We thought it was about time to drop you all a line to let you know how our new family member is getting on.

In August we adopted a 1 year Labrador called "Rain", now known as "Monty". Initially we had a few teething problems with him settling in. We attended the 6 week obedience course at the shelter.This helped him to understand basic commands, which was the start of a fantastic learning curve for us all. He soon learnt how sit and wait for dinner, sit and not barge in the door, go to bed (rather than taken on the lead), go outside (rather than be taken on the lead) drop, give, and stay. Thankyou to Tamara and Stuart from Underdog Training.

After some re landscaping of our garden when we went out, we soon developed a few techniques which have hepled enormously. We can now got out and not worry about what we might find when we get home. He is learning to curb his excitement with the cats and I know in the future he will learn to be gentle with them!!

Having said all of that, he really is a beautiful dog. We couldnt ask for a better companion for our children. Our four year old daughter spends hours outside with him. He is very gentle with her and follows her around ever so patiently and listens to her stories. His favourite thing is to chase bubbles that she blows from her bubble mix. He runs and catches them then goes back to her and waits for more!

It really was worth perservering with those minor hiccups at the start. We now have a much loved family member, who over a short amount of time has moulded and fitted into our family as if he has been here from day 1. He has learnt so much. Monty has bought life back into our little Jack Russell who just wasnt the same after our other dog passed away last year.

How hard must it be for them to go from a home they know, to the shelter, then to a home they dont know, with rules they dont know? Thankyou so much to all of the staff at the shelter for giving these animals a second chance. I have adopted 3 pets from you now and I think there are so many benfits from adopting an older pet.

We will keep you posted, enjoy the pictures!!

Ericksen Family

Just thought I'd send you an update on Fitzy (tag no. 23364) who we adopted from your shelter in November 2005. We are just so besotted with her and she's bought so much to our life, we feel like the luckiest people in the world that she's come into our lives!!

Fitzy was such a fatty when we got her and she really could do no more than take a very gentle walk around the block. Now, she's a ball of energy and takes every opportunity to gather her ball from the backyard so you can throw it for her. We've just taken her to the beach for a holiday and, whilst she's no water baby, she'll retrieve her ball from the shallows which is great in cooling her down in this hot weather.

Her weight is almost perfect now but we do watch what we give her. She absolutely adores car rides and quite often she'll sneak downstairs into our garage if a car door has been left open, and we'll find her happily sleeping on the back seat.

Pls find attached her Christmas photo and, once again, thank you all so much for the opportunity to adopt this wonderful animal. She gives us so much love and is the most perfect dog, we can't imagine life without her.

Best wishes, Ali & Colin

Read Fitzy's other update

I adopted a cat called “Stoker” tag 15703 on Saturday 4th October 2006. I renamed him Sooty which suits him better. He didn’t like the trip home in the car much & meowed just about the whole way.

When we got home, he enjoyed exploring his new surroundings & his favourite thing to do was pace along the window behind the vertical blinds starting at one end & then sit staring out the window at the other end.

On the first day I got him, I couldn’t find him in my bedroom & I have a black fluffy blanket on my bed & since Sooty is also black & fluffy, I couldn’t see him curled up on the bed! He has settled in well & has his favourite spot on the couch with his own little blanket.

His favourite treats are these little dried up stinky fish and he goes crazy when he hears the crinkle of the packet! He loves to curl up on my lap and watch TV with me but sometimes he just likes a bit of “me” time & will sit up the other end of the couch on his blanket. Sooty keeps me company, is very affectionate and I just love him to bits! Thankyou to Nicky & Mary for all your help.

Hi There, We adopted Toby (tag No.13191) from the Keysborough shelter November 2004. Her name was Toby and we decided that we would not change it as it was what she was familiar with. She was 2 years old. At first she was very timid and hid under our bed and wouldn't come out for 3 days; it then took quite a while for her and our other cat to become friends;, not sure if they ever were good friends possibly, just tolerated each other. After around 6 months she became very effectionate as she had got to know my partner and I , but she still didn't want to know the children and would hide. Toby had never ventured outside in her 2 years before coming to us. I am quite certainof this as she was very reluctant to venture out into the big wide world for a very long time and when she did, any sudden noise had her racing back in the door instantly.

