gabby

1/22/09: Hey Carol! It’s Ashley and Gabby. We just wanted to send you some pictures of our latest adventures. We took a road trip to Virginia, Massachusetts and New Hampshire over the holidays to visit with family. Gabby got to meet the newest addition to our family, my nephew Matthew. It was really her first exposure to a baby since I rescued her, and she just LOVED him. Every chance she got, she was over giving him kisses. When he was asleep in his playpen, she would stand up on her hind legs and stick her head over the railing every few minutes to make sure he was still there. And he was all smiles when she came around. It was so cute.

Gabby and Matthew

It took Gabby a little while to warm up to the snow. It was pretty deep and a little iced over when we got there, so she kept sinking in it when she tried to walk. At first she was really having a hard time understanding that she was supposed to use the bathroom on it, so I had to dig her up a little patch of grass and then she started to get the hang of it. After a while though, she was running around digging in it with the best of them.
     Everyone she met just thought she was the sweetest and best behaved dog. My little cousins even went up to there mom and said they wanted a dog like her.
     Other than that, she made so many fur friends. In Virginia, she spent a lot of time with my parents’ dog, Brewski. He’s normally not a very social dog, but he is really starting to warm up to her. He would greet her every morning at the stairs and I even caught them playing together every once in a while. She also got to meet my friend‘s dog, Kelsey. She was a ball of energy just like Gabby, so they had a lot of fun and were absolutely exhausted by the end of the day. My family had a lot of fun watching them play, they were just so silly. In Massachusetts, we stayed with my uncle who just bought a Boxer puppy named Mugsy. He was three months old and he drove Gabby insane! He followed her everywhere! When she wasn’t trying to run from him, he would literally walk underneath her and stand with his head poking out between her front legs!
     Well, we hope you guys had a good holiday and wish you a happy and prosperous new year.
      Love, Ash and Gabs

Gabby has been adopted and has a wonderful young 'mommy'. As you can see, she is much adored.

4/11/07: Gabrielle and her brother Mikey have quite a story. They were part of a litter of nine that were yanked from their mother way too soon. They were bottle fed by one of the local shelter volunteers until they were old enough to eat on their own. Their brothers and sisters began to be adopted, but for some reason 'Gabby' and Mikey were not chosen. As they grew older, they were put in puppy obedience class. They graduated with "Star Pupil" accolades and a diploma. Then they moved on to regular obedience class where again their wonderful enthusiasm to please shined and they graduated with honors at the top of the class. The trainer told me that they were the youngest pups to ever complete the training with such precision that she had ever had.

Many visitors came to the shelter. Many dogs and puppies were adopted. Gabrielle and Mikey were always left behind. One of many reasons an animal is chosen for euthanasia is because it has been at the shelter 'too long'. Time had run out for Gabby and Mikey. Sadly, I had to leave others behind to meet their fate, but I could at least rescue these 2 "Star Pupils" who had worked so hard and so willingly to please.

Gabrielle is about 11 months old. The 4 X 10 run at the shelter is the only home she has ever known. The brief kindnesses of the volunteers and her outings for obedience training are the only interactions with people she has had, yet she is so loving. On the way to her rescue home, she first curled up on the seat with her head in my lap. Then as she became comfortable, I got just the tiniest little kisses as she looked up at me with such gratitude. She did not know I had saved her life. All she knew was that she was being shown kindness and she was grateful for it.

She seems to get along fine and accepted all the new dogs she has met. She is playful and quickly responds from a 'clap' of my hands and "no" when she starts to play with something that is off limits. She looks and then goes finds the things I have given her to play with. She seems to be house broken, but I need to learn her 'cues' and let her outside. Her accidents have been right in front of the door so I am sure she wanted out and was unsure how to tell me. She is about 25 pounds and may gain some weight. She is shorter then my knee and will not get any taller.