Hello from the great state of Texas! My wife and I are former Chicagoans and 2 time adopters from L.E.A.R.N. In 2001 we adopted a female yellow, Cinder (Formerly Cindie) and followed up with our second adoption in 2002, a male yellow, Max. I wanted to drop you all a line with some pictures and let you know how they are both doing great.

When we adopted Cinder in November 2001, she had previously been an outside dog but has adjusted EXTREMELY well to the indoor life (She's the princess of the house). Unfortunately, this brought out some allergies that needed to be treated with antigen shots. No big deal, she was a trooper and the shoots worked very well. Upon our move to Texas in 2003, we were concerned about her allergies and what would happen. Much to our pleasant surprise, the allergies have almost completely dissipated and she only need to take a daily antihistamine pill.

Max however has been a bit more challenging. When we adopted Max, he was 125 lbs (some 35 lbs overweight) and covered head to toe in scabs from scratching. We knew Max had food allergies and we along with his foster parents thought that was the cause of the scratching. So, after several trips to the vet and the allergist, we found that Max indeed had several food allergies and had inhalant allergies to almost everything imaginable. We got the food addressed with a special diet and unfortunately have not had any success treating Max with antigen shots.

We are able to treat Max's allergies with Prednisone and fortunately with minimal side effects. We had a couple of other scares with Max after moving to Texas where he endured two bowel infection, which prompted a reaction to one of his antibiotics. This took us to Texas A&M University vet school to see a specialist. It turned out that max had "target" infections, which were easily treated but took a long time to heal.

So Max was finally out of the woods! Nope, not yet! One of the results of Max's allergies was a very thin coat of hair, especially on his belly and tail. In turn, taking Prednisone, makes the skin very delicate and susceptible to nicks and cuts. Well, Max just happened to be in the bathroom one morning while my wife was getting ready and hit his tail against the edge of our vanity cabinet. Now normally this wouldn't be a big deal, but with barely any hair on his tail, Max cut into a vein. So off to the vet we went. To make a long story short, we had to remove about 8 inches of his tail to allow it to heal, but it has healed well and Max doesn't even miss it. So this sounds like a lot of trouble, but as you know you just can't help but love them. I wanted to tell you specifically about Max because as success stories go in our book Max is just one big success. Max is now happy and healthy and gets along with everyone. I swear he is one of the most lovable dogs I have ever met.

We just recently moved into a new home with an acre of land for the dogs to run and they are really enjoying it. We can't wait until the swimming pool goes in as we'll never get Max out of it. We'd love to continue to receive the newsletter, so here is our new address:

As an additional note, as if two were not enough we recently adopted an 11 month old female Black lab named Lexi. She's a real sweetheart and loves to cuddle up with Max at night. Cinder keeps her in line and makes sure to consistently remind her who really runs the house. They are all a joy and we couldn't imagine life with out them. So we wanted to say thanks to LEARN for all the great work you do and thank you for bringing Max and Cinder into our lives. (I've added a few picture of "The 3 Musketeers" as well.)

Gretzky (aka Chance)

Hi all from LEARN: 
We've had the dog formerly known as Chance, now known as Gretzky, for just 3 weeks now, and we LOVE him!  Thanks for helping us adopt our first dog, and for bringing him over to us (as I thought I wanted an older dog, but now find we really wanted THIS dog!). Our cats still have some adjusting to do, but Gretzky does well in his doggy class, likes other dogs (we do trips to the dog park almost daily) and has been a wonderful companion. 

It seems like he's been in our lives much longer.

Ginger

We adopted Ginger about two months ago and she has been a great fit in our home. She enjoys playing with her 3 sisters, especially Dakota who is closer to her age. She also has learned to jump on the trampoline and usually has more fun on it by herself, running in circles and throwing her rawhide in the air. 

She always greets us with something in her mouth; It doesn't matter what it is. When we come home from work, she will look at us and then run back into the house to find a bone or a toy or something to bring us.

Thank you all for the wonderful addition to our family!!  

Hogan (aka Leroy)

I adopted a lab from your organization about 3 1/2 years ago. Just a quick update on how he's doing.... 

He is thriving in his new home, where we have a nice sized yard and where he can protect our family from all of the squirrels, rabbits and miscellaneous cats that dare to cross our fence line! He does miss the city life where he could always find a scrap of discarded food on his walks around town, but he definitely enjoys the abundance of trees, bushes and grass that he sniffs to his heart's content on his long walks around the neighborhood with the family.

Hogan has gone through a lot of changes in the past 8 months, with the addition of a new baby brother, and a cross-country drive with dad to his new home in New Jersey, but he has managed to stay his loving, crazy, energetic self through it all.  His new favorite past-time is licking leftovers from his little brother's face after mealtimes, or even better, stealing soiled bibs from the counter to chew on! In fact, he loves his new brother so much that each night he checks on him before he settles down to bed for the night, and in the morning after eating breakfast, leaves his kong toy in Brady's room, in case Brady decides he may want to chew on that one day as well! 

