Captain Jack Sparrow

It has been almost a year since my husband and I adopted Captain Jack Sparrow. Due to his long name, and a neighbor's dog already named Jack; we decided to call him Jax. Wow has he changed our lives! My husband and I both always talk about how much we love Jax and how crazy it is that we can love and care for a dog so much! Jax is our little baby in our house and is so amazing to have around. He loves to cuddle with both of us and snuggles up right next to us in bed at night. He is also always ready to play...one of his favorite games is hide and seek :) We have a fenced in backyard where Jax loves to run around and play fetch. He has quite the personality and is SO smart! He also LOVES to go on walks; which we do every day. Jax also loves to play with other dogs. My husband and I are always sad when we have to leave him and can't wait to get back home to him. Adopting Jax from DDR was the best thing we have done! We have even talked about possibly adopting another dachshund from DDR so Jax can have someone to play with and so another dog can join our loving family :)

Charlie

Sorry it took sooo long to write - these boys have kept me very busy. I just want to say THANKS for allowing me to adopt Charlie. He has become a big part of this family, and we enjoy spending every minute with him. I was worried at first how long it would take Charlie to warm up to me, but I gave him his space the first day and by the next day he was attached to my hip. The following day he had to go to my Aunts while I went to work and he cried for me for hours, but with his new big brother Snickers, which has been a great help, he has learned the daily routine. We had a few accidents on the floor, but with patience it didn't take long to understand he must go outside to potty. You should see how fast he runs around the yard. It almost makes you dizzy watching him! He is such a happy go lucky dog now. He gives plenty of kisses and wags his tail so much, I worry he will fly away! Also, it is so cute when I give him a bone. He will hide it in his mouth like a chipmunk and walk around with it till he finds the perfect spot to lay and chew on it. It cracks me up every time. He has so many toys now and some days he can't make up his mind which one to play with. He enjoys watching out the window in car rides and he is a very good walker. For Christmas, they both got their own gifts to open. We love to spoil these boys, and I am sure they enjoy that too. His deafness has not slowed him down at all and some days I forget he can't hear because he is so aware of his surroundings that you would never know. Thank You, Amanda Wolff, Jason Amundson, Snickers & Charlie

Cocoa Bean

Sorry it's taken me a while to send a note but you see I have been learning so many new things at my new home it's hard to sit still long enough to write a letter. My life changed April 16, 2011 when my forever parents came to Sioux Falls and chose me. I was a little concerned when we got in the car and started that long drive back to Rapid City. But they stopped lots to let me out and do my business and the first stop I decided things would be great so I showered them with tons of kisses to get them calmed down! In the months I have been here, I have gotten to do so many things that I never remember doing before. We have gone camping lots this summer, and we have camped close to some animals that "think" they are bigger than I am, they are called buffalo, I guess. I don't try to show them who is boss. I just let them do their thing and move along, but wow are they big! My new family has taught me lots that I didn't know before, like how wonderful it is to snuggle under a blanket for hours - this is even better when there is a human with me! I have toys that I never knew about before and once they taught me how to play with them, well it's just been the best thing ever! I have my favorites of course, and I let them know if someone thinks they want to play with them, but I try to share. But I will not share my kennel, that is my private castle and no one gets to go in there, not even the little girl that visits often and has learned to crawl. Oh and then there are treats and lots of different kinds, I always try to do my best because I know they will let me have a treat. They keep talking about Christmas is coming and I will have my very own stocking with my name on it. I don't really understand, but as long as it's filled with toys and treats, life will be grand! Thanks for having this website so my forever family found out I needed a home! It's been great! That's about all for now, Cocoa Bean.

