Duran580


	Age & Sex: 3 yr. old male


UTD: Yes


	Weight: 65 lbs.


Other Dogs: Yes


	Color: Flashy Brindle


Cats: No


	Ears: Natural


Children under 5: Yes


	Tail: Docked


Children over 5: Yes


	Neutered: Yes


Microchipped: No


	Owner Surrender


Location: Higganum, CT

Adoption Donation $300

12/20/05 - Yesterday was the first day we were all at work and not at home....He's been excellent around the house. Initially, we gated off the kitchen from the rest of the house but he was fine. We think he's on his best behavior until Santa gets here! ;-) Today, we now have given him a limited run of the house and he's taken very well. He walks very well on the leash, very attentive to his commands and loves the snow. He was out on the frozen lake this morning, and tried running around on the runner but kept sliding...it was too funny! What can I say...He is simply perfect, adorable and a very special dog with the greatest temperament. It's been a pleasure working with Boxer Angels Rescue and thank you so much for the match!

12/19/05 - Duran has taken to my yard and home with no issues at all - no accidents. Although he did hold out quite a bit before finally completing his first toilet duties in the yard. We did try and introduce him to the crate his first night, but would have nothing to do with it. He sniffed it, went in, ate some of the treats, surveyed his toys, did a wiggle and that was it! - He hasn't slept in it yet and I don't think he will. We'll continue to keep it visible and with the gate/door open - Let's see how that works. But Duran has adjusting quite well. He has determined which couch (loveseat pappasan) will be his spot. He is not bothered by the Christmas tree or the presents beneath it. He hasn't quite taken to his toys yet. But there's been no accidents, nothing chewed and he's been nothing but the best.

12/18/05 - First peek of Duran - my new partner in crime! He came home on Sunday, December 18th, 2005 to a large reception of 7 adults and 9 kids. Yes! The word got around the neighborhood pretty quick. :-D Duran initially was apprehensive when we got to his foster mom's to pick him up...but he warmed up quickly, so much so that he was absolutely wonderful in the car during the two-hour ride back up. He even took in a good 20-minute nap. We made a few pit stops at Petco and Petsmart and his temperament was amazing. He passed that test with flying colors. At one point, another dog barked him - he gave him one sniff and walked passed without even so much as a noise out of him. He's excellent with kids and adults alike and loves the kisses, hugs and is very gentle around even the littlest ones.

12/12/05 - What more can I say about Duran...other than the fact that he continues to be a wonderful boy. We brought him to the vets this weekend for his heartworm test, and he is negative. Good news. Again, he was shaking like a baby and was so happy when it was time to leave. He did not give the vet a hard time though, he had his blood drawn and held very still until it was all over. Good boy. Duran loves to play. Casey grabs a toy and plays keep away with him until he grows tired and tries to lay down. Of course, Casey is persistent, so she stands over him and harasses him until he gets up again and plays with her. He is a perfect gentleman though....he tugs on the toy for a couple minutes and then lets Casey have it, making her believe that she is the stronger of the two. Little does she know that Duran has about 15 pounds on her! Ever day that passes makes us realize how good Duran really is. He has been staying out in the house while we are at work, and has not had one incident of chewing or destroying anything. I often wonder what he does while we are gone....I always say that it would be funny to set up a camera to see what goes on. Duran played in the snow this weekend, since we had a storm that dropped about 8 inches on Friday. He was in his glory! He was digging his nose in the snow and blasting around, burning some winter energy. Duran is hoping that we have a snow filled winter so he can continue to enjoy the weather!

