I hope you're all doing well. I just wanted to write to tell you how blessed we feel to have Sassy and Coconut as cherished members of our pack and to let you know how they have been adjusting to their new digs!

Well, as you know, Sassy was initially anxious about having Coconut around.  When we took them home with us last Sunday, Coconut immediately claimed the passenger seat of the SUV and Sassy and I hung out in the back together.  Both girls were incredibly well behaved during the car ride (and on every subsequent ride) and acted as if they had been doing it all their lives. When we got home, we immediately brought them to our large fenced back yard and spent the rest of the afternoon getting them accustomed to each other.

Sassy's impulse was to be very defensive towards Coconut, so we kept them on leashes and walked them around separately so they could get used to being in the same area. A lot of the discomfort was based on the fact that they were both restrained. After a couple of hours we felt that they were ready to meet each other off leash. Coconut, being the bold one, was surprised to encounter Sassy's dominance. There were a few brief skirmishes, but no one was hurt. Sassy just chased Coconut to let her know the deal. Despite being somewhat cowed by this experience, when we all went inside, Coconut continued to make tentative advances towards Sassy. Sassy was relatively nervous about the whole experience of coming home with us, and she did not sit down for a few hours, despite being as attentive and affectionate as always. When she finally did sit down, we knew things would be okay. We gave Sassy positive reinforcement as she allowed Coconut nearer and nearer, so she became more comfortable, and it wasn't long before she allowed Coconut to come up and submissively lick her muzzle. As the evening progressed, Sassy continued to let her guard down. In a very short time, she and Coconut could sit right next to each other and even laid down and went to sleep with their heads nearly touching. (see picture at right) It was absolutely wonderful to see.

Since then, the girls have gotten along extremely well. Coconut harasses Sassy, as young dogs do, but Sassy is very good humored about it and will many times instigate the play herself. If Coconut gets on her nerves, she lets her know. They love wrestling and running around the back yard. One of their favorite things to do is to chase each other around and around the shed until one of them switches direction and sneaks up on the other.

Seeing them running together and being silly almost brings me to tears.  They are both marvelously athletic and graceful. Thankfully, there have been no escape attempts. We supervise them every time they are out and it seems like so far they are just happy to be together and to have more space. Sassy enjoys barking at the horses next door, but it seems that they have lost their novelty, so that is tapering off. Today a couple of our neighbors rode by on ATVs and the girls were curious, but unperturbed. We have yet for any new people or dogs to approach them (on the other side of the fence or otherwise), so we are still unsure of how that may go and are hoping for the best. One of them will usually follow the other's lead, to the point where they even go to the bathroom at exactly the same time! This afternoon they have gotten into digging and laying in the cool dirt. They are both shedding like crazy, so our house has basically been reupholstered with German Shepherd hair!

Amazingly enough, there have been no accidents in the house and Coconut's destructive impulse has only been expressed on a wooden coaster and one of my socks. She does have a thing about clothes. When we come home and she is excited, she will often grab a shirt and wave it around triumphantly.

It's very cute. They have nylabones, a rope toy, and a stuffed basket ball to play with and we will be getting them more toys and new beds this week.

Coconut has been doing almost no jumping and she is already learning not to be so mouthy. She knows how to sit, give her paw, and lay down and it is clear that the wheels are always turning with her. She does try to get on top of us while we are in bed, but we are curbing that behavior as well. If she behaves and just wants to sleep next to Josh, he allows her to. Sassy is content to be on the floor nearby. They are both extremely affectionate and cuddly and we make sure that they get equal amounts of affection.

Coconut is such a ham and she has many endearing habits. She wants to soak up all the attention and be in the center of as many activities as possible. Sassy is much more low key and enjoys lounging around. Both of them follow us around almost every time we move from one area to another.

Sassy is afraid of many new sounds and movements, but is gradually becoming more relaxed. We are trying to foster her confidence and allow her to investigate things as much as she wants. She and Coconut often troop around the house together. They have shown very little interest in the birds and have not been introduced to the hedgehogs yet, but we expect that to go fine. It helps that the hedgehogs have their quills to discourage nosy dogs. Both girls have been eating well and will share dishes, though Coconut is a bit of a hog.

Yesterday was a big day, as they both got baths here at home and went to see my boss, Dr. Hayes, at the Tenth Street Animal Hospital. Many of my coworkers got to meet them and all, including Dr. Hayes, remarked on how beautiful, healthy, and well behaved they are. We were extremely proud. We had them microchipped and they came away with a clean bill of health!

Though I have called the girls Sassy and Coconut in this email, we are in the process of renaming them. Coconut is now being known as Akamai, which is Hawaiian for "clever". Her nickname, Aka, also means "shadow" and "laughter", which is perfect for her. It is tougher to figure out what to call Sassy, as she already recognizes her name. I often call her Sasquatch because she has such big feet, but the jury is still out...

As you can see, we have been taking many pictures and treasuring every moment with our beloved girls. They are everything one could ever want in a companion. We are grateful that everything is turning out so extraordinarily well with them. Rest assured that they will be cherished always and they will never be homeless again! We express our gratitude to all of you at HSEC for taking such wonderful care of them and for everything you do for the public and the animals there. As we introduce Sassy and Coconut to more people, we will always mention that we found these gorgeous, intelligent, lovable dogs at HSEC and encourage them to visit you. By the same token, please feel free to come visit us! We know the girls have many friends, so we hope you will come to see them, if you like.

With kindest regards and utmost gratitude,

Kara, Josh, Sassy, Akamai, and the rest of our crew