Alamo

Our baby (the beagle once named Alamo), Buster, is doing wonderful. He's happy and he's keeping our older dog, Mocha, happy and young. Buster and Mocha reek havok throughout the house but it seems to be what dogs belonging to the Murphys do. He and Mocha play tug of war with rope toys and how they ever end up shredded is amazing. I thought these toys were supposed to be tough. They run and jump all over the furniture and lay around like the king and queen of the place. When Bill and I are at work, the kids certainly don't help keeping them off the furniture, they love it and play with the dogs. We don't mind....its the way we've always been. A little extra cleaning is all it means. Anyway, here are a few pictures. As you can tell Mr. Buster is a happy little guy. Best, Terry Murphy

Ella II

2/23/10 I don't know if you remember me but I found two of your old emails when we were in the process of adopting Ella II. We lived in Melbourne and adopted Ella II in July of 2007. Ella is the light of our lives. She is the most adorable thing. We are now in Fairmont WV, we moved here in the fall of 2007. Ella just loves the mountains. We live back off a one lane road and have hall nature around us. She is in heaven. She loves the snow and just bounces all over it. She LOVES everybody and has just a wonderful disposition. You would think she was almost human. :) Ella is doing just fine. She's very active and the house training is going good an occasional mess up, nothing big. We do playing all day and exercising, but she seems to be at her highest point of playfulness around 7:30 in the evening until around ten just into everything,trying to get her to reverse it to the afternoons. haha She will be starting her obedience classes on august 22. All in all she is settling in great. We love her dearly. Patty ***2nd Update*** A little note to let you know that Ella is doing just great. She is healthy and happy. She's been in obiedence classes and she is doing great but he beagle nose leads her astary once in awhile. haha And she is a digger outside. I guess we'll find ourselves in China one day. hahahahaha... All in all we LOVE her to death, she is the sweetest and most loving little dog anyone could ask for. I want also to let you know that my husband has had a promotion and we will be relocated to fairmont west virginia. We just found out 2 weeks ago and he will start Oct 1st. hopefully Ella and I will follow the middle to end of October when we do closing on our new house. So we will all have a big change to the weather. I myself have lived in florida for 45 years since I moved here in high school. All these years I've been back 4-5 times a year to vist family. My sons are Pitt graduates and decided to live up there so they are an hour away. We will love it I'm sure. if we get a chance we will email you updated pictures of Ella and I'm sure we will stay in touch over email. Thank you again for saving all these beautiful dogs and giving them a second chance at life. You are all wonderful people. Patty, Bill and Ella

Charlotte

 Hi Angela, Charlotte is wonderful! She fits into our family so well! She's such a sweet dog and loves to be petted, which everyone loves to do! Of course, she still loves to chase those balls! The last time we weighed her at the vet's office, which was around Thanksgiving, she was right around 30 lbs. We have her on Wellness HealthyWeight dog food. Of course, she is always ready and waiting to eat anything she comes across, so we have learned to keep the door to the kitchen garbage can closed and food out of reach on the counter! (I guess you would say she just about has us trained!) She sleeps in her crate at night and we also put her in the crate when we are gone. She still will try to sleep on the furniture, if she thinks we are not paying attention. She has a comfy dog bed, which she also enjoys sleeping on. As I said we put her in the crate at night, but my husband loves to let her out in the morning and send her in to jump on the bed to wake me up or if our granddaughter is spending the night, she will race upstairs to wake her up. Our granddaughter loves for Charlotte to wake her up in the mornings! Our daughter lives next door to us. Charlotte gets to play quite often with our daughter's chocolate lab, Libby, and she gets plenty of exercise when they are together. The lab loves to run and play, so she gets Charlotte to running around, too. Occasionally, Charlotte has to remind Libby who's boss and will snap at her. Libby loves to fetch sticks and Charlotte will run and get the stick before Libby. Charlotte doesn't do to well at returning the stick; she just wants to keep it away from Libby. I don't know if you are interested in college football, but I should tell you that Charlotte has become a University of Alabama football fan. I'm sending you a couple of pictures of her and we're sure she's saying "Roll Tide!" We are so happy we found TBBR and that Charlotte became part of our family! Hope you enjoy the pictures! Best wishes to you and TBBR in 2010! Linda Sanders

