Bird Watching etc.

Dear Aunt Lisa,

Here are the best pictures from my latest photo shoot.

The first pictures have Savannah and me looking at birds in the next yard.
I'm the one on the left.


Foster mommy Debby says that my forever family wants to
see LOTS of pictures of me. I am really happy here, but I have heard
that there is a family out there looking for me. For ME!!! I can't
wait till they find me! I hope these pictures help them find me. It's
been a great summer, but it would be even better if I could meet my
new family, soon.

Foster mommy Debby says that I should smile for the camera more -
not just when she doesn't have the camera.
But finding my forever family is serious stuff. Whenever she takes out
the camera, I start thinking about that new home. What will it be like?
Will there be toys? Will there be really good food? Will they have a couch
I can sleep on? What about dog beds? Will they have birds I can hunt?
I'm wishing and hoping for that perfect home.

Serious Setter Love and a few Setter Kisses,

Sammy Anne

Savannah gives a report!

Let me introduce myself. I am Savanna, Sammy Anne’s foster sister. I am a Pointer, and I am The Queen. I have another sister who is a Setter, and I have hosted other Setters as fosters, so you see, I know a little something about Setters.

If you are looking for a kind and gentle Setter soul, to join your family, you should really look at Sammy Anne. She is a really nice girl. She walks so nicely on the leash that she makes me look like a bad dog. But I can’t get mad at her, because she is so sweet. Sammy and I have a pact when we go for walks. We walk together, and we leave my other sister on the other side of our Mom. But Sammy is not a snob (and neither am I). She plays a lot with my other sister. My other sister used to be almost blind, before she had an operation, and she was very crabby. But Sammy was nice to her, and played with her anyway. Sammy is even more patient with my other sister than I am!

Sammy has been getting prettier and prettier as she has gotten healthy. In fact, her fur is as luxurious as my other sister’s fur. My fur, of course, is Pointer fur, so it’s different. Now that Sammy Anne has gotten less skinny, and her fur is so nice, she looks a LOT like my sister. In fact, they look so much alike, sometimes I have to sniff them to be sure which one is which! But they don’t act alike, so it’s not too hard to tell. Sammy is the one that takes treats gently.

Sammy Anne really loves kids! I do, too, so when we are on walks, we always ask Mom if we can go see kids. Sammy loves kids even more than I do. My Mom says that she thinks that Sammy would be good at something called Therapy Dog. My Mom also says that Sammy could go into the schools and help kids read. I’m not sure what she means, because although I think Sammy is great, I don’t think she can read. But my Mom says that there is a special program where the kids read to the dog. I think that Sammy and I might both like that. Sammy would be really good at it, because she likes to lie down on soft things and listen.

Sammy does something my Mom thinks is really cute. She takes stuffed toys out into the yard. I’m too anxious to get out into the yard to think of toys. But Sammy will go choose a toy, and if she can’t decide on just one, she will bring two, or sometimes even three, all in her mouth at once! Then she runs around the yard, pretending that the toys are birds in her mouth! I never thought of a game like that!

Sammy has a quiet, gentle personality, but she can whoop it up when she wants to! She helps us alert Mom to other dogs on the street, and to strangers going by the house. And when she’s having fun in the yard, sometimes she barks then, too. She helps me patrol the yard for squirrels, and helps me watch for them on our walks in the neighborhood, too. She’s pretty birdy, and she’s got me thinking about birds a lot more, too. She even CAUGHT one once. I guess all that pretending with the stuffed toys pays off!

Sammy is very good to our cats, so if you have cats, I think you can count on Sammy to be good.

We love Sammy Anne, but we know that there is a REAL, FOREVER home out there for her. As good as our home is as foster home, we know that there is someplace even better out there for her. Don’t hesitate, now that our pretty foster sister is healthy, she will get adopted soon!

Respectfully submitted,

Savanna

Sammy Anne writes a letter...