Cinnamon

I am soooo sorry for not writing for so long! It just seems like time is flying, and I always tell myself that I need to email you to update you on their progress, but I just never seem to sit down and do it! The girls are doing so well. You would be so proud of them! We changed Cinnamon's name to Snooki and we changed Twyla's name to Vinny (named after Vincent VanGogh, who also only had 1 ear...even tho she's a girl...) Snooki is getting around our house with ease, and I think she actually has the floorplan memorized now. When she first got here, she would run and play, but would end up crashing into things like walls and furniture. It didn't really seem to hurt her, because she just kept on truckin, but I was worried so I bought her a little white doggie crash helmet. We would put it on her when she would get really excited and want to run around like a nut, and it kept her little head safe from bumps and bruises. Now that she has learned the layout of the house, we don't need the crash helmet anymore because she stops just short of crashing and whips around and runs in the other direction as fast as she can. She is a crack up! She gets along with everyone and is a real ham when it comes to getting attention. She sleeps in bed with us every night and gives tons of kisses! She also keeps herself busy landscaping our yard. She has 2 giant holes that she is working on, about 30 minutes a day or anytime she goes out to potty. She also loves to help with the chrores inside too. She is great at sorting laundry and fluffing blankets and pillows. She is a fantastic little dog!! Vinny has really come out of her shell. When she first arrived she would only walk around the perimeter of the room--too afraid to walk thru the middle of the action. She is now becoming interested in toys, and plays tug of war with the other dogs. Vin is a great companion--also known as Velcro Vinny--because she has officially become my shadow! She loves to lounge on the back patio, four paws to the wind, belly up to the sun and take a snooze on a lazy afternoon. We have always kept full bowls of dog food on the floor for our dogs to eat when they are hungry, and it has never been an issue, but our little Vinny can't seem to get enough to food. At first we assumed it was just a novelty for her to visit the food dish often, and we thought it would wear off. But she must just be the hungriest little dog in the world, and she has gained some weight, so we have had to cut back on the "free feeding" and put Vin on a little diet. She is a snuggle bug at night too. She sleeps in the crook of my shoulder all nite long and won't budge until the alarm goes off in the morning. And she has learned what "outside" means, and whenwe ask her if she wants to go outside she will run around in circles as fast as she can, zooming by the door with excitement. She is such a great dog! I'm going to attach pictures to this email, but there are several of them so I might have to send some in another email if they don't all fit in here. I also attached a pic of our house so you can see where the girls live now. Thank you so much for all you have done to help these girls out. I couldn't have asked for better dogs! On 7/5/11, Sarah Marie wrote: > Sorry to bug you - I know the summer is a busy time. Just had to check in > and see how Twyla and Cinnamon are doing. They are some awesome girls and > we still think about them. > > Thank you so much for the meds for Lulu as well. It is difficult for her, > but we keep working at it.

Chuck

Our lives changed forever on July 10th, 2010. That was the day we drove the 3 hours to Sioux Falls from Fargo, ND and picked up our newest family member. I don’t know what I expected but it was clear to me from everything I’d been told by Judy at DDR and what I began to experience that Chuck had a very hard start to life. In fact, MOST of his life prior to the 2 months since DDR rescued him from that puppy mill had to have been horrifying. Nothing will prepare you to see an animal behave as though at any moment you’re going to hurt him. With patience and understanding, Chuck began to realize that Justin and I were were “alright.” J It started with circling around us or laying near us, but not touching us. About 3 weeks after we picked him up, I was sitting on the couch when I suddenly realized the little scheister had wiggled his way up on my lap! I was thrilled! And it has been nothing but improvement since that moment. I’m happy to report that Chuck loves his mommy and especially loves his big brother, Ollie. I see Chuck watching Oliver, studying him. And now, he mimics him. It occurred to me that he had never seen how a normal dog should act and was trying to model himself after his brother. It brought tears to my eyes. Chuck is very loving – he enjoys the sunshine through the patio window on a weekend afternoon, his regular food schedule (which he gets super excited for), his toys, our warm laps at night, curling up in a puppy pile with big brother…he’s taking everything in as fast as we can give it to him! We are beyond blessed and words cannot express how grateful our little family is for DDR and especially Judy, for helping us finding this little guy. He’s brought such happiness and appreciation to our lives. Thank you so much.”