Just wanted to send another update and picture of Reba the Bloodhound, who we adopted just over a year ago and renamed Penny. She's still just as wonderful as ever! She spends a lot of time running around in the woods at the horse farm where I work, playing with 10-year-old bloodhound Schmoo and our cat, and filling the role of best friend to my 5-year-old daughter Stella. She's perfectly healthy and exceptionally well-behaved inside and out of the house. Her only issue is that she struggles with anxiety, especially about any family member leaving the house. I'm sure that's made worse by my husband's frequent travels for work, but she is with me and my daughter most of the time and is with the other hound when she has to stay home. Lots and lots of play and exercise seem to help a lot, and she is getting better with this all the time, so I'm not worried about it. This week, we are visiting my husband who is working for the Navy in Virginia Beach. She LOVES to chase birds and has been thoroughly enjoying our daily long walks on the beach, where the seagulls seem to enjoy teasing her. Again, we are so grateful to everyone who had a hand in keeping her out of the kill shelter and helping her to find her way to our family. We adore her and feel so lucky every day that she ended up with us. I've attached a picture of her taken yesterday on the beach; a happy, healthy pup.

Wendy

24 November 2012

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I wanted to send a quick update on Reba, aka Penny. She's settled in just great with our family and we can't imagine being without her. She loves her big sister, our Bloodhound, Schmoo. They snuggle together on the couch and chase and wrestle each other during the day. She's really brought some life back to 9-year-old Schmoo. She spends most of her days running around 100 acres of woods and horse farm where I work. The whole place is fenced with mesh horse fence, so she has free run over it. She understands the horses and goats very well (the donkey not so much - they avoid each other), and loves to follow me on trail rides in the woods, where she can chase animals, sniff around, and swim in the creek. She especially loves chasing birds, and there's a place on the farm where the dirt is piled high into what we now call "Penny Mountain," and she can climb up there and rush down the side to chase the birds in the small trees from above. There's also a long row of grapevines, and she loves to dart in and out, chasing the birds. She gets plenty of exercise, and has convinced us she needs to snuggle into bed between us at night. She makes us laugh with her loud groans as she falls asleep. She and my 4 year old daughter are great friends, and they've got a network of trenches and holes they are working on together in the back yard. When we're out at the farm, she often hovers close to my daughter as if she's looking out for her. As high energy as she is, she's always gentle with children in a way that I haven't seen in many young dogs. Everyone in the neighborhood loves her. She very quickly adapted to the rules of our household, and we haven't had a single behavior issue to address. She was easy to housetrain and understands well which toys are hers and which are not. She even comes when she's called most of the time, and we haven't had to put very much effort into her training. She's even sweet and gentle with our cat. She has finally begun to put on some weight (she was a bit ribby for a long time), and was at the vet for a checkup recently and deemed perfectly healthy. Thank you again for helping us find our sweet girl. She's everything we wanted and more. I've attached a recent photo...she's really growing up! Wendy 6 March 2012