Max

Max is our newest member and the youngest of our three dogs. I started out fostering Max, along with his sister. I picked them both up on Oct. 1st, 2010, when they were about 6 weeks old. Randy Grim, founder of Stray Rescue of St. Louis, rescued Max along with his Mom, 2 other brothers and 3 sisters. There were 6 puppies total in the litter. Randy rescued them on the first day of Fall 2010. You can read all about his rescue story here. Max's rescue name was Vasser (explained in his rescue story attached), but we changed it to Max.

When I agreed to foster the 2 puppies, I don't know why, but I didn't expect to get as attached as I did to them. It was so hard. As a foster, you are in charge of finding the puppies the best possible home. Stray Rescue has a website where the dogs, up for adoption, are listed. They also set up adoption events at several local stores for you to attend with your foster dog. These adoption events give your dog a better chance at someone falling in love with them who maybe hasn't looked at the website.

On Sat., Nov. 13th, 2010 we had a home visit set up for each puppy. The home visit for Max went well but they were also interested in another puppy at Stray Rescue and ultimately chose the other puppy. Which was fine with me, lol. By this time I was already very attached. Perrier's home visit went well and she ended up staying with the couple who went on to adopt her. She is now "Tater Tot" and is very happy in her new home with her mom, dad and fur-brother, Dodger. I heard from her new mom right after Christmas and she said she was doing great. :-)

We had one other couple interested in Max the week before Thanksgiving, but they ended up changing their minds since they already had two dogs. We had already been considering keeping Max, and when the second couple backed out, we took that as a sign that we should keep him and we couldn't be happier that we did. 

Max is now about 5 months old and is a typical puppy. He loves to play and has a great appetite, LOL. He scarfs his food down and can't wait for breakfast and dinner. He's also a pretty laid back puppy. He's very smart and learns really quickly. I just adore this dog and am so happy we decided to adopt him. Here are some pictures of Max.

I took this picture of Max the night I brought him home to foster.

This is Max laying on his foster sister the second day I had him. He was sick the second day I had him. I don't know if it was the change of food or location, but he wouldn't eat that day and just layed around. Thankfully the next day he felt better.

Max and Marley (we renamed them because we didn't really like their rescue names Vasser and Perrier) Marley went on to be named Tater Tot, LOL.

Max, out in our back yard.

Max, a week or so after fostering him.



Max out in the yard.

Max sitting on our bed, Nov. 2010

 Max in the kitchen, Nov. 2010

Max and I in front of the tree, Dec. 2010

Max playing with his toys, Jan. 2011

Hunter

Hunter is actually our oldest dog, but we got him after Libby. When Jake and I got married, we wanted to get a friend for Libby. We weren't really looking yet, but a co-worker of my husband's was needing to find a new home for her male lab mix. He was around 4 or 5 years old at the time, housebroken and already neutered. He was perfect for us because we weren't really wanting to train a puppy and he needed a home.

So on July 26th, 2007, just a couple weeks after getting married, my husband brought Hunter home to live with us. :-) He was a perfect fit. It did take him some time to get used to going inside, as he had been an outside dog for the most part. He didn't like the laminate floors or the stairs, but it didn't take him too long to get used to the life of an inside dog.

Now he's a big couch potato and thinks hes a lap dog, even though he's about 85 lbs. LOL. We think he might be a Lab/Great Dane mix, but we've never had him tested to see for sure. He's such a loveable dog. He's happiest when he's up in our bed, right in between Jake and I, with his head laying on one of us, getting a belly rub. He's definitely a gentle giant and we love him so much. Here are a few pictures of Hunter. :-)

The day we brought Hunter home.



Hunter, laying on Jake.

Hunter, all curled up in a little ball. So cute.

Hunter the couch potato.

Hunter laying on the dog bed. :-)

Hunter out in our back yard. I just love this picture of him.

My nephew Landon was over one Sunday afternoon and was laying on our futon downstairs, which is typically where Hunter likes to lay. While Landon was watching a movie, Hunter got up there and layed down with him. It was too cute.



Libby

Liberty Bell Smith (aka, Libby) was our first dog. We got Libby in 2005, while I was still living at home with my parents. Jake and I were dating at the time, but hadn't gotten engaged or anything yet. We picked Libby up from the breeder just a week or so after my sister got married and took her dog, Colby, with her.

I knew I wanted a Labrador Retriever after having been around them while working at the animal hospital. I also did a little internet research on the breed. They are such great dogs. A friend of mine had gotten a chocolate lab from this same breeder a few years prior to us getting Libby, so thats why I chose the particular breeder I got Libby from. They lived out in the country, took great care of their dogs and were very nice. Jake always said he'd like to have a yellow lab someday, so since I new I wanted a lab, we decided to get a yellow lab rather than chocolate or black.

On, May 20th, 2005, Jake, Myself, my Mom, Sister and Bro.-in-law, all drove out to the breeders home to pick out our little fur ball. I knew I wanted a girl, and they had 3 yellow females ready to go to their fur-ever homes that day. We played with the three puppies, but ultimately chose Libby because she was the calmest and most cuddly. ;-) She was about 8 weeks old when we brought her home... born on March 19th, 2005.

She's been such a great dog and we love her so much. When she was a puppy I taught her several tricks, (sit, shake, lay down and roll over, to name a few). We even took her to a puppy class where she learned to walk on a leash and all the basic lessons a dog should know. She's never really walked on a leash all that well, but she does great off the leash. She enjoys playing with other dogs and loves to swim when she gets the chance. She enjoys going to the dog park and loves to get treats!! She's the princess around our house and is very spoiled!! :-)  Its hard to believe she's going to be 6 years old in March. Time has really flown by. Here are a few pictures of her from when she was a puppy. :-)

This picture was taken on our way home from the breeder. We took her to Petsmart once we go her home and I remember she only weighed 7 lbs. Now she weighs about 70 lbs., LOL. 

I took this picture of her the same weekend we brought her home.

This is a little video of Libby when she was a puppy. 

Libby and I when she was just a puppy. :-)

Libby laying on my bed. She was about 4 months old or so here.

Libby, after she graduated from Puppy Class in August of 2005.

Libby's first Christmas. :-)

Libby in her bed. She loves her Kennel and goes in there even when she doesn't have to.

Libby going for a ride in the car. She's very used to the car and goes with us a lot of places.

Libby in her princess costume at the Halloween Party at the dog park. 2006. Her cousin Colby is the little Yorkie in the picture.

Libby and my nephew Landon in Libby's kennel. So cute!