Mom to the open areas in Salem and wait for all the attention from the tourists!

How many of you have purchased squeaky toys, only to bring them home and have the squeak break in 24 hours? Accolades go out to Gina, from Gone to the Dogs in Wakefield, a great pet store filled with many pet supplies and high end, durable, long lasting toys. We are coming up to 11 months and the toy purchased at this store is as good as the day Midnight found it under the tree. I must state that usually the last toy purchased is Midnight’s favorite, until the next one arrives, but this noisy, squeak ball has remained her favorite since last Christmas! It will be hard to top this dog toy this year. Thanks, Gina!

This was the winning equation of the night: 2 hyper pups + 2 high quality esophaguses = a happy hostess, unbothered guests, and 2 satisfied dogs!

Dog-ography features our best friends’ life stories complete with a photo shoot. The Happy Dog Directory raises funds for charitable causes by offering a full page Dog-ography to the winners of our charitable raffles. We are awaiting the stories from the raffle winners of the: Puppy Mill Awareness Day, The Cape Ann Animal Aid event, the German Shepherd Rescue Howl-een event, The Dylan Rizzo Fundraiser, and the Ryan DeRoche Fundraiser.
Stay tuned for these Furbulous Stories!