1/14/08 - Just a quick update on Ali. She is doing great here in our home. We all love her so much. She's such a good dog, so loving and playful. She's getting tons of attention and plenty of exercise with a lot of walking and also playing in our backyard. We can't thank you enough for suggesting her to us. My son, Joseph would love to know what day she was born so we can celebrate her birthday. If you could find that information out for me if possible, I would really appreciate it. Thanks again.

1/6/07 - Ali is officially adopted now, and left for her new home on Friday night.  I'm sure her new forever family will be great for her, and she will be a great addition to their family too.  We will miss her here, but I know she will be very happy now that she is finally in a permanent home.

12/17/07 - Ali is pending adoption

12/9/07 - Hi everyone! I just had to write and let everyone know that Ali had a great day!!  I wanted to give Ali a trial run in the house because she has been so good lately.   I had to go out food shopping, so I put her in the kitchen with Molly and locked in the baby gates.   Well, the trial ended up being longer than I had wanted - about and hour and a half.  I got home expecting the worst - and ended up being incredibly pleasantly surprised.  Ali and Molly were perfect!!!  Nothing was chewed (except the toys I left), no potty accidents, and everything was in order!   I really think she is making strides at this point and we will continue to help her along!  I am so excited for her and had to let everyone know - we'll keep y'all posted!

12/8/07 - Ali is doing well and has really started to show us her cute personality.  This little girl LOVES to cuddle!!!  She is always on the move, and was very happy to hang out on her bed with her chew toys.  She has started coming over to us on the couch, and we figured out that she really just wants to be held like a baby!  It is the cutest thing.  She rarely sits still day or night, but if you hold her and keep her close - she will give you hours of cuddling if you let her!  We are really loving having her around, and so is Molly.  She is getting better at choosing her toys instead of our shoes, and has the potty signal down pat.  I can't believe this cute, snuggling little girl is still here instead of her forever home!

11/30/07 - Hi everyone!  Sorry it's been so long since we last posted!  Ali is doing great!  I can say at this point she is housebroken and now we can move onto the manners.  She has been great and is a quick learner, but I still do not leave this puppy alone in a room.  She doesn't know what is a toy and what is a shoe, but she is getting there.  We still leave her in her crate when we are not home and isolated with baby gates to whatever room we are in when we are home.  Although the baby gates are great, she will jump over them if Molly and I leave her sight - she wants to be wherever Molly is!  She doesn't seem to mind if I walk away, but if we both do - she makes the leap. 
    She knows a few commands now like sit, stay, and out, but she definitely needs a strong leader in the house that has the time to spend teaching her not to jump (as much) and what is ok to play with.  Apple bitters works wonders, but must ware off quickly for this girl!  She doesn't chew furniture but will get into magazines, hats, or whatever else is left out on a chair!  As far as walking on a leash, she is good and will stay close, but she will pull a lot and is easily distracted.  We have a yard where she can run and play, so we don't spend much time on a lead with her, but it something that she definitely can use some practice with! 
    I think Ali really just needs a consistent home that has strong leaders with the time for a puppy!  Like I said, she is a quick learner and is very eager to please her owners.  She will be a great addition to any home that has the energy for a sweet, cute puppy!

11/20/07 - Well Ali has been here a week now, and we are still making slow and steady progress.  She is basically housebroken now, as we have learned that if she runs and taps the sliding glass door and runs away - it's time - NOW! It is easy to miss the signal, but I am thrilled it is there.  She gets so excited from all the praise we give her for going out and doing her business.  We are still only starting to see her personality, as she has just started to get her wiggle and give kisses.  She is having fun playing with Molly, and is such a good sport about her crate.  All we have to do is say crate and she starts walking in the right direction.  I do have to note that we found out that Ali is quite a jumper!  She wasn't happy about being in the family room while Molly and I were in the kitchen, so she decided to leap over the baby gate!!  She was so smooth about it, that I didn't even realize she was there until I turned around to drain my pasta!!  Other than that issue, she has really been good.  We love having Ali around and are really going to miss her when she finds her forever home!

11/15/07 - Well Ali is making progress all around.  She has only had 2 accidents in the house since I last wrote, so hopefully she will continue to progress.  We are just making sure she gets out about every three hours.  She and Molly's play has lightened up a bit, as I found the spray bottle works wonders.  When Ali started getting too crazy, a quick spray would work, but after a while she instead responded to verbal correction.  Now they are able to just hang out in the same room and play with their toys independently.  We do keep the baby gates up, but more so Ali doesn't explore new places to go to the bathroom!!  Her personality is starting to come through a bit now and we get lots of wiggles when we come home; as she becomes used to her new surroundings, she seems to be more eager to hang out with us instead of sniffing every single thing she can get her nose near - including the pictures on the wall!!

11/13/07 - Hello!  Well Ali has been here a full 24 hours now and has been as good as we can expect.  She is a true, energetic puppy with little or no manners.  She is not housebroken at all!  She pooped in the house today, and a little while later (even after peeing outside) peed in the living room.  We are happy to say she no longer goes on the
furniture though!  It is funny to watch her run, go to leap up, then think twice by checking our reaction out and plops right back down on the floor.  She and Molly get along very well, they play rough, but it is all in good fun.  They need to be separated by the baby gates after a while, just to give themselves a rest - and us too!  We left her
alone for about four hours in her crate, and she didn't pee!!!!  We were so excited, I took her right out back, she did her business and praised her so hopefully she'll get the hint that she isn't supposed to go in the house.  Although, we never seem to catch her in the act of going in the house... We'll keep you all posted!