	The American Bouvier des Flandres Club
	*ABRL Success Stories*

Bouviers Name: Harry
	Harry was an owner give up, Bouvier mix, a wonderful fellow with natural ears and tail, and a pure bouv personality. A dog who had been bounced twice and he came from a shelter out near Utica. Susan and David Frye pulled him and fostered him for a couple of weeks. Susan was leaving for a vacation and Leda Kim offered to meet David and foster Harry for a bit. As luck would have it an applicant from CT who had a rescue greyhound wanted a bouvier. She came to meet Harry and fell in love. Harry is a young black male with very high spirits. He and Leda's puppy played and played like fools. Leda hears from the adoptive family periodically and all is well.

Bouviers Name: Boomer
	Boomer's story.... Dear All (And maybe too many of All!) Boomer has been here near 3 weeks and is beginning to settle in. No indoor problems whatsoever! Sleeps through the night, eats well, and plays well. Training is a dream with sit, down, off, come, and excellent behavior on a leash. Since we have an invisible fence, I put a bright orange tape just inside the 'shock ' point. After two weeks of walking around inside the tape on a leash, Boomer has learned not to cross. After another week of training, I will have 'temptations on the other side and we will see what happens. If all is OK, then I will put the shock collar on him. The tape will stay for months just to reinforce the concept. Vet checked Boomer and gave him a clean bill of health. Our kids are visiting with their dog and 2 year old child. No problems with Boomer. Visited a retirement home and the residents enjoyed Boomers loving attitude. Thank you all for your kind efforts in Bouvier Rescue

Bouviers Name: Bob
	Bob the Columbus Bouv is now placed in TN with the foster home he had been sent to. She was willing to work with him during his foster period and things went soooooo well she will now be adopting this wonderful guy. Woohoo big hugs to all involved with this one. From the kennel here in Franklin that helped sooooo much with him in the beginning, to Marcia P. who sent me info on Sonja, and to Sonja herself who drove so many miles to pick up this wonderful guy. Big hugs to all those involved.

Bouviers Name: Shauna
	About six months ago I guess you could say WE became a little greedy and started looking for a lil' girl. We tried our old method and within a few weeks, we found Shauna listed with Marcia Proud from the SEABRL. This precious "puppy" (Shauna's believed to be about three)had had a very rough start to her life and was in need of a permanent home. Marcia had been able to place Shauna with a Foster (no kidding) family near the North Carolina seashore. Barbara and Henry Atkinson, as well as their Boxer brood, started Shauna on her long road to recovery. Their compassion and love was rewarded with a bouncing bundle. Through fate, we quickly worked out the details with Marcia and the Atkinsons and Karen took a blessedly short drive, this time at least, to gain our latest addition, for now. "Chicky", as Shauna has become known, is also "Karen's Shadow". With Karen being home all the time there wasn't a more logical assumption than the two females would bond against the testosterone. Shauna has blended in sooooo nicely with the rest of the family. While she and Fraz have their oments (what brother and sister don't), they by far enjoy more of their time together as each day passes. We are all aware that Shauna's recovery into a loving, caring family will be slow. It is amazing the positive changes in her since she came to live with us. We are so thankful to all the members of the ABRL for leading us to "the boy and the girl". Kathy Trasatti, Marcia Proud, Barbara and Henry Atkinson and anyone else who has been involved with either of our two adoptions, "Thank all of you so very much!

Bouviers Name: Maddie
Maddie and Grant	Just wanted to drop you a note, and send along a current picture of Maddie...with Grant, our 3-yr old. I'm taking her to the vet this Friday, for a check-up, and to get her monthly heartworm meds. I wanted the vet to check her weight, just to be sure that she's still gaining alittle, and to have her dry skin looked at, as she's really itching and biting at times. Maddie is still doing great, and is the 'queen' of the castle! She's full of pep and life, and loves to just be with us. She's a wonderful girl, and we all love her so much! Thanks, again, for bringing Maddie into our lives! Susan

Bouviers Name: Looey
	We all just returned from Maine and guess who did better than anyone climbing over rocks and up and down docks and gangplanks!! That's right. On an island full of dogs, almost one in every cottage, Looey stood out as everyone's favorite. He even let our 3 yr. old neighbor walk him in the morning (with Mom and me) Cardiologist report came back as a normal heart murmur that people live with all the time. No enlargement, nothing unusual for what it is. Sorry I forgot to write to you about that. I bet he's gained more weight and more muscle since we've been away. I'll let you know after the next check up. He is a doll, and has bonded totally with the kitty cats. He and the little gray one walk together- Mutt & Jeff comes to mind. What a great doggie we have, thanks to you. Mimi