Dear foster mommy Monica,

I wanted to write to you and tell you how I am doing. I missed you a
lot at first. But I have settled into my new foster home nicely, and
am really getting used to it. When I came to your house, I was not
feeling good at all. You took really good care of me. When I left to
come here, I was feeling better, but you know that I still wasn't
feeling all that great yet. My new foster mom gave me medicine and I
felt better. Then I started to cough again, and she took me back to
the nice vet, and I started on some new medicine again. I am starting
to feel better now. Someone named Aunt Lisa sent some eyedrops for me.
I didn't like them at first, but now I don't mind them as much as I
did. My eyes hardly tear up anymore at all. My new foster mommy says
that my cough will go away soon, too. My fur is growing back where
they shaved it for my spay. In fact, my fur is looking really nice. My
new foster mom says I am turning B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L. She says that
means that I'm pretty.


There are two dogs here who live here and are not fosters like me.
They have been pretty nice to me, and most of the time I feel like one
of the family. One of them is a setter just my size, but a little
heavier. She used to be a foster, but then she decided to stay here as
her furever home. We were getting along really well. She's young, but
she has really shown me the ropes around here. I think she's in charge.
Of all the dogs, she was here first.

I have learned some new things since I came here. I have learned about
walking on the leash. I learned that I'm not supposed to stop right in
front of my foster mom while she is walking, because that trips her
and annoys her. She's nice about it, but I can tell that she gets a
little annoyed when she trips. I have learned positive things, too.
Savanna, the pointer, showed me how to pull on the leash. This way I
don't trip my foster mom. It's working pretty well, most of the time,
but I must not have it quite right, because my foster mom stops me
sometimes and says "no pulling". There must be a happy medium. But I
know I get it right sometimes, because she calls me to give me treats,
even when we are on walks. Speaking of treats, I have learned to sit
for treats - although I don't really see the point of it. The treats
are pretty darn good, though, so most of the time, I cooperate with
this foolishness. You would be very proud of me, I think.


I have my own bed here! It's in the bedroom. I love it. I get to sleep
in the living room on the couches and on the chair, too. It's a pretty
soft life here. The food it very good, no complaints at all. I always
finish all my food. You might not even recognize me, as I have put on
a few pounds. I have learned about some new treats that I didn't know
about before. They get raw sweet potato here. I was uncertain about it
at first, but now I LOVE it. I never heard of it before, I think!
Sometimes I get little frozen pieces of something called "raw". They
are SO YUMMY. The other day we each got some pieces of frozen green
beans and broccoli. Usually we get the broccoli raw and not frozen,
though. The girls here get teeny cheddar cheese cubes as treats on the
walks. My new foster mom calls them "training treats". Since I'm part
of the family, I get them too. Isn't that cool?? We're supposed to be
good - sit at street corners, and not pull on the leash to get the
treats. Caleigh is kind of nuts, though. She wants the treats ALL the time.
I like to pay attention to the squirrels and the birds. Savanna and I walk
together out in front and ignore her.

I hear IBR is looking for a perfect new home for me. I'd like to put
in a request for a home with a very soft couch, and some really nice
soft dog beds. It would be nice to have one of my own. I have a pillow
of my own here, on my bed, and I really like that, too. Another thing
I like is kids. There aren't any that live here. But every time I see
them on our walks, am so happy. There is something about kids that
makes me so happy. I don't care how old or young they are. I like
them. I'm not too picky about exactly which food I get, but now that
I've had a taste of good food at your house and here, I'd like to stay
with the good stuff. I feel so much better. So I hope that my new
furever family feeds me really good food.

I am sending some pictures of me. My new foster mommy says I
should also send these to Aunt Carola so that she can update my
blog. She says that's how my new family can start to get to know
me, and start loving me. I hope that they look at my blog soon.
I can't wait to start loving them.

Love,

Sammy Anne

Sammy Anne and the Standing Poop!

We don't know if this is the first step to indoor toilet training or what---but this little "idiosyncrasy" of Sammy's is simply hilarious!

Caleigh playing with Savanna and Sammy Anne

Sammy Anne is the cute girl that sniffs pointer girl Savanna all over...

Video of Sammy Anne romping with her foster sisters

Video of Sammy Anne & Caleigh playing with Stick

Update about Sammy Anne!