Watson

A few pics from Watson's fun. He was great camping in Arcadia at Peace River at Halloween. We didn't have time to get him dressed up but he did go canoeing and even rode with us on the ATV! We took him last weekend with us camping at the Nascar weekend in Homestead. He got "pimped out" for the occasion! We met another couple camping near us with 2 beagles that Watson just went nuts wanting to play with them. We did many walks with the other 2 beagles. It was so cool. People are simply amazed how mellow he is and yet he plays like a puppy at times. Thanks Jeff

Laredo

Dear Angela, Thanks for the opportunity to share our success story. Barney/Frosty (a 3-something year old) came to me in late February 2009 and I became a mom to Bogie/Laredo (also a 3-something year old) in mid-September 2009. Although the furbabies from my past were “rescued,” they came from families that could no longer care for them. My beagle babies are different. Their pasts are not known and we can only imagine what their experiences have been. My desire to love Barney and Bogie was instant but the feeling of love can only happen over time. Each day that feeling grows, so much so that it’s unthinkable to imagine life without them. I have a car magnet that says “Who Rescued Who” and the phrase perfectly describes my sentiment. Barney was a little bit of a wild child at first. Although he’s a very mellow fellow, he was somewhat lacking in the social graces. The Barn had some challenges in the beginning. He was found wandering the streets of Polk County in early January. Unaware of these events, I can still recall the first few weeks of that month were especially cold. His animal services mug shot reveal a face full of questions and a body that had endured neglect. He has deep scars on his forelegs, chunks missing from his ears, and broken teeth… a glimpse of the tough road he had traveled. Time has shown that he was not accustomed to health care. Vet visits and administering medications were a real challenge in the beginning. The intake paperwork noted that he was a “rescue” which meant he would not be destroyed. This is a testament to phenomenal work of TBBR. His health exam determined he was heartworm positive and treatment was given in mid-March. While many doggies fare well, Barney had a difficult time for the first few weeks. It was heartbreaking to witness his struggle but I’m happy to report that he is fully recovered. Vet visits and medications are much easier now. His has also grown in his socially acceptable knowledge having become a stellar graduate of basic training school. Barney has settled into his 4-ever life beautifully. The unconditional love he gives so freely greets me every day and is a treasured gift. His face is no longer questioning except to say “when is dinner?” It has been pure joy to see him grow into a happy and secure boy. He is very much adored. When I adopted Barney I already had a wonderful furbaby, Matt, a mixed breed. Over time, Barney and Matt became good friends. Matt taught Barney everything he knew about life on the Watson farm. Sadly, soon after Barney’s arrival, Matt became terminally ill and we lost him in late-July. I always considered Matt the most perfect doggie in the world and I now see that he passed that baton to Barney. Barney was confused and sad, not being able to understand what had happened to his friend. As soon as our hearts were able, we found Bogie (or did he find us?). Enter Bogie. What can I say about Bogie except that he is the most precious creature to walk the planet. He came from Lake County and that is all I know. He is petite which gives him the appearance of eternal puppydom, yet he has a few years under his belt. I smile broadly each time he looks up to me with his upper lip curled under. Bogie doesn’t know what mellow means and I suspect he is a reincarnated Jack Russell terrier. He doesn’t really walk, but instead dances about the house. Sometimes his backyard laps will make even the most experienced race car driver envious. He and Barney became instant brothers and to watch them together keeps me laughing, sometimes quite hysterically! It’s a real blessing, too, because Barney has the potential to be a real couch potato. Together, they explore everything in their little backyard paradise and have become VERY accomplished wrestlers. It took a bit of time, but Bogie has mastered the doggie door and thrives in the freedom that offers. Thunderstorms are a bit of a scare but hopefully by the next rainy season he’ll feel safer. I was very proud how he handled New Year’s fireworks! I’m impressed with Bogie’s social graces which indicate he must have been an inside doggie at some point. He must have loved his before family because he becomes quite anxious when I leave home, as if he’s afraid I will not return. We’re currently dealing with separation anxiety so he takes medicine that is helping us to resolve this. We also just became aware that he is heartworm positive even though he tested negative in August. He received his first treatment two days ago and final treatment will follow in 30 days. I am grateful to have access to the TBBR veterinary doctors who provide that treatment at a much lower cost. We have a bit of a difficult road for the next several months but I am encouraged by his response to treatment thus far and hopeful that we are on our way to a full recovery. In a nutshell, Bogie is pure joy and pure love and he grows more secure with each day. And I am positive he is happy to be here, almost as happy as we are to have him. Thanks again for the opportunity to write about my beagle brigade. I now consider myself a seasoned beagle rescue mom. We have become a close-knit threesome and look forward to many happy, fun years ahead! Cathy Watson