We definitely can't imagine our life without Hogan, he adds a good dose of humor to our home every day! We can't thank you enough for helping us find each other!

We contacted LEARN in September 2005 to adopt a lab to provide companionship for us and our 10 year old yellow lab named Goose. LEARN came out to visit our house at the end of October as part of the adoption process and brought a 1 year old black lab mix with them named Sonja. We had been interested in another lab on the website, but when Sonja came into the house and our yellow lab and 3 kids got to meet her, we all immediately fell in love with her.

Sonja had a tough go of it in her first year of life, as she had been a stray in Chicago and was brought to a shelter there with some discomfort in her hip. The shelter was not sure at first whether she had been hit by a car or had something else wrong with her. They contacted LEARN, who evaluated her and learned that she had hip dysplasia. LEARN chose to give Sonja a second chance at life and placed her with a foster home. While at the foster home, Sonja had surgery on the bad hip and made a quick and full recovery. However, it was now determined that she would have to have surgery on the other hip too for the same problem. We did not know that much about hip dysplasia, so we were not sure if we could cope with seeing her have to go through the surgery. After talking with a couple of veterinarians, we were assured she would not suffer and would make a full recovery. Therefore, we adopted Sonja on Nov. 9, 2005, from LEARN.

Sonja had her second hip surgery in December and again recovered very quickly. Today, she is completely healthy and just as fast as any other lab. She reminds us a lot of our previous black lab, as she loves to lay on the couch and sleep on the bed with us and "talk" to us when she really gets fired up. She is a real "lover". She will lick you until her tongue dries out. She cuddles up right next to you and lays her head on your lap. She kicks her feet and snores sometimes when she sleeps. There is always a pool of water on the floor by the water bowl after she gets a drink - I think more runs out of her mouth than stays in it! She always tries to get our other lab to play with her by nipping at his feet and head, but he will usually remind her who is king of the house and walk away. Sometimes, though, they will play tug of war with a rope toy they have. It is a real site to see, as our yellow lab, who weighs 114 lbs, will sit there in one spot with one end of the toy and Sonja, who weighs only 57 lbs, will stand up and tug with all her might with the other end. She eventually loses the battle, but gives our yellow lab an ear full to show her displeasure. Sonja also loves to run laps in our fenced in back yard with the golden retriever that lives next door. They will run on their respective sides of the fence up and down the entire line as fast as they can until they both finally drop from exhaustion.

As you can tell, we are very proud of Sonja and love her very much. We are so thankful to LEARN that they gave us the opportunity to adopt her and that she is now a huge part of our everyday lives. Thank you LEARN!!!

I'm Patsy; they thought that I had been through enough life changes and didn't make me change my name. I just had my 7^th birthday. This was my first birthday party with my new family. 2005 was rather a tough year for me. My owner died and I got sent to LEARN. They found me a family with children; but after a few weeks, the family had a major change in their life and I couldn't stay there any more, either. I went back to LEARN with a different foster mom. Foster family almost kept me, but their life was in transition, in fact foster dad is now assigned out of the country.

Anyway, they found an older couple for me. (Mom would probably resent that characterization. Only Dad is gray.) We all hit it off pretty good right away. I went home with them and there was dog smell all over. I found out that was Murphy, who had died two months earlier of cancer.

The next day we went out to a place I learned to call the lake. Boy, that's a neat place - all kinds of animal smells. Mom taught me about "froggin." That was fun - watching them jump and swim, as I paw the water.

They have bought a number of toys for me. There was a rodent kind of thing and a puffy ball, that I liked so much that I shredded them. Then Mom got me Harry the Hedgehog. He fits very comfortably in my mouth for carrying around. When I pick him up he sometimes says "ugh." Dad sometimes teases me by squeezing Harry to make him go "ugh" while I am carrying him. I really like Harry. He sleeps with me and I run to get him to show him off to visitors.

Like I said at the beginning, I just wanted you all to know that I am very happy. It seems that everyone loves me. People think I am just a love-muffin, which I am; but Mom has seen me in the fenced back yard with all of the soft black hair on my back standing straight up in response to someone on the other side of the fence…I will protect those I love.

Willie

Hi, I just wanted to give you an update on Willie (#1432). When we  first inquired about Willie we were told that some was already adopting him. We were heart broken, we instantly felt a connection with Willie when saw his picture. A week or two later they call and said that Willie was available, we jumped at the chance.

Nearing a year after adoption, Willie has fit into our family well. He first met his older sister and became instant friends, and a few months ago we adopted a puppy (yes another lab). That's three, I know were are crazy; I heard that many times. But, all of our dogs are well behave and most people compliment them.

Anyway Willie has two sisters (chocolates) which is how he acquired his nickname "Willie Wonka and his chocolate family"

Tigger and Cedar

This is Tigger again. This has been a great summer for me. I have grown by leaps and bounds and have a great time with my brother and sister bouncing all around our back yard. I play Keep Away with Cedar and try my darndest to get Snickers to play with me. Cedar and I run like deer in the back yard chasing each other with the ball.