Sammy Anne is so sweet. She is a total couch potato in the house. She has adapted to our household very quickly. You could never tell that she was not used to living inside a house. She is completely acclimated.

She adores the couch, the dog beds - anything soft! She is learning to "sit", and is starting to think that sitting for treats is a pretty fun game. She loves to play with Savanna and Caleigh, but keeps most of her rough-housing to the yard. Once she comes inside, she's ready for a treat or for a good meal, and then she will settle down on the softest thing she can find that is still in the same room with me. Gradually, she is getting secure enough to be able to hang out in a different room from me if she feels like it. She is so fond of the couches that she will go hang out in the living room even if I am not there.

Sammy is a very serious dog when you have a conversation with her, but get her outside with her foster sisters, and she can cut loose with the best of them! Once the fun is over, though, Sammy is once again serious about getting that nap-time in on the couch.

Sammy Anne is completely cat-safe. She loves the birds outside, but is not obsessed with them. She will make a wonderful addition to anyone's home. Sammy would enjoy having a sister or brother in her new home.

Sammy Anne (right) is playing with Caleigh.

Sammy with pointer girl Savanna.

First Report from Sammy Anne's new foster mom

Sammy was still not feeling well when she first came here, and it was
so so cold out. The house had a chill the way houses get when it's
well below zero. She appreciated the extra blanket on top of her. I
don't think she would want that blanket now!



She is doing very well. We have been doing lots of walking, and she
walks well on the leash - except when she stops dead in front of my
feet. I have nearly run her over many times! She loves to walk in
front with Savanna, and is happy to get in the middle, in between the
other dogs. A couple of days ago, we went for a walk with Ariel's new
family. Sammy inserted herself between Ariel and her new sister Lily,
with no regard to who had what leash. She said, "I like being in the
middle!"

She likes to play with Caleigh in the yard, which is really nice for
Caleigh, who is getting more and more handicapped by her eyesight.
They are just the same height, and they are very cute together. I'll
try to get pics of that.


Sometimes she sleeps on the bed, but mostly she sleeps on the dog bed
in the bedroom. She's smart. One day Caleigh was on the dog bed, and
Sammy made a big show of wanting to get up onto the bed. Caleigh got
jealous, and jumped up onto the bed. Sammy immediately lost interest
in getting onto the bed, and settled into the place Caleigh had just
vacated. She knew exactly how to get Caleigh out of her bed!

Cold, Cold State!

Sammy Anne didn't take long to get smart. When you live up North, you snuggle up to your foster sister Savanna for some extra warmth!!

Minnesota or Bust!

Little Sammy Anne made the trip North to her new foster home in Minneapolis---oh, yes, pointer boy Franklin was also along for the ride.

Child-Proof

Well we can confirm that Sammy Anne is great with kids.........and cats......and EVERYONE. Now that she feels so much better she is the happiest sweetest most submissive little girl.....

Her Funny Valentine!

Sammy Anne has a valentine......Winston follows her everywhere!! I don't think she has ever been spooned before!!!

Snuggle Girl!

Little Sammy Anne is snuggling in with foster daddy Tom!

Sammy Anne's owner was forced to sell all his property and turned a lot of his setters over to a shelter in Southern Illinois. IBR is trying to get them into foster care. Sammy Anne is one of the first ones that was pulled into rescue.

Monica, who picked Sammy up, writes: "Little Sammy Anne came with a field dog stud book registration, born in 2001. She also has a pedigree. She comes from Grouse Ridge Leroy. Her owner also gave us a picture of her father.

She's tiny, just 28-30 pounds. She is underweight and needs to gain about 5 lbs. SUPER sweet, soft fuzzy fur. Her coat looked much better after her bath, but will fill in more with time. She was a little timid in the car and for her bath. She loves food!! She's very confident, holds her head and tail high, but a little nervous with people. THEN I let her out in the house. She ran around like a little devil......THEN I introduced her to the couch........forget it! Her life is changed FOREVER!! She is now an official COUCH POTATO! I had to pick her up off the couch and put her in the crate, she didn't want to leave."