12/5/05 - Mr. Duran is just the sweetest guy !! The longer he stays with us, the more I fall in love with him. He has the best temperament...sometimes he is so goofy, and other times he is so serious and attentive. The one constant is that he is always lovable and happy to have any attention you are willing to give him. This weekend we got a new foster dog, and I was not sure how Duran was going to react to her. I waited a little while to introduce them, and had them gated off so they could see each other and meet through the gate. I am not sure what I was so worried about, because the second I took the gate down I realized they were going to be fine. Duran walked right past her, as if to say "big deal, another dog". He sniffed her once and went on his way. He really is so good with other dogs, I have no complaints. Duran eats faster than any dog I have ever seen before. He takes two big scoops with his mouth, and his whole dinner is gone. After he is finished, he goes off in search of any stray kibbles the other dogs may have spit out. When he gets to close to their bowls, I tell him no, and he immediately backs away and waits patiently for them to finish so he can lick the bowl. Duran follows commands well now, much better than when he first arrived. I think he needed to get used to his surroundings and the expectations of the house. Surprisingly, Duran also LOVES THE SNOW (he doesn't even hate the rain the way my other boxers do)!! The other day we got a couple inches of snow, and he was digging his nose in it and blasting around the yard. He was so cute!! What can I say, Duran is such a good boy.

11/29/05 - Duran continues to do well in our home. He and Casey now have free roam of the bottom floor of the house during the day and they have been doing wonderfully. Nothing chewed or destroyed, and no accidents at all. Good kids. One thing I forgot to mention....Duran LOVES the car and LOVES going for rides. I was in the garage today cleaning my car out and he decided to jump into the back seat. For the life of me, I could not convince him that weren't going anywhere....he was like, "no way!! I'm coming with you!!" I think I was inside the house for 5 minutes before he decided that we really weren't going anywhere. Every time he hears me pick up his collar, he jumps up and starts wagging his nub like crazy. He then proceeds to run around the house until I can manage to get the collar on him. Duran is such a funny dog with a great personality. I think that Duran would be the perfect dog in a home with no cats. If it were not for this one thing, we definitely would have adopted him. Please consider this wonderful boy for adoption, as he is waiting for his forever family.

11/26/05 - Two weeks have passed so quickly with Duran. He is a very smart dog and has settled into our routine here very well. Every morning, without fail, he lets out a little whine right when our alarm is set to go off. He is so good at making sure we don't oversleep....and very punctual, I have to say!! It seems like we learn something new about Duran every day. Yesterday he began really playing with his toys for the first time since he has been here. Usually our other boxer would initiate playtime and harass Duran until he chased her around the house, but yesterday he went over to the toy box himself and then began pestering Casey to play with him. They are so cute together. Duran has even learned that when eating, he must wait until Casey leaves her bowl, and then he gets a lick in to clean up her mess. Thanksgiving came and went....and I have to say, Duran did WONDERFULLY !! We had 25 people over that he had never met before, and he was so good. He did not jump, bark, or eat food off the tables. He was a perfect gentleman with the young and the old, we were so impressed. Before the day began, we were planning on putting Duran upstairs (as some of the grandma's were not all that fond of dogs)...but as people began arriving, they hardly noticed him at all. He did the boxer wiggle for the first couple people, but then he got tired of that pretty quickly and began to socialize with our guests. So, we successfully survived our first thanksgiving. After many long conversations, we have decided that we are not going to adopt Duran. We feel that he is better suited for a forever family that does not have cats. This was such a difficult decision for us, as in every other way, Duran is the perfect dog (not to mention we have gotten very attached to him in the two weeks that he has been here). But we are confident that Duran will make a wonderful, loving edition to someone's family. Please consider adopting Duran, as he is a great companion, very well mannered and so sweet.