Once she got used to the outdoors we would find her curled up in amongst the lavender bushes in our front garden near the door, and we were soon to be highly amused by what we now call the Toby tango.

When Toby wanted to go outside she would stand at the window on her hind legs, reach up the window and scrabble at the window with her front paws, like she was dancing with them. On the window it looks ever so funny. We dubbed it the Toby tango. She has progressed to doing the Toby tango on our bedroom door at all hours of the night which does not always impress and is never as amusing.

She also does the Toby Tango when she wants to come inside. She does it on the windows or the door where ever she knows there are people to hear her, as it makes a scrabbling scratching noise on the door and a very fast 'click, click' scrabble noise on the windows.

Toby is a delightful cat, ever so friendly and affectionate and we wouldn't be without her for anything.

Stuart & Teresa Ayto

Hi everyone, just thought we’d send some recent pictures of our baby boy Luca. After seeing his photo on the internet, my fiancé and I fell in love with him. We went to see him, and although I was at first concerned about his boisterous behaviour, I was encouraged by what everyone at the shelter said about him. Unfortunately he was scared of the car and was attacked in the car park by another dog, so we had to postpone coming home by a week. He’s worth the wait though; we can’t imagine life without him now. You might remember a dog that only sat when it wanted to, would jump up to lick everyone’s faces and didn’t know his own name. Well, not anymore.

After a lot of hard work, Luca is now a very relaxed boy who will come over and sit every time we call him, does not jump up, waits to be told to eat his dinner even when it’s right under his nose, knows how to drop, stay, fetch toys and even shake hands. Yes, we had to teach him how to play fetch. At the beginning when we picked up objects he would cower, and when the vacuum was turned on he would avoid going near it, so we think he may have been abused by his previous owner.

Over time he’s learnt to trust us, and he’s slowly learning that we will always come back when we leave. Oh, and he now jumps into the car. We’ve discovered that Luca is a big softie, a giant sook who absolutely loves people, even kids and strangers, he loves rubs from anyone. Luca has his own comfy bed in a covered pergola, which used to be a barbecue area but is now turned into his own personal outdoor entertainment area. On one cold, rainy day we let him in the back door to sleep on the mat (he knows not to go beyond it), and now he thinks he should be inside whenever it rains.

Luca only whines, never barks, unless a dog is nearby. We think he was never socialised properly or may have been traumatised by the attack; he’s scared of every dog. One time I took him for a walk and a tiny Chihuahua came out of a house, he had his tail between his legs and tried to bolt. He’s getting better though; he tolerates the dog next door, and he has a girlfriend, my friend’s gentle German shepherd. Hopefully we can soon let him off the leash.

Thank you for letting us adopt our baby, he’s made us a family.

Regards, Devi & Merrell

Hi - I just wanted to let you know how my 2 new dogs are doing since I bought them home December 30. Oscar & Bella are now quite comfortable in their new home - and are quite beautiful after a trim & a bath (Oscar is so fluffy!!).

They have been out socialising with other family pets, and visiting friends and going for walks almost every morning.

My gorgeous lab x border collie passed away in September after 15 years and I didn't know when I would be ready for another dog - but these two are just delightful.

Oscar loves sitting on my lap giving me kisses, and Bella is always up for a tummy rub!

Thanks once again for lighting up my life with 2 little fluffy companions!

Kind regards,

Jenni Marr Clarinda

Rocko is doing great and has settled in his new home. We all love him and think he is just great. He never goes without cuddles and the kids adore him and he seems to love them too. We are always going for walks which Rocko really enjoys, and training him is going really good. A lot of his bad habits are disappearing. Rocko is a very clever dog and learns very quickly. Thanks again for Rocko.

Regards Cindy Aksionov and the Kids.

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