6/18/08 - I picked up Melly on Father's Day.  I didn't tell my Father that I would be bringing him his first granddog so he was very surprised.  She settled right in very quickly.  She walked around my house for 5 minutes or so and then looked at me like "ok where's the couch I am ready to rest."  Her foster Mom was certainly correct this girl likes to relax.  I brought her to school today and she was amazing with my students.  Her wiggler goes a mile a minute and she just lets them hang all over her.  I renamed her Remy Martin because I thought it would be clever to name her after my Father's favorite drink!  I am absolutely in love with her!

6/15/08 - Melly left with her forever family today. She seemed to fall in love with them instantly. She was sitting next to them on the couch being petted right away. We will miss her but she isn't far away, her new family lives in the same city. It is always such a good feeling to know that they are on to the next phase in their life and that things will only get better.
Be good Mel Bell and enjoy your new life!!!

6/11/08 - Melly is pending adoption.

6/9/08 - Melly continues to be a wonderful guest here. The weather has been extremely warm here in the 90's since Friday. Our walks have been shortened and play time outdoors as well and she has been great. With the increased temperature she has been eating less but so have our two boxers. But she does enjoy a frosty paw (doggie ice cream) treat every now and then.

Melly does tend to bark when seeing men on walks. But my dad came over the other day and she was great with him. He was sitting on the couch and she went and put her front paws in his lap to be petted and then ended up relaxing on him. Whenever she has barked and they are people that we know if we take her to meet them she relaxes. (It seems that she is the protective type.) When corrected on walks she continues to walk next to you.

Melly is a total sweetheart that makes us smile all the time. I can not say enough good things about her.   

6/4/08 - Melly continues to be her sweet self. She is a very easy dog to take care of. She just wants to go on a few short walks a day and be petted when ever she can.

Melly did get to meet our female boxer over the weekend and they were great together. Melly did seem a little overwhelmed at times when my female started to try and get her to play though. But I'm sure that once she gets used to the way my female plays she will be fine.

Melly met a 3 year old boy today and she was great with him. She gave him a kiss on the hand and allowed him to pet her. When he started running around she just watched him run. Melly loved his mom as well and gave her lots of kisses too. Melly was awesome the entire time they were here.

Melly is really a great dog and everyone who meets her just loves her. She is going to make a wonderful addition to her forever family.
 

5/30/08 - Hi Everyone!! My name is Melly Belly. My foster mom and dad call me Melly, Mel and sometimes Mel Bell too. I like all I guess as long as they are giving me attention. (I love to be petted and be near them.) My wiggles might not be as big as some boxers but when I see them my tail starts going pretty fast. I never jump on them or anyone that they bring to see me. I just wait to be petted.

When I first arrived I didn't eat much but I have started eating all my food. They like to mix in yogurt, beef, cheese and I like them all. My favorite is definitely cheese. When they had to give me medicine for my cough they wrapped it in cheese and I would spit out the pill so they would keep giving me cheese!! (My plan worked good too.) I go on a bunch of walks each day because I don't like to go potty in their yard - I prefer going somewhere else. I walk next to them though and only pull every now and then.

I really HATE the crate and I whine and carry on when I am in there so they have started leaving me out downstairs and I am being a very good girl. I have not chewed on anything or had a accident now that I don't have to be in the crate. They did try to leave me in just the living room but I am a smart girl and I got on the couch and jumped from there. Of course, then I was stuck in the dining room til they got home. (It seemed like a good idea at the time.)

I have gone up and down the stairs with my foster dad a bunch of times but if given the chance to go up them by myself I just don't. I will lay at the bottom of the stairs and wait instead. I still haven't gotten to play with my foster brother and sister but they said that they are just taking it slow. I hope I get to meet them soon but I heard they have a lot more energy than I do. I hope I can keep up.

Well, thanks for reading all about me. I have asked them to take some new pictures of me and they said that this weekend they will. So, check back soon to see my new photos!!
 

5/21/08 - Melly went to the vet on Monday and she was great. It is located in PetSmart and so she got to see lots of people as well. While she had a hard time walking on the floors it didn't stop her from trying to see everything. A young woman in a wheelchair asked if she could pet Melly and Melly stood as calmly as a boxer can while the girl petted her.
The vet found no health problems with Melly and actually estimates her age to be between 3 and 5 years old. (The vet is a boxer lover as well, she has three!!) Now that we know Melly is healthy we will work on the stairs with her. We didn't want to push her until we knew that she didn't have joint problems or something. She also weighs in at 68.2 lbs and is a little overweight. Since Monday I have increased her walks and she is keeping up nicely.
Today we are having some work done on the house and my mom came to house sit while I was at work. While Melly did great with her she did NOT like being in the crate when the workers were traveling in the house. Now that I am home I have her baby gated in the living room and I stay with her when they need to come in and she is fine. Melly isn't a fan of the crate as it is but I didn't want my mom to have to deal with her if she acted up with the people. She has been having some accidents in the crate as well. But only in the crate so we are not sure if she just is protesting the crate.
Melly really enjoys being petted more than anything else and will climb onto the couch to snuggle with you. She has shown us no negative behavior and continues to be a wonderful house guest.

5/18/08 - Everyday Melly seems to open up more. She is playing with toys, barking, pulling to get to the squirrels, finally eating her kibble but she is still her sweet self. She seems to be the happiest being petted and sitting with you on the couch.

We are excited that Melly is finally eating more than the beef mixed in with her kibble. She is also eating treats and enjoys a peanut butter filled kong every now and then too. She has become more vocal and has barked at people outside and is now whining in her crate if we are home and she has been left in there. We are still leaving her downstairs at night to sleep on either her dog bed or the couch and she is a good girl. She hasn't chewed on anything and is quiet all night.
 
The other night while Melly was playing with my husband she responded to a firm RELEASE every time she was told. She is also told to sit every time we come into the house and she does great. We haven't worked on down yet but we will. Even though she is more interested in the squirrels on walks she still walks next to you when corrected. Today the collar she was wearing broke and she just waited next to me while I hooked her back up.

We finally introduced Melly to our two boxers. While she did great with both and walked next to them nicely our male was not as nice to her. Nothing happened but it proved that they are not ready to be together. So, until we trust him we will continue to keep them separated. They do see each other often as Melly is crated downstairs and they have to pass her to go outside.

All in all, Melly is doing wonderful. It is so rewarding to watch her personality come out as she feels more comfortable with us. Melly Belly is going to make her forever home very happy.

5/15/08 - Melly Belly is doing great. The shelter actually named her that and it really seems to fit her. She is a big girl and it should be interesting to see how much she weighs. I will be taking her on Monday for her Wellness Exam.
We have been taking two small daily walks with Melly and while she started off super slow she is picking up the pace. She is great on the leash but she does start panting quickly. We decided to see how she would do being left alone downstairs at night and she is doing great. She sleeps either on her dog bed or the couch and we think she is more content there. She is crated when we are out of the house though. Yesterday, Melly showed off her voice. We are getting a new back door and someone came to measure it. Well, Melly made sure I knew he was here. She also finally played with a toy last evening so I think that she is finally coming out of her shell!!
We are still having a hard time getting her to eat more than just beef but we are trying and hopefully we will find the right combination of foods for her.
We hope to introduce her to our two boxers this weekend and I will update on how she does with them. 

5/10/08 - Yesterday we picked up Melly in Binghamton. Thanks to everyone that helped get her there. Right away she just wanted to be petted and loved. We have family there so we took her to stretch her legs before she had to get back in the car. Melly currently has a very running nose and a cough but was sent with antibiotics so we hope to see improvements in the coming days. Also from the stress of the day she was shedding quite a bit. We spent some time brushing her and she really seemed to enjoy it. On the ride home I sat with her and she laid down next to me the whole way.

Once home my husband walked her around the neighborhood and she was wonderful on the leash. She doesn't walk very fast though and was moving stiffly. She didn't want to eat for us last night but she was drinking water so we decided to try again in the morning.

This morning we found out Melly doesn't like to go down the stairs. My husband finally had to carry her as she wasn't moving. So, we have moved her crate downstairs until we can work on the stairs with her. She isn't very playful yet but she does have a cold so as she feels better I'm sure we'll see more boxer wiggles and a little playfulness. She finally ate some food this morning. We went and got some beef for her and she ate it right away. Seeing she is crated downstairs our two boxers have seen her and everyone is curious but we are going wait until she is better to really introduce them.

Melly is a sweetheart and we look forward to seeing her come out of her shell and really show us her boxer personality. Right now we just want to make her healthy.

5/5/08 - We are working on quite a few owner surrender intakes, but we always give priority to the shelter dogs. They are the ones that really have a time limit and then are put to sleep in high kill shelters. The owner surrenders don't usually have any such limit.
So, Melly, and her brother Roscoe, were turned into the shelter. I am finding out about them today, as much detail as I can, which is not usually much.
Any offers to help will be greatly appreciated, and save a life too.