Rainey apologizes for taking so long to post an update, but she has been a very busy girl this year. In the spring, she became an AKC certified Canine Good Citizen, passing the test with flying colors, though sometimes when we are out, we have to remind her that she is a good citizen when she forgets, and proceeds to bark at other dogs. Rainey also went to agility training, and finished 3rd in the large dog category. She attended a “Sniff & Search class,” where she finished 3rd as well. In the class, her coonhound brother Mojo won the “Sherlock Bones” award for being the top student! Rainey and Mojo also posed for their Patriotic Pooch photos for 4th of July and helped support the humane society. They also attended the “Doggie Dive In” again to mark the end of summer, Rainey has never found a pool she doesn’t like.

This fall, Rainey and Mojo have been excited to participate in lots of dog charity events and fundraisers, several for the "Don't Forget to Feed Me" food pantry. Most of the events involve a 1 mile dog-walk and costume contest. This year for Halloween, Rainey is “Misses Sherlock Bones” as you can see in the photo. Mojo is going as her prisoner. Rainey loves to greet all the children and help hand out candy, but most of all she loves the bobbing for hallo-weeny's contests, the last one she got beat by just two seconds! Generally, after the walks we go to a restaurant patio for lunch. The wait staff all have to come say “Hi” to Rainey. Down here in Texas, bloodhounds are pretty rare, and Rainey loves all the attention! She is currently in training for the Fort Worth Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning. It’s the biggest event she’s participated in so far. Then after that, she'll be looking forward to Christmas, and since she's been so good, she knows Santa Paws will bring her some new squeaky toys, which she also loves.

Rainey has been an incredible addition to our family, and along with her brother Mojo, have opened up a whole new world on what we can do with our four-legged family members!

25 October 2012

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Rainey Beau has settled in wonderfully to her forever home. She and her Black & Tan brother, Mojo, have become BFF’s and are constantly playing and wrestling. She’s picked up a few nicknames “The Raineyator” because she tends to just go right through things, and “Slobberoptugus” because she manages to get that stuff all over everything. For Christmas this year, she got a Kong ball that has become her favorite toy. She will spend hours playing catch or soccer with it. They go to doggie daycare 3 days a week and as she’s grown more confident, she has steadily moved up in the pack order. She and a little basset hound have really taken a liking to each other and they call them Rainey and her mini me. She and Mojo love to go on hikes in the woods. It took a little while, but Rainey is finally reliable enough that she can enjoy them off-leash. Although, sometimes she does get sidetracked, especially if she sees a lake, and we have to send Mojo to go get her. She loves to swim and once she learned how to get into the pool we can’t keep her out. She and Mojo just completed a Basic and Beyond Obedience course. They celebrated graduation with breakfast at Fuzzy’s Taco Shop where they showed off all their new skills, and they have gone to Three Dog Bakery. We said goodbye to summer by attending the doggie dive in at the local municipal pool. Rainey appointed herself the “official greeter” making sure she said hello to everyone there with both two and four legs. They just started a “fungility” class that she really likes. She really loves the tunnel since she’s figured out there are treats at the other side. Rainey has become a very special addition to our family! 25 September 2011 We adopted Rainey on 12-17-10, and she is adapting to her new home very well. As recommended on the website, we picked up Rainey from her foster mom Kathy and then "introduced" Rainey to her new canine brother, Mojo, at a neutral site, which was the doggie daycare we take them to a few times a week. Mojo is a black and tan, and we've had him since he was 5 weeks old. At first he was a bit apprehensive about Rainey, especially when she drove home in the car with us. You see, Mojo is positive he is a four legged person, and you could just see him wondering why there was "a dog" in his car with him. Upon arrival, Rainey made herself right at home and really tried hard to play with Mojo. Mojo was still not taking well to his new sister and having "a dog" in his house. My wife and I were starting to wonder if we made a mistake bringing another dog into "Mojo's home," when on the third night, we had a big breakthrough. I was playing with Mojo where I cover him with an old blanket and we "wrestle." Well, while Mojo was covered, Rainey decided to join in, and before he got out from under the blanket I moved away and Mojo and Rainey started wrestling, Mojo then got out and saw it was Rainey he was playing with. I guess then Mojo figured Rainey wasn't so bad, and they started playing and chasing each other. They did that for over 2 hours and have basically been inseparable ever since. Thus for anyone that is considering rescuing a coonhound, don't be discouraged if the dogs aren't best friends at first, it may take some time. Mojo and Rainey love going to the dog park and cage free doggie daycare together. They spend countless hours playing together and Rainey's "happy go lucky, never met a stranger" personality has even helped Mojo overcome some of his skittishness to other dogs and people. Rainey continues to put on weight. She eats like a horse though we are working hard not to overfeed her. We got her a "portion pacer ball" for her food bowl, and that helps out a lot to keep her from eating too fast. We're also teaching her to be less possessive about her food, toys, bones, etc., and she’s learning quickly. We are also doing other training sit, down, and come. She is a genuine delight for all of us and a perfect fit for our family. Thanks again for all you guys do, Rainey is very happy (and spoiled) in her new forever home. Todd and Chris 4 January 2011