We were SUPPOSED to bring the dog home from the shelter this Friday...

[brainpause]

How cute!!!

[birol]

She seems to be fitting right in ! What a beautiful dog she is  

[campingboaters]

Wonderful news and CONGRATULATIONS!  I wish you MANY happy years together!

[vjm1639]

She's a beautiful dog and looks so happy now!  Sounds like she took to everything rather quickly and is one smart pooch.  I hope you enjoy years of camping fun with Sabrina!!

[angelsmom10]

Glad she made the trip and everything is going great.

[startx]

Copcarguy, glad Sabrina is fitting in so well.  I thought about you guys a lot as we were working with Bell over the weekend.  Bell wasn't fostered, which is good in ways like we could change her name, but not so great in ways like we are having a house training refresher period.  We still think Bell is great though, and I have to get new pictures, because her pic on the webpage did not do her beauty justice.

I have to explain her name change.  We didn't like Cheetah, not a dog name as far as we are concerned.  Especially not for one built relatively low to the ground and extremely sturdy.  The two year old was quickly making it Cheeto instead of Cheetah.  We talked as a family, and decided on Bell Desiree.  Brian's mom, who passed away last year, would try her darndest to get someone to name a daughter Bell Desiree every time one of us would be pregnant.  Of course neither the daughters nor daughter-in-laws would name their child that, so in thinking of a new name for the dog three of us thought about that name.  We started calling her that before we even picked her up, and so she has become Bell Desiree, although for the most part she is just Bell.  Brian's Dad loved it when we were at the reunion Saturday, as did everyone else who knew the situation.

[andym86]

andym86: I wish I read your post a little sooner! Stephie & I just went to four different pet places pricing crates. WE JUST BOUGHT ONE! Arrrrgh.... lol! We really appreciate you offering us one.
 
PS - I have been wondering how you made out with the Taurus. ??
I wanted to send you an email, but I lost it.

Hi Rick
The heads are coming back from the machine shop this week.
So,I guess I know what I'll be doing this weekend or next.
To bad about the crate.Oh,well.
Talk to you soon.
Andy

[jstaddwtr]

Copcarguy and family!!!!!
We are very, very happy for you.  We stopped reading the thread at the beginning.  With things that have been going on lately we did not want more bad news....but each day you thread kept getting bigger and longer so curiosity got the best of us.....so glad we got caught up on everything.  Hope to meet her sometime!

[copcarguy]

Hey all!

Well Sabrina has her first "official" camping trip under her belt, ummmm - collar and she did great! Sabrina is a really, really cool dog. I was there alone with her most of Friday since copcargirl couldn't come up to the CG until she got out of work. She was even later because she had to backtrack home to get stuff I forgot. OOPS! Anyway, Sabrina and I walked around the lake and she went swimming in the lake once she figured out what a lake is. LOL! We bonded really well and she is just the best. What a good heart she has. I was really impressed with her when the Park Ranger surprised us by walking into our site with a bear warning because he just appeared and she gave him a "who are you?" bark. It wasn't her being mean, she barked with her tail wagging but it made me feel like she was protecting us. We really love her a LOT!  Here's two pics of her camping at North Lake:

http://community.webshots.com/photo/54331686/155195541NoEgJb
 
http://community.webshots.com/photo/54331686/155195820uybvxK
 
Miss-Teri:  are you home yet??  I would love your input and I have tons more pics if you're interested!

[vjm1639]

We really love her a LOT! Here's two pics of her camping at North Lake:

How adorable!!! I love the one of her wrappped in her blanket!! Sounds like Sabrina found the perfect family!

[angelsmom10]

So glad everything is working out great.  People who go to breeders I feel get the short end of the stick... the dogs from rescues/shelters seem like they end up as better pets.

[startx]

Copcarguy, Miss Teri isn't supposed to be back until either the 23rd or 24th.  We have a bit more time before we can check in with her.  Looks like Sabrina is really enjoying her new family.  Bell, who knows her name now, hasn't been on her first camping trip, that comes 4th of July weekend, but I think she'll enjoy it.  I'm a bit concerned about her barking, but hopefully it will work out well.  At first at home she didn't really bark, but now it's like she has decided she has this great home and family, and every little noise sets her off into protection mode.  I do mean every little noise, the nephew was having a bowl of ice cream in the dining room while we were in the living room, and if he clinked the spoon on the bowl too loudly she would go into bark mode.  She has really trained well on her name, and on not going after the cats so I'm sure we can work through the barking thing, especially once she is more accustomed to the normal noises at home with a family this big.

I am hoping to borrow a friends digital camera and get some pictures up soon.

[copcarguy]

startx:  can't wait to see some pics of your new baby!

[Miss-Teri]

I'm back!

Ya know, it's kind of funny.  My pets message board was saying I needed a nice vacation/break (Shelter rescuers see a lot of difficult things doing shelter rescue, choosing what to take etc. sometimes even amongst unconscious dogs and cats that have already been knocked out for euthanasia), but I couldn't get Cheetah, Sabrina, and Wolfie (my most recent rescue that went to our sister rescue in California) off of my mind!

First I called copcargirl from Murdo, SD, with horrible reception on my cell phone, to make sure Sabrina had arrived all right and that they were happy with her, then I called our rescue Sunday, and Cindy said Barbara had taken Cheetah and that Gail had really liked her.  Then she told me a gorgeous Aussie that I had rescued a few months ago finally got a wonderful home.  I was so happy all day long!  

Then as soon as I got home, I had DH fire up the PCs so I could get an update!  Sounds WONDERFUL!  I'm so glad they seem to be working out well, though I hope Bell (love the way she got her name, BTW!  ), gets over her incessant barking.  If you need some help on that, you might try http://groups.msn.com/PuppyluvsPawPrints/welcometop3.msnw, click on "general" and ask the people there.  They have some great ideas.  You might even see a thread talking about Bell and Sabrina on there from me.    Also, I'm hoping as she settles in, Babe will win her over.  Poor Babe!  

I would LOVE to see more pictures and get more information about Sabrina!  The pictures you posted are great - I called everyone in here to see them, lol!  We only kept her in our home for two days, but after those two days I knew you would absolutely love her!  She's such a great dog!  And I know she is feeling very loved and content with you guys or that warning bark never would have happened.

We are pretty picky on our homes, so we obviously feel you guys are some special people (and I also think Birol is for all the work his family is doing for Milo - whether it works out or not, I think you guys are fantastic for trying!).  Flying a pet to a new home is something I've only done this once, as I worry about what would happen if it doesn't work out (we will do everything within our power to make sure our dogs do NOT end up back in a shelter), but I feel very confident about Sabrina's new home, and some of the deciding factors for me were very subtle but meant a lot, such as looking through copcarguy's pictures and seeing many happy animals interacting with the family and extended family members/friends, and these pictures were there before they ever contemplated adopting Sabrina.

Many of our dogs only stick around for a week or two, but as the "copcar" family, and Barbara know, some of those long-termers are unjustly walked past as they can be some of the very best dogs!

(Wow, this was long...  Sorry!)

[copcarguy]

Hey Chey... errr Miss-Teri: :p
 
Thanks for all the nice stuff you said about us on the msn group... I read about how black dogs are hard to find homes for - I never knew that. It hurts my heart to know that really nice dogs like Sabrina are simply passed over just because they are a dark color. I tried to post the links of some other pics of Sabrina on that msn group, and tried to sign up, but I guess the moderator has to "approve" my membership first. Not sure if you saw it, but I have two more links a few posts back of Sabrina in the backyard the day after we got her. I see that you posted the "blanket picture". Man, I couldn't grab the camera fast enough when she was laying there like that!!
 
She is beginning to play a lot more... I think she is feeling "at home". We have lots of toys for her, but she kinda just ignores them. At the pet store there was this HUGE box of rawhide/chewy things and there was this one that looked like a rolled up taco tortilla - the only one in the big box. She looked at it, her ears perked up, and she then looked at us for approval. We told her to "take it" and she ever so gently picked it up. That is the only thing she has paid attention to "toy/chewy" wise. She chewed through it in a week, and it was gone as of last night. Sabrina thought she lost it, and was looking for it all over the house. Copcargirl took her back to the pet store last night praying there was another one in the big box. After some digging in the big box, CCG found another one. (WHEW!) Sabrina even knows that it's her "taco chewy" - she'll get it for you if you ask her to. I have been getting her to pay attention to a little ball thingy that has 2 little feet - it's called a "CUZ".
 
Here's the link: http://www.petco.com/product_info.asp?familyid=12355&sku=1894043168&tab=1&dept_id=299&c1=290&c2=299&c3=&ct1=Toys&ct2=Squeaking%2FTalking%2FInteractive&ct3=
 
It's kinda like the same material as a "KONG" dog toy. I make it walk with the little feet and make little sounds and Sabrina will come up to it and poke it with her nose, and then do the "dog play/front legs on the floor" stance. I can't get over how cool she is!
 
PS - I know I've written a book here, but I see you went to the Dinosaur National Monument. Isn't that place SO cool?!?! We stopped there for a day while driving back from California. Is that big green stegosaurus still in the parking lot?? I remember parking next to it and was amazed that living things that big once ruled the earth.