Foxy: May 2000

Foxy: 25 June 2000

Gade: 25 June 2000

Foxy was at the Anne Arundel County, MD shelter where she'd been turned in by her family. She's about 2 years old, up to date with her shots and spayed. She's housebroken, good with children, very friendly, and playful. Her family gave her up because they said they didn't have any time for her.

One day we got a call from a family living in Roanoke, VA interested in adopting a rescue from us. We'd known them for a couple of years and knew that they would make a wonderful home for any of our babies. They have had Chows for a few years now and Foxy is their newest baby in their family. Foxy now has a brother Chow who actually younger than she is, whose name is Gade.

Foxy's new family drove up from Roanoke and met us in Falls Church. From there we drove to the kennel where Foxy was being boarded due to lack of available foster care facilities. Foxy did her usual thing upon meeting Gade where she initially tests new dogs by darting in with quick little snaps. Gade just looked at her wondering what she was doing. Realizing that Gade was a "safe dog" Foxy settled down and began to blend right in.

On the drive back to Falls Church from the kennel in Alexandria, Foxy experienced a bout of diarrhea. It had been apparent when she'd first been brought out to us at the kennel that she'd had diarrhea earlier due to the unstable diet she'd been receiving. So, although it wasn't a surprise that she had another accident, it was unfortunate as it upset her. We stopped at a gas station to clean up the van, her crate, and poor baby Foxy. Before we got to Falls Church she had yet another accident that we once again cleaned up. Her new mom felt so very bad for the little girl and decided to call their vet while they were still on the road to find out what they should do for Foxy. The vet told them to give her some Mylanta to help settle her stomach. So, once they got home to Roanoke, they gave her some of the Mylanta and gave Foxy a bath. They called us to let say they'd gotten home safely with our little girl and that they would be taking a lot of pictures in the next few days. BTW, Foxy's new mom had already set up a website page on their new baby the night before they drove north to meet us to pick her up! :}}

June 26, 2000: We got an email from Foxy's new mom telling us that on day 2 she is fitting in perfectly. Foxy had an accident on the rug the night before while they were asleep. Then the next day she had another accident in the baby's room--not diarrhea, just a normal bowel movement, so at least being on a better diet now her digestive tract appears to have settled down. Foxy's mom asked for some advice as to how to deal with the problem of housebreaking, but said, "If this is the only problem we are in great shape." So, other than the housebreaking issue, looks like she is fitting in rather well. Foxy's mom said that she's such a beauty that her neighbor actually asked if she was going to be bred and shown. Of course, her mom just smiled and told the neighbor no. Such a compliment on our sweet baby girl! Foxy's new family hopes to get her into obedience very soon. Since Foxy is quite a jumper and is so agile, her mom thinks agility training would suit her as well. So, she said that her next step is to get Foxy in a class.

Foxy's mom brushed her the next day and said that she'd gotten so much coat out of her that it was another whole dog…"made a poodle out of it"…said Foxy looks great…that she likes to be vacuumed. She used the nozzle of the vacuum and then brushed Foxy's coat to remove loose hair. Foxy's mom said Foxy's a ham and they adore her.

6/30/00: Foxy's mom said the kid is definitely a free spirit…rambunctious. If she wants to play, she just irritates Gade until he relents and plays with her. Foxy apparently has been doing really well. Foxy likes to play rough, grabbing hold and pulling at fur, ears, and tails.. Foxy actually pulled Gade off the couch by his tail. Foxy still has occasional housebreaking issues, so her mom is now crate training her, "rooming" her at night in the hall bathroom. Other than that, her mom reports that Foxy is a beauty and is so sweet.

7/7/00: Foxy's mom writes that Foxy is doing "fantastic" and has finally managed to "put some meat back on her bones". The next day her mom wrote again saying that Foxy is "a doll". Because of her still having housebreaking issues, they are still crating the kid. Foxy's mom thanked us for letting them give her a home and said that she "is much loved here by all".

7/25/00: Foxy's mom said that Foxy seems to have great will…she doesn't appear to get it in the housebreaking issue, so they have decided that if that is possibly a forever thing, they won't be able to let her run free in the house proper. So, Foxy is being allowed to run free in their uncarpeted basement where she can play…it has the kids' play gym down there where she has constant interaction. Of Foxy, her mom says, "She's a sweety.. but oooohhhh so feisty.. :-) pretty too.."

Foxy's mom decided in the fall of 2000 that she wanted to start doing rescue of Chows in her area. So, she took in a male Chow in September they call Bear, then another in October called Baby Blue. Baby Blue is adjusting very well and is good with people and other animals. However, Bear has some issues…Foxy jumped on him trying to get him to play and he reacted by attacking her. Fortunately, in Foxy's mom's words, Foxy just "shrugged it off and went on her own conquest". Eventually, sometime around December, they added on another rescue, Balou. Then we got a contact about a litter of 8 puppies that were in dire need at a shelter, so they went to the shelter and picked up the 7 remaining puppies. Apparently the puppies were not as old as we'd been told, so they needed to be fed puppy gruel until they were old enough to eat regular dog food. After having all the puppies for a short while, one of our other rescue contacts drove down to their home to pick up two of the females and two of the males, leaving 2 females and one male. They decided to keep two of the puppies and we finally picked up the remaining female mid March 2001.