Ruby has been with us for about 8 months now and continues to change as she becomes more comfortable and confident. She greets me at the door with a big jump every evening. In one photo you can see her "attack mode" as she leaps on defenseless squeaky toys; in the other photo you can see a picture in the background of one of her puppies adopted also from ABTCR. Sent to us by Betsy, her foster mom- my husband printed it out for Ruby to have above her bed.

We have moved back to the Bay area in California and I think Ruby prefers it to summer time in Knoxville. She is willing to spend a lot more time in the backyard than before! Now that is is turning "cold" however (we do have frost in the morning), she sometimes needs encouragement to go out in the mornings! We also discovered that Ruby loves the beach- after she figured out NOT to drink the salt water and that the waves were not treacherous she dragged me all over trying to chase birds in and out of the water. This was fine in South Carolina in August, but the water on the west coast is really cold no matter the time of year. Ruby will now venture out when other people are in the house, continues to love other dogs and the car, is still intimidated by the cat, and tolerates our nearly 3-year old very well. Too well perhaps, since now the small child believes all dogs to be her climbing gym.

I hope to one day be able to let Ruby off the leash, but for now the only way to get her to come back (and out of the road, she continues to be oblivious to moving vehicles) is to open the car door. She sits well for treats and is great on the leash unless a squirrel/our kid/puddle/other dog is around.

Thanks to all,
Cheryl

16 December 2007

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Ruby is adjusting well to her new home. She has been here about a month and has come a long way from hiding in the corner of the backyard like she did on the first two days she was here. She has turned into a playful pup who enjoys romping around the backyard and stealing anything you might have in your hand. Ruby likes to take toys, sticks, rocks, whatever from you so you will chase her around. This is good for our two-year old who thinks the world belongs to her- they have been learning to share. In the house, Ruby is quickly teaching us not to leave any paper products we might want to actually read again on the floor. In addition, she continues with her love of stuffed animals. One day I heard the two-year old yelling "Hey that's my giraffe!" Ruby only wants to snuggle with them, she doesn't eat them. At least not right away. Ruby likes kids, loves the dog park, and ignores our cat. (The neighbors cats, who run, however, are a different story). Her favorite things are riding in the car and walking to the field at the end of our road. It is fun to watch her "full-body sniff" when she finds a rabbit trail. Ruby is still not comfortable around men, including my husband. While she will roll over for him to rub her belly (!) she won't actually go to him. She also needs to learn some leash manners and a few minor words like "come" and "sit" would also be useful. She had her first bath yesterday. I don't think she quite enjoyed this but the towel rubbing afterwards seems to have made up for it! Thanks to everyone, especially her foster mom, Betsy, for this great addition to the family. Cheryl 23 May 2007 Harper and Ruby are buddies already. It was very gratifying to have her wag her tail at me this morning and seem happy to have some morning petting! Right now she is too lazy to get off her bed to go outside, so she is willingly hanging out in the house. I think she is doing remarkably well! Cheryl 26 April 2007