Bouviers Name: Lexie
	Lexie has gone to her dream home in Texas. The Heuet's drove all the way to Atlanta to pick her up. She will go to work with them everyday. She has a Maltese companion, KiKi. KiKi was so cute! When they put Lexie in the back seat of the car for the ride home KiKi kept looking back and then looking at her owners, and then back again as if to say" Hey, have you noticed there's a BIG gray thing back there?! Somebody check it out!"

Bouviers Name: Marley
	Marley came to the ABRL from a southern shelter. He was heartworm positive and required several treatments over a number of months until he could go to his new home with Debby & Kurt Wood in August

Bouviers Name: Griffin
Me and My Youngest Mistress	Griffin came to the ABRL a shaved down, malnourished dog. His ears were terribly infected and he was riddled with parasites. He had been the unfortunate player in an exchange of dogs for breeding. When he didn't live up to the owner's expectations, he was tied to a tree for months until rescue became aware of him.
Me and My New Loves!
Now, Griffin is the pampered pooch of a loving family. He is the beloved companion of 3 kids, is welcome in th family's historic home and goes to work with Mom. This is truly a Cinderella story! Thanks to all involved that made this new life for Griffin a reality.

Bouviers Name: Summer Spirit
	I am writing about our little Bouv rescue, Summer Spirit, acquired last summer from Lucinda Howard in Tennessee. Just wanted you to know she is doing well and received her CGC last night. While still a handful with boundless energy, she is very endearing. Everyone that meets her is impressed with her sweet friendliness. The hardest part of her test was staying for recall as she kept trying to creep forward toward me. We are considering starting her in Rally Ob. though agility my be her future with her speed. Here again it will depend if she can actually hold a stay. It has taken four months for her to learn to retrieve a ball, so I guess patience is the key. Anyway, thought you would like to here how our little wild child from Tennessee was doing. Sincerely, Jane E. Stanley

Bouviers Name: Charley
Charley & Lil Man	Charley was in a shelter in south Georgia and had lingered there for sometime. When his time was up and he was to be PTS, he finally found his way to the Proud's home for fostering. This was in November of 2005. Charley was dirty, stinky, heartworm positive, unneutered and in need of vet care. He quickly made friends with Nemo, the family mix, who of course was also a rescue. (Rose , the queen Bouvier of the household, thought him to be an inconvenience.) Charley lived with the Proud's for several months while becoming a handsome, healthy dog. He loved to swim and fish with Nemo and the kids. Theresa and David Gross sent in an application to adopt a Bouvier. A couple years ago while David was on patrol, a man rapped on the patrol car's window and held up a tiny balck "thing". David took him home, and he and Theeresa bottle fed Li'l Man, raising him to be their beloved companion. A year or so later they met someone who said, "That's a Bouvier!" Their love affair with the Bouvier had begun!
Charley Fishing
Li'l Man needed a companion for the hiking and boating trips the family takes. Enter Charlie. After a tearful hand-off, Charlie began a new life in Tennessee, the life he was meant to have. To quote Theresa, "Charley is a lifesaver! In May, we were in our bedroom watching TV and Charley all of a sudden got up and was pacing besdie the bed. I got up to let him go out. When I got to the laundry room, there was smoke and the washer had gone haywire! I turned it off and the smoke detector above the door was not working!" "Charley has found his forte in life, and it's fishing. I've enclosed pictures, he will fish for hours! How amazing out of all the dogs on the ABRL website we pick a wonderful dog that loves boating and fishing. Charley is a true Bouvier. When I'm home he doesn't let me out of his sight for a minute. I guess I'm his flock.....Thank you for the hard work your family and Nemo do saving these wonderful souls, the Bouvier..."

Bouviers Name: Oliver
	Oliver was 18 months old when he was re-homed with a family in Florida. Here is a note from his new mom: "He is doing great! We really love him and he has become an integral member of our family. I have to admit that I gave up on the grooming - just couldn't find the time in our busy household and I would rather take the time to take the boys outside and Oliver for a good walk in the evenings. The groomer is reasonