1/19/08 - Faith has been adopted
Faith made the long trip to meet her new forever family today.  I think she knew something big was coming because the closer we got to where we were meeting, the more excited she seemed.   We are going to miss having Faith here.  She has been such a joy.  I can tell she is going to be very loved and very happy.

1/17/08 - Faith is pending adoption

1/12/08 - I must say, it seems as though Faith heard the vets instructions to rest two weeks ago, and decided to show them how a boxer rests.  It was like they took 5 years off her life.  She instantly perked up and wanted to play all the time!
Faith had her two week check up on the torn ligament yesterday.  The vet staff now knows her well enough to know that it is a requirement that she kiss every single person there.  They all stopped to give her love, and let her give even more love back.  She has definitely left an impression on this vet. office!
The vet examined her leg and though she did notice that her muscles had atrophied a bit, her ligament seems to be healing nicely.  She said that it is possible for her to re injure it and that occasional limping is not worrisome, but if it lasts more than a day or two, she should be checke out again.  We are to keep Faith on the anti-inflammatory until its gone, and it was suggested that she stay on the glucosamine.  But she has been deemed healed!  Yay Faith.

12/31/07 - Faith was taken to the vet on Saturday to check the limp in her left rear leg.  Turns out she has a torn ligament (I asked them to spell it so I could put it in her update, but they forgot to write it down for me).  Its the equivalent to the human ACL.  She has been put on strict rest, anti-inflammatories and glucosamine.
The pills are no problem for Faith.  But the strict rest...not so easy.  I can't imagine what it would be like if she were a very young dog.
The biggest issue for her, is she isn't allowed to take the stairs.  She has a nice bed now, downstairs, but the first night she cried a little bit.  Last night she was fine.  If we are upstairs for any length of time she whimpers a bit.  It breaks my heart, but I know she needs to heal.  She's quite a trooper!

12/22/07 - Faith still has her limp in the back leg.  The Rimadyl seems to be helping somewhat.  It doesn't really slow her down though.  When she feels like playing, she actually hops.  It is quite amusing.  She will get up on her back legs and actually jump up and down on those back legs.  Faith is the first 'older' dog I have ever had experience with.  And quite honestly, in the future, I may only have older dogs.  She is the best of both worlds.  She is completely perfect.  She is house trained, crate trained (if it would be necessary) and doesn't have that crazy puppy energy.  She still plays, but it never gets out of control. 
When we first got her, the food she was sent with was too rich for her, so I have her on "Nutro" brand Natural Choice.  She does ok with it, but sometimes I have to coax her to eat.  Her former mom told me that she is sometimes like that. But then one day I noticed something.  She would stand out of the way, and the border collie Lizzie would go into the kitchen and they would switch dishes!  Lizzie was eating Faith's food and Faith would in turn go into the dining room and eat Lizzie's food!  I think its hilarious that they seem to have worked it out among themselves. 
But one of my dogs has food aggression issues so I try to keep control of the mealtimes, and who eats where.  So I have started mixing a little bit of the other food in with Faith's Natural Choice, and she has been eating like a champ for the last few days.

12/10/07 - Another week with the lovely Faith.  She had a couple of ouchy days, with a limp in her left rear leg.  I searched all over to see if anything was wrong with it, but could find nothing, and she never acted like I was hurting her, so since there is a touch of arthritis in her back legs I decided to let it go the night and see how she did.  The next day she was limping again, and it was suggested that I try aspirin for her.  By the time I got to the store that afternoon, she was back to her normal self.  I have no idea what was hurting her, but its all fixed now.

Today I babysat my 4month old niece and decided to introduce Faith to her.  Faith is the most laid back of my 4, so I figured she would be a good first introduction.  My niece sat on my lap and was fascinated by the dog that kept wanting to sniff her.  Of course Faith wanted to give kisses and she did get that tongue of hers past me right onto Alli's face.  Faith laid her head on my lap and just let Alli pat her head, and I think she may have gotten a bit close to Faith's eye, and Faith never moved a muscle except to give kisses.  I am amazed at how well she tolerated the baby.

