From the hounds! They were so not happy with me for trying to dress them up for the Christmas card pictures. Ruby still hates the camera. Daisy tried to hide the collar and hats under a blanket in a chair. Duke looked so pathetic. Dixie hid her face away from me at first.

Merry Christmas to all that take care of these wonderful hounds!

Ron & Teresa Krapes
Duke Ellington (Duke)
Daisy
Tulip (now Dixie)
Ruby Don’t Take your Love to Town (Ruby)

23 December 2008

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Ruby

"Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town" came to live with us last September as a foster, along with her 11 puppies. Her puppies were adopted out but Ruby stayed. Ruby came as a very frightened, shy girl. But we could tell that she really wanted to be loved and be part of a family. It took several months before she decided that she could trust us. We decided this spring that Ruby had found her forever home with us. She’s comfortable with us even though she’s still shy around other people. She loves the other hounds in the family. She especially loves to get the opportunity to take a run through the neighbor’s woods and a swim in their pond. She knows where home is and where she belongs. She’s still hates to have her picture taken! Duke Ellington, Daisy and Tulip (now Duke, Daisy, and Dixie) are all over a year old now. We survived having three puppies! They are so full of personality and energy. They are a beautiful pack of hounds. Daisy is the leader of the group and she’s very sassy. Duke is the pack clown. Dixie is the jumper. She has cleared the four foot backyard fence. But she’s only done it once and not again after Daisy gave her a good bark lashing. They are very good to the foster hounds. Good thing we live in the country because when they all get to baying at the same time, it can be quite loud. Beautiful music though. And their noses don’t miss a thing. They are right there to investigate if we’ve eaten anything. We couldn’t have asked for more loving family members. Ron & Teresa Krapes 22 May 2008 Daisy Dixie Duke, Daisy, Dixie Duke Duke We wanted to update you on Daisy and Tulip (now called Dixie), who are Indian Maiden's pups, and on Duke (Duke Ellington). We have become hound lovers! Duke joined our family in April. We fell in love with Daisy's face on the website and she joined the pack in July. She is absolutely the sweetest, orneriest, and most fun-loving maniac we've ever seen. And we couldn't love her more. Duke fell in love with her immediately. Then we saw that Dixie was still needing a home and she joined us in September. Dixie is every bit of a sweetie and maniac as her sister. They gang up on Duke. Both of the girls pounce on Duke from higher elevations (usually the couch). One will try to drag him by the ears while the other bites his private parts. They all love being in the back yard and playing hard. They have done wonders for our foster coonie (Ruby, Don't Take your Love to Town) and have helped her learn how to be a fun-loving dog again. We love it when they come in and fall asleep! They make us laugh, shake our heads in amazement and, as rambunctious as they are, there is nothing more fulfilling than having one of them curl up on one of our laps for a snooze. Thanks again to everyone involved in saving and fostering these wonderful pups. Ron and Teresa Krapes 13 October 2007 Duke joined our family at the end of April. He joined two rottie-mates, Bear and Danni. Duke immediately loved them both even though they were less than impressed with the audacity of this young pup. Whenever he saw Bear first thing in the morning, his tail would wag so hard that he’d hit himself on both sides. Duke didn’t care that Bear was 160 pounds and wasn’t scared one bit to lick Bear in the face, or worse, bark in his face. Sadly, we lost Bear to cancer on Memorial Day weekend. Duke and Danni, a much smaller rottie female, have become best buddies. Although, Duke terrorizes her most of the day. Bless her heart, she just looks like she wishes someone would get him off of her! Duke is growing like a weed so they can now play tug of war together and they have a blast with that. Duke is a willful, playful, loving boy that has been a pure joy for us. Duke and I start obedience school at the end of July. I can tell that he’s going to be a fast learner; except for the housebreaking and he’s a little hard on the bathroom rugs! We are thrilled to have Duke in our family and want to thank everyone connected with the rescue that works hard to give so many dogs new homes. A special thanks to Duke’s foster mom because she is a brave woman to have four of these boys at once! Teresa & Ron Krapes 29 June 2007