11/21/05 - Duran had his first vet visit with us on Thursday....he did well, although he was shaking like a leaf when we first went in to the room to see the doctor. He took his shots like a man though, and did not even flinch. He is now up-to-date with all his immunizations. The vet checked out Duran's hips and noted that he did have a little loss of range of motion in his back right leg, so he must have gotten injured at some point in his life. The vet did say that it looked fine and that he did not foresee any problems for Duran. Other than that, he is a healthy dog!! Things in the house are going smoothly...(of course with the exception of the cats). We have tried on several occasions to re-introduce them to Duran to see if he can play nicely with them, but he was not having it!! He just wants to chase them and pounce on them no matter what we try, so we have about given up on the issue. Duran is all love, wiggles, and cuddles. He is so friendly and sweet, and can't live without constant attention. He is so funny.....when he is tired, the skin underneath his white fur turns pink, and there is no keeping him awake!! He even fell asleep sitting up the other day. I thought he was going to fall over....we laughed so hard. When Duran meets new people, he wiggles so hard you can't even get a good look at him. He still has a lot of energy to burn! During the day when we are at work, we have been able to leave Duran in the house (with Casey), with no problems. We still gate off the upstairs, so he stays on the bottom floor, but so far this has been working out really well. He has not had one accident since he has been with us, and he has not eaten or chewed anything. He is such a good boy. More to come as the week wears on....

11/17/05 - Day number 5 with Duran.....It feels like he has been with us forever. You would never know that he has been here less than a week. Duran is still very sweet and loving and has proven that he loves people. He wags his nub and does the infamous boxer wiggle whenever new people come to the house. We will be having 25 people over for Thanksgiving next week, so we will see how he does with crowds. We have a vet appointment today for a well check and to get Duran up-to-date with his immunizations. We will also be looking into Duran's hips. His owner noted that he had a past hip injury, and it does appear that he is a little stiff in his hind quarters, although it does not seem to slow him down at all, and it does not appear to be painful for him. We will just have the vet check to make sure that everything is ok back there. Duran does not startle easily. He is cautious around objects he is not familiar with....but he easily warms up once he figures out that it is safe. Duran LOVES hugs and he LOVES to be pet and cuddled with. The more attention, the better!! Duran is not sensitive in any area of his body, and will let you rub him and brush him everywhere. We cleaned his ears last night, and did not get any complaints. Duran even had a bath the other day and he did not seem to mind it at all. Duran is not bothered by other dogs in the house. He and my other boxer have had their noses in the same food dish and have been fine. The one thing that I have noticed is that Duran wants to be the dominant one in the house. In the beginning, he and Casey started to get along much better once Casey learned to look away from him when they locked eyes. When he first arrived, she would stare at him and not look away, and this was when there was a little tension between them. But, Casey learned pretty quickly and Duran has claimed the title of dominant dog of the house. Duran has proven that he knows his commands (down, sit, paw), but only really likes to listen to them if you have a treat in your hand. His selective hearing kicks in when there is no food in hand. I will be working with him over the next week to try and help him with this issue. Overall, Duran is a wonderful dog with has been a joy to have in our house.

11/14/05 - It has been 3 days since Duran's arrival, and I have to say, he is settling in quite well. He and Casey (our 5-year-old Boxer princess) are getting along well with each other. They have their occasional rowdy moments (especially when toys are involved), but these are usually ended quickly with a firm "no". I think as they get to know each other, this will not be a problem. Last night everyone slept together, and we got a good night's rest. Duran is good about sleeping through the night on his big bed. Cats, on the other hand, seem to be an issue with Duran. We have continued to try slow introductions, but Duran growls and tries to lunge at them. We have a baby gate between he and the cats in hopes that they will get used to seeing each other in the house. We will see how this plays out. Overall, Duran is doing very well in his new home. He has very good manners (takes food gently, walks well on a leash, etc), so someone must have trained him well. He is such a sweetie.....VERY needy, but very sweet. He loves attention, and whenever we pet Casey, he is quick to stick his head in so he can get a nice pet in as well. We are looking forward to getting to know Duran better, but I have to say, he is a wonderful dog.

11/12/05 - Duran arrived this afternoon after a very long journey from PA. Thank you to Ed and Dari for helping make it happen. Duran was very excited when the trip was all over, but also very tired. He has only been here for a couple hours, but already we have overcome introductions to our 5-year-old boxer, the cat, and our house. I have to say, Duran did wonderfully with everything but the cat. He was not quite sure what to make of him.....we will continue to make SLOW introductions. Overall, he seems like a wonderful boxer....very friendly and loyal. Much more to come as we get to know Duran better.