12/1/07 - Good news!  The growths Faith had were benign cysts.  They are both gone, the stitches are out and
 she has about another day of antibiotics before her surgery is a distant memory.
Of course she was a hit at the office today.  She met a different vet and they hit it off perfectly.
While in the office another family was there with their pet ferret.  Faith went right up to the ferrets crate, sniffed around and made friends. 
Faith is quickly becoming my picture of the perfect dog.

11/21/07 - Sorry for the lateness of this update.  Faith went to the vet for her lumpectomy today.  From what the vet staff has said, she was the perfect patient and even woke up and was discharged before they expected. 
They removed 2 lumps, one was suspicious so it was sent for biopsy.  She has a few stitches and has to go back in 10-14 days.
Since she's been home she hasn't shown any signs of being in pain or grumpy.  She must have missed the other dogs because she went right outside to play.  Unfortunately, the vet said to take it easy so she had to come back in.
Faith had interaction with some cats at the vets office this morning.  They have a few that have the run of the office.  Faith was very curious, and whimpered a bit, but didn't growl, or bark or act aggressive towards them at all.
She also did something very silly on the way home.  As we were sitting in traffic a very large beetle of some sort landed on my windshield.  Faith saw it immediately and her ears perked right up.  I have a Sebring and they have very deep dashboards.  Faith started trying to get the bug.  She barked at it and climbed up with her front paws onto the dash.  It must have been some sight for the other drivers!  Once Faith got close enough to the bug, she tried to eat it.  This made me laugh so hard because the beetle was on the outside of the windshield and she just wouldn't give up on trying to get it.  You should see the slobber marks on my windshield!
Anyway, I'll let you know what I hear about the biopsy.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

11/8/07 - Faith and I just got home from a vet appointment.  Faith needed a wellness check as well as some growths checked out. 
I have to tell you, she is absolutely the easiest dog at the vets office.  She stepped right up on the scale (my dogs have NEVER done that, no matter how much I try to convince them).  She weighed 59 pounds.  Everyone who would stop and say hi to her received kisses.  I was impressed at how well she would sit and stay when I told her to. There was a cocker spaniel there being checked in and she wanted to run right up and make friends, but I got the feeling the dogs owner wouldn't have appreciated that, so I told Faith to sit and stay, and she did very well.  She did whimper the whole time, with her tail wagging, but she behaved VERY well.
The vet says Faith is in great shape.  There is no heart murmur, and the growths on her leg and abdomen appear to be skin tags.  There is a touch of arthritis in one of her back legs according to the vet.
Faith rode very well in the car, and since I wasn't sure how she'd do at the vets we went for a nice long walk in our local state park beforehand.  She walked very well, unless she saw another dog, or animal, then she pulls.  But she is easy to correct, and I will work with her more on that.
This girl has so much love to give, I hope someone with a big heart will give her a forever home.  She is certainly deserving.

11/2/07 - Faith continues to be a wonderful addition to our family.  We did learn that Faith is very protective of her 'family'.  My husband and daughter were play fighting the other night and Faith got right between them and barked at them both, as if to say "Knock it off!".  She has been increasingly playful with the other 3 dogs.  She will run around outside with them for longer periods of time.  I don't know if it had been to warm for her before, or if she just feels more at home, but there is a definite increase in her playfulness.  Faith is scheduled for a wellness check next week, I'll update you on how that goes.

10/25/07 - Sorry I haven't updated sooner.  Faith started this week out not acting like herself.  Normally she follows me (or any of our family) around and at least lays at their feet, if not shadowing for some attention.  This week she spent quite a bit of time laying in one of the crates sleeping.  The times when she would normally be excited and come for attention, give kisses and play, she just didn't do it.  I don't know if she didn't feel well, or if she was depressed, or if it was just an off couple of days for her. She did seem to have a tender spot that was hurting behind her left ear, so I was ready to take her to the vet.  About an hour before her appointment, I let her and the other dogs out to take care of business, and the next thing I knew, there was Faith, rough housing with the other three dogs.  Her ears were perky again, her tail was all over the place and she had a very obvious smile.  When I called her in, she ran with more speed than I've seen come from her, hit the wet porch (lots of rain this week) and slid into the door in true boxer fashion.  She picked herself right up, started wiggling her butt and gave tons of kisses.  She's back to her old self.
I work nights, and sleep during the day a few days a week, yesterday, while napping, Faith decided I needed kisses.  So, as I was laying there, trying to get to sleep, I started getting tons of doggy breath kisses.  I turned my head, but still more and more kisses (maybe I had leftovers on my face?????).  Finally I buried my head under the covers, and Faith nudged under the blankets to get to me.   I finally convinced her to lay down, and she fell asleep with her head on my shoulder, just like a person!  
It is just not possible to feel unloved with Faith around!

