Well, it’s hard to believe we have had her for nine weeks now - it’s like Marilyn has always been here! She has fit into our family – two humans, three dogs, one housecat, two horses, ten outdoor cats - so well that you’d think we’d used a dating agency!

Yes, she is stubborn but also charming and amazingly, she has not been on the leash for three weeks now. We do live on a farm in the middle of the prairies, so we are lucky in being able to let her run free. She might not come back straight away if she is busy but she does always come back and checks in regularly when we are out for our twice-daily two mile walks. At bed time and first thing on a morning, she is happy to run round the yard which is unfenced and does not tend to venture very far out into the home section.

She is a great snuggler – on the sofa or bed - but she does tend to snore rather loudly! She has an amazing voice and now she’s come out of her shell, she is starting to use it; everyone thinks its hysterical that such a loud noise comes from such a feminine, skinny little dog. She loves to bay at the outside cats and chase them up trees sometimes, along with our spaniel but she is very respectful of the house cat. All in all, we couldn’t have chosen a more suitable hound for our situation. We are working on her car riding. So far, she does not enjoy traveling in the car or truck and we wonder if this is related to the two plane rides home from Maryland, however, I am going to try her with a Thundershirt and see if this helps.

Thanks to all at ABTCR who were involved with Marilyn’s rescue from the kill shelter in Virginia, Sandy Bennett, Kristi Hagood, Katie Holt and Jayne for organizing it.

Jakki Stephenson
Saskatchewan