6/23/05 - Casper is being adopted by John Gagnon from The Dog House in Colchester, CT.  He has been with him for a few months and he feels that he can successfully find him a home.

5/31/05 - Casper does not like cats!!  He was doing wonderfully in Maggi's home except for the fact that she has a cat.  The trainer thinks that he may be able to correct that behavior, but Maggi's cat is very old and she did not want to traumatize the cat any further.  So Casper is back at The Dog House where he is in doggie daycare everyday and is doing very well.  He is a real sweetheart.  He has the longest tongue that sticks out the right side of his mouth all the time and the saddest eyes I have ever seen. 

5/27/05 - A gal who volunteers at the training center in Colchester made a connection with Casper and he is now being fostered at her home.  I met him when she went to pick him up and he is an absolute love bug.  He was returned to rescue because he started showing some aggression towards other dogs while on a leash.  Maggi has been working with him and has purchased a nice new harness for him and he is a different dog!  She will continue to walk him and improve his leash skills.

4/18/05 - Poor Casper, once in a great while we have a good adoption that after years of living in their new home, things change, including the commitment of the forever family. This is what happened to Casper. Casper was adopted into a great family and went thru his obedience training and was a very happy boy, and was loved very much. Casper did have some bad habits, including counter surfing, but nothing that was terribly bad. He even got a rescue boxer sister to live and share life with him.
While on walks, Casper would pull very hard on his leash when seeing another dog. When he was restrained, he would then turn on his fur sister (we call this misplaced aggression). So mom stopped taking his fur sister on walks, and started walking Casper alone. Well, when he would see other dogs and was restrained, he started jumping up on mom, and bruised her several times. Needless to say, she was VERY unhappy with Casper, and called BAR informing us that she wanted to return him.
We put Casper into one of our training facilities to be evaluated. The issues Casper had were identified and explained to us. Casper was trained with a prong collar, which some trainers still use (and some claim success with it). This was not a good technique with Casper. What was happening is that when Casper saw a dog, he was also anticipating the restraint with the prong collar, which is not pleasant. So, in essence, Casper was reacting to the frustration and discomfort he knew he was about to receive. Our trainer says he NEVER uses a prong or choker collar, as he claims these methods can actually result in dogs acting aggressively.
Casper has been at the trainer for a few weeks, and the trainer has had some great successes with him. He is in doggy day care daily and has not had problems with the other dogs. He seems to be very responsive to the training techniques our trainer is using.
We called his family and gave them updates on Casper, and asked if they would like to talk to the trainer first hand, and decide if they would like to try some of the techniques and take Casper back. After a few days, they came back and said that only the foster mom really missed him, and that things were actually nicer in the home without him. So, poor Casper has to find a new family after 2 ½ yrs :o((((

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12/7/03 - Casper is really excited about a couple of things. Two feet of snow and his new fleece jacket. Who says boxers can't love the snow. We also have fenced in the backyard for the "kids" to play in. We saw how much fun they had when we walked them to the local tennis court and just let them run and jump off leash. Now they can do it daily! It is so fun to watch. What was not fun to watch was Casper crashing through the lattice gate to get to a lab in the street in front of our house. We had literally just finished putting the tools away. What a hard head.
We had quite a scare this summer when the vet told us he saw some "Mast Cells" in a scraping he had taken. It was removed later, and malignant. He has, since then, had a bunch of spots that were red in the surrounding area that I was convinced were mast cell tumors too, but found out Friday that he has a staph infection. YEAHHH!

3/26/03 - Casper is MY dog. Brooke has adopted our 12 year old, Peter. Who is in charge here?  Casper is healthy, mellow when at home and continues to amaze me with his bladder control, his ability to jump for a treat and his desire to eat everything in the kitchen. It is just a matter of time before he learns how to open the upper cabinets. He has an affinity for the compost container in the kitchen sink. ICK! He apparently has decided he needs to protect me from every dog in our 220 home development. He is very territorial. He has made friends with a greyhound and a white standard poodle (no bow), both of whom are male. Go figure. He is a doll. Smart, loyal and very loving. He respects me and my authority and is recently seeming more settled in his place in the hierarchy of the family. The kids have learned to play without being submissive. I no longer need make up remover due to his supernatural length tongue. We cuddle in our bed in the morning, after Johnny gets up, and he has learned to be patient and that talking gets him nowhere. He loves his little sister (most of the time, except when rawhide is involved), and they have adjusted well. I am so happy that he is part of our family.

1/12/03 - I think I am a day late for this update, but that is for a good reason. In between episodes of shoveling, and shoveling, Casper and I have been making plans for the arrival of his new Fur sister, Brooke. We can't wait to meet her and show her their matching royal blue collars. I never pictured myself with 2 white boxers, but here goes. Casper has continued to evolve in his relationship with the Alpha cat (Dozer). They really seem to enjoy tormenting each other. I had the opportunity to remove some claws from Casper's nose and forehead the other day. He will learn won't he? We went over to Tina's house the other day to visit her friends and it became obvious how social boxers are. They need each other!! Hugs to Caesar, and Tina and bring on the Brooke woman!

12/11/03 - How on earth did I ever survive so long without a Boxer? Casper (dogus casparagus) has been with us just over a month and I feel like he was born here. The cats(2 out of 3 of them, at least) have adjusted pretty well and had the opportunity to try their paws at body piercing Casper's nose several times. He may learn. 
Had him to the vet for a "well-boxer" visit. My concerns were: 1) his mellowness, 2)his red eyes, 3) his urine stream (weak, slow), 4) and some lovely life forms in his poop. The vet said: 1)Count your blessings, 2)he had a sclera laceration - use this medicine 3) Boxers have a narrow urethra and it is not abnormal for them to pee slowly and 4)ICK - worms - use this medicine too! 
I have not used a crate because I haven't needed to. I take a break at mid-day or am home from work mid-day to walk him. Other than the "great chunky peanut butter incident" (go ahead.... ask about that one) he has not been at all destructive. He also has amazing bladder control. The first few days he was here I was actually worried about that too, he went for 16-17 hours without peeing. 
Obedience classes have been fun and great social interaction time for Casper. He definitely seems to want to be in charge if another dog demonstrates any dominant behavior, but he is not aggressive. We have mastered sit/stay, heel, down (working on down/stay). We need practice on recalls (come). 
I have gotten so many complements on him, I feel like I have a new baby (without the stretch marks). He does come to our bed and sniff me a few times a night to make sure he's not missing out on any time with MOMMY. 
He's great. Give me another one just like him. He wants me to send hugs to Caesar. Love Casper and Lori O

11/12/02 - From Casper's former Foster Mom:  Casper  is doing GREAT! His new family loves him and couldn't be more pleased. They have him all lined up with obedience for them and the kids, has a vet appt. and is adjusting fine in their house. They worried initially, because he wouldn't pee, but that got cleared up! They live just a few blocks away, so have planned some play dates!

Reviewed the update schedule and they are all set.

10/20/02 - Well, Casper has arrived safe and sound to the NH Great Escape B & B! 
He is as handsome as everyone said and very mild mannered.  Klondike is jealous and Spencer may have a new boyfriend...only goes 1 way right now though. She doesn't trust them anymore, because she falls in love and then they leave her! Be watching for  updates on this boy, have a feeling he won't be here long!