They are having a great time and I though you might like to see what kind of a little lady Tigger is growing into. She is a bouncer; she bounces everywhere, runs like a deer and is very obedient. She takes her cues from Cedar and Snickers and tries so hard to be like them. We are having a great time with them.

Thanks again for all you do at LEARN. We have two wonderful pups adopted through LEARN. We are proof you can not go wrong with these pets.

Ginger

Boy...have I hit paydirt! This is me (on the left with my adopted sister Molly). I adopted my family in December of 2002 and was I ever a mess! When I first came to my new home I was really confused! I didn't trust anyone and I was quick to judge people thinking they all meant to be bad to me! With the help of my sister I have learned that people are great companions and they can be trusted. My family and I go to Colorado every summer, which I love. I get to go to training now and then, although I think I now can teach the rest of the canine group!

I now have a new brother Captain, so my family is now going to have three labs in the family. We will soon be moving to a new home outside of St. Louis where I get to live on three acres on a lake! While I will miss my days at Lake Michigan, I will really enjoy going out my own dog door and swimming whenever I like! My life is really great as I really love my family.

Colorado is my favorite place and I get to enjoy hiking swimming and being loved. Life is Great!!! I could not be in a better place and I owe it all to Lab rescue!!!

Riley

We got Riley from LEARN, a foster home (Anne) in Madison, Wisconsin, the Sunday after Thanksgiving last year. Riley is so full of energy, she never leaves my side and follows anyone that gets up from a chair or couch. She has never once tried to break through the underground fence that surrounds our 3/4 acre yard. She runs around the whole perimeter at full speed every time a car enters or leaves our courtyard, we're the first house off of the main street. She is great friends with our 5 yr old yellow lab Cleo. They just had baths at Pets Mart and the girls love them there too.

Thank you for all the good work you do, the kids on our block love playing with Riley each morning they wait for the school bus. We will be sending the "family" picture for our holiday card this year. Happy Holidays

Sandy

This is Sandy - I was adopted back in March '05 by my new family and I wanted to send some updated pictures to show you how happy I am and how much I love my new home! It's been almost a year since I got here and I love it. My little big brother, Odie, and I get along very well. We watch out for each other and play all the time. I even tire him out before I'm tired - I'm almost 9yrs old and he's 5 1/2! I got to experience my 1st Christmas with my new family. I love Santa Paws! He was so good to me! I got a new bed - I love it as it helps me with my arthritis and is so nice to cuddle in. I also got a bunch of bones and toys. My favorite is though that my new mommies and daddies took us to the doggy spa!  Wow! My new mommies and daddies say I look so pretty and smell so good - I love these spa days! I can't wait to go back!

My new mommies and daddies say on Valentines Day is going to be my birthday party - I'm gonna be 9yrs old! I look forward to those birthday biscuits that mommies bakes!

Here are 2 pictures-one is me and my little big brother, Odie. Odie was being a big moose and took up the sofa, so I'm on the floor. The other is me after I got home from my doggy spa day. I was pooped but happy!

Thank you so much for helping me find my new home - I love it here and we're one big happy family and expecting a new little one in July for me and Odie to watch over and protect.

LuLu

Hello! My name is LuLu and I was adopted June 24, 2005, from LEARN. My new forever home's parents wanted me to send you my blog (which is full of pictures and updates on my adventures), http://www.imagehat.com/index.php/lulu.

My forever parents love me very much and cannot say enough great things about ME or LEARN's organization and their people (and dogs ;-) Once I become even more settled in my new-ish home, perhaps my Mom and Dad will think about adopting or fostering a canine brother or sister in the future.

Thank you LEARN!

Best wishes for 2006,
LuLu
...along with Carol and Mike Kroll

TiGGeR

Hello from TiGGeR (Formerly Tawny) and Cedar,
Hi to you all, I am TiGGeR (Formerly Tawny), I am one of Bridgette's Puppies. I got adopted recently and am having the time of my life, I have a new brother and sister and man they are huge but that does not bother me, we are getting along just fine. I am trying to train these new siblings to play with ME whenever I want. I have a ton of fun chasing them around the back yard in the snow. My new parents seem to want to get all three of us together and sit still for something called a picture; The heck with that I want to have FUN!!! I have no time to sit still, too much going on all the time and I have to get into and drive everything. You know I MUST BE the center of everyone attention.

We are so happy to have TiGGeR in our lives, she is so full of puppy energy and is truly a smart little girl. She watches everything Snickers and Cedar will do and then does the same thing. She already is sitting before being fed, is just now understanding her name.Understands NO for just a microsecond but will still listen. She knows how to show is it is time to go out. And is now almost fully crate trained. I am amazed she has grown and learned so much in one week. She is an intelligent little sponge and we are having a great time with her.

Than you LEARN again for rescuing Bridgette and her puppies. We are very fortunate indeed as we found Cedar through LEARN and now TiGGeR. Here are a couple of photos of the new family. Snickers is 11.5, Cedar is 4, and TiGGeR is 9 weeks.