Joy

I am writing to tell you about my Lexie who was your rescue puppy Joy. She is now about 2 ½ years old and weighs 46 pounds. She is approximately 26” long and 17” tall to the withers. Her head is small for the rest of her body and her fur is medium length and silky not coarse. I would have to say that her facial features are a nice blend of both Keeshond and German Shepard, though her coloring and shape are definitely more to the German Shepard. Her personality is that of the gentle Keeshond. She is friendly to all who enter my home, though she barks appropriately with happiness when folks arrive. She is definitely submissive to male humans as well as male canines. She still has the puppy exuberance when we go outside, and tends to pull on the leash if I don’t use my “gentle leader” head halter collar. Last week I accidentally dropped the handle of the leash, and as soon as she realized she was free, she bolted into a neighbor’s back yard, and it took me a few minutes to get her to come to me. I have still yet to get her back to obedience classes for some intermediate work. Her health is excellent, but true to her German Shepard side, she is a bile vomiter. Occasionally, when her stomach is empty, she will vomit bile. My veterinarian is not concerned with this since it only happens once every two months or so. When it happens, she will jump off my bed and go into a small crate that I keep in my bedroom to vomit so as not to soil the place where we sleep! Yes, she does sleep with me in bed. She keeps me warm during these cold winter nights, and I love to snuggle with her. Now that Lexie is an adult, she is more protective of me and our house. If she hears a noise outside, she will quietly growl to let me know she hears something. If I say its okay, she stops. She still does not bark at other dogs if we see them on our walks, she whines and jumps wanting to go meet them and play. The only dogs she barks at are the ones that bark at her! Lexie never took a shine to riding in the car. I think the long ride from Mechanicsburg to Buffalo traumatized her. She has never forgotten it. When I want to get her into the car, she jumps in obediently, but reluctantly. She drools a lot and lies down with her head on the console until our short trip is over. I have taken her on short trips to visit relatives or to the park, and she is fine once we arrive, but when it is time to come home, she gets sad again because we have to go into the car. Traveling by car is very stressful for her. Lexie’s favorite toys are the ones that have lasted her the longest. They include the large blue “Orka” Jax toy, her black Kong for extreme chewers, her Jolly Ball, and an old ball with the squeaker pushed in that is left over from a former pet. She looks so funny with this ball in her mouth when she compresses it up and down with her jaws, air shoots out of the squeaker hole like breathing. I am still not able to give her soft fabric toys, as she rips them up in seconds. She loves them, but destroys them. We walk twice per day, first thing in the morning, and after dinner at night weather permitting. When the temperatures are single digit or lower, we just go out long enough for her to relieve herself. She also gets exercise inside as I throw toys for her to fetch down a long 100 foot hallway that runs the length of my home. She always wants to play after meals, and many times will bring me toys while I am on the telephone. She gently wakes me up in the morning by nuzzling my side, or armpit. She puts her head on my chest with her nose up against my chin and just stares at me. It is the cutest thing I ever saw. That really starts my day off on a positive note! I am still feeding Lexie Blue Buffalo Holistic Dog Food for large breeds. She has tolerated this food very well. I never feed her people food, though she has tasted it from time to time. Most recently, I prepared about 1 ½ pounds of beef tenderloin on the grill for an appetizer to serve guests who were arriving in about 30 minutes. I brought the meet into the house, cooled it in the refrigerator, and sliced it into small sections to be laid on top of slices of French bread covered in a horseradish cream sauce. I left the meat on the counter for less than a minute, and went out of the kitchen to get a platter out of my china cabinet. When I returned, I found Lexie lying in front of her crate with her head on her front paws looking up at me with a very guilty looking face, but licking her face from side to side. She had eaten all of the meat I had just spent the last 45 minutes preparing, and it was too late to prepare anymore! I have never been so angry with her! I yelled at her, and slammed my hand on top of the cupboard to make a loud noise. I sent her to her crate until all the guests had arrived, and they convinced me to let her out so they could play with her. I thought all that food would make her sick, but it didn’t. I learned a lesson that day. No dog I have ever owned has been large enough to climb on the cupboard and take stuff off. Lexie has facilitated me meeting my neighbors, and making new friends along our walking route. She has made me get more exercise, and I know it lowers my blood pressure to sit and pet her. Every night I watch television while in bed, and she curls up in between my legs. A better companion I have never had. She has helped me to deal with the profound loneliness I have felt since losing my immediate family one by one over the last few years. She is the best thing that has happened to me in so many ways. The day I saw her picture on your website was the first day of a happy ending to a very sad story that was my life after losing my family. I can honestly say that you made the right match when you matched me up with Joy. God bless the Worthy Tails Animal Rescue! Yours truly, Donna M. Karczewski