10/16/07 - We tried some new experiences with Faith today.  I decided to walk her and Lizzie, our border collie.  This is an area where we will need to work with her.  She tends to pull, and watch out if she happens to see a squirrel!  More practice needed!
We also decided to take her with our family to our local Halloween Parade.  WHAT fun she had!  I'll start by saying she definitely didn't like the drummer in the high school band.  But after that, she was pleased as punch!  She got attention from almost everyone who walked by.  Several boxer lovers walked over to us specifically to meet her!  She gave kisses to everyone she met!  We have been working on having her sit, instead of jumping on people and she was much better tonight.  Of course it was tough watching all the kids get candy thrown at them....until the local vet float went by and they were throwing doggy treats!  What a great night!

10/13/07 - Faith is settling in nicely to our 'routine' (if you can call it that).  She is feeling so comfortable with things at our house, she has started making herself right at home.  On the plus side, I am glad she is cozy with us, but on the negative side, she really likes to sneak up on the couch!  Luckily she listens when we tell her to get down.

Faith is doing very well with the other dogs.  After some slow introductions, they are all now playing together, and hanging out together when we are home.  At night Faith sleeps in our bedroom, but she won't jump up on our bed.  She did once, but not since.  Its a high bed so I am not sure she can make it up there. 

Mealtime is another time the dogs are separated.  Faith is such a sweetie, she never complains when the other dogs try to eat her food.  BUT, we don't let them get away with it, so the other three go outside while she's eating.  If they didn't, I am sure she would just stand back and let them eat all her food!

She's been playing more with all three of the other dogs.  I must say, her bark is pretty impressive!

Honestly, I don't know of a more affectionate dog.  The other day Faith seemed to be a bit blue, and she stood by me for petting all afternoon long!  She leaned right up against me and even 'hugged' me for the longest time!  My goodness, she is just the most loving dog!

10/10/07 - I know its early for another update, but I just have to share what a joy it is to have Faith in our household.  She is eating well now, since we added the yogurt to her food.  Since she arrived on Sunday, there have been no accidents, no signs of aggression, and no issues.  I can put my hands in her food dish while she's eating and the other dogs can come around with no problem.

Faith loves to run and play.  She will run after the ball when I throw it, she growls and barks at it as if to scare it.  But when it lands, she's done.  I think she feels her work is done.  When she decides she's finished, she turns around to make sure I am watching, wiggles her butt and comes for some love. 

Today, we had a visitor (my mom, another dog lover) and Faith greeted her with butt wiggles and boxer kisses.  She kept jumping up on my mom, not an issue for us, or my mom, but I imagine it could scare a little one, though she hasn't jumped on my little boy at all.  I'll work on that with her, which shouldn't be hard because she listens so well.

She slept in our bedroom with us last night.  She slept all night, no barking, no whimpering, and no messes. 

Thank you for letting Faith come stay with us, we are really enjoying her!

10/8/07 - Faith arrived yesterday afternoon.  She did well in her car ride and immediately loved my 14 year old daughter.  She is very affectionate, and our entire family has already received boxer kisses!
This morning she was thrilled to see the kids again, and was sad when they left for school.  She seems to want to play with the other dogs, but we haven't tried that yet. There is old scarring on her back that doesn't seem to bother her at all.  Faith hasn't eaten for us yet.  But we'll try mixing in some yogurt with the next mealtime.  She appears to be a healthy weight, and has a good bit more energy than I expected a 7 year old boxer to have.