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4/1/10 - HAPPY BEGINNINGS!
Brittany was adopted May 11,
2008. She was timid and very quiet, but extremely loveable. When I say
very quiet I mean, she would cry when she had to potty and growl when
playing, but that was the only sound that ever came from her. She was being
fostered by my best friend Bethann. It seemed for the longest time,
Brittany did nothing but wait for her forever home. I fell in love with her
during her time with her foster mommy and convinced my husband that she HAD
to come home with us. She was meant to be a companion for our
boxer puppy. She was the best big sister our puppy, Ace, could ever
hope for. They loved each other
like brother and sister, and boyfriend and girlfriend. They were
best friends. Unfortunately, Ace got sick a few months later and
congestive heart failure
took him to rainbow bridge on
December 25, 2008. Brittany was very lonely without her little
brother. She would constantly watch out the window, waiting for him to come
home. She also became quite spoiled in the weeks that followed. My husband
and I constantly showered affection on her as a way to compensate for her
broken heart.
In January, we decided that it was time Brittany had a new companion. We
didn't want to go through the same problems we had with Ace's breeders and
we really didn't have the patience for a puppy with our conflicting work
schedules. After such a wonderful experience with AABR, we decided to
look on the website for available dogs. We involved Brittany in the
decision making process. In that, I mean we had to consider her
personality and temperament. She does not get along with other females,
so that was out of the question. We saw
Tucker (MD) on
AABR's website and my husband was smitten. Following the application
process, my husband and I packed up the car, nestled Brittany in the back
seat, and drove 3 hours to Pittsburgh to get Brittany's new brother.
February 27, 2009, Tucker was adopted into our family. He and his
new sister were both made official members of the Long family with new
name tags engraved with their full names: Brittany Maeve Long and Tucker
Reagan Long.
Tucker has been an absolute dream since day one. He is so well behaved
and is a great guard dog. He has helped us immensely with training Brit
as well. We had been having problems with her leaving messes in the house
while we weren't home. She has really learned her manners and her potty
training from Tucker. Seems she learned from seeing and doing rather than
being told.
On the one year anniversary that Brittany became our girl, we heard her
bark for the first time. I was as proud as a mother hearing her child
utter her first word. She learned how to be a guard dog, just like
Tucker!
This February, we celebrated what's been dubbed "Doggy Day."
February 28 was Ace's
birthday. Since we don't know Brit or Tucker's real date of birth, we
decided to make February 28 Doggy Day to honor our boy, Ace. We
celebrated Brittany's 5th and Tucker's 4th birthday with treats and ice
cream. Their Lhaso Apso cousin Stinkie helped them celebrate.
I wanted to share our story with you so that anyone interested in adopting
can see what a wonderful experience it can be. We have been so blessed to
have Brittany and Tucker as part of our family; I feel richer
because of it. They've become my children. I cannot imagine how or why
these two were not wanted in their former homes, but I suppose one man's
trash is another man's treasure. Everyone that meets them tries to sneak
out the door with them because they fall in love with our kids.
Brittany's foster mom visits often with her adopted rescue Apollo and Brit
loves every minute of their visits. We are in constant contact with
Tucker's foster family as well. I recommend AABR to anyone that tells me
they're interested in adopting and I love to show off pictures of my kids.
What your organization does for these dogs is just wonderful and I will
always adopt from you should we ever decide to adopt in the future. God
Bless you and all that AABR does for these dogs. Please enjoy and feel
free to share on AABR's website the pictures I have attached.
Sincerely,
Matt, Valerie, Brittany and Tucker Long
5/11/08 - ADOPTED!
3/30/08
- Brittany
Brittany is a petite 3-4 yr old brindle female who was found as a stray.
When her family was located they did not want her back. Brittany is reported
to be great with children. She is very thin and was stressed in the kennel.
She has been in a foster home for a week now and is doing wonderful.
Brittany is a very sweet and affectionate girl. She's only 32 inches long
and her back measures 21-22 inches from the floor. Brittany is housebroken
and has been doing well in her crate during the night and while I'm at work.
I give her a peanut butter kong to keep her company while in there. After
slow introductions to other dogs, Brittany has gotten along well with both
my female dog and a male boxer.
She LOVES to run and play. I would suggest a fenced in yard for Brittany.
She has also been doing very well around my cat. She does not chase after
her and doesn't seem to want to bother with her. Brittany does well in car
rides and she loves to take walks. She is very good on the leash and doesn't
pull. Brittany does know the "sit" command. I will be trying to work with
her on some other commands. She does like to jump up when first meeting
someone, so I am working with her on that. Brittany spent some time around
an 8 year old child, and did well, except for the jumping up part.
Although I am still getting to learn about Brittany, so far I can tell
that she is a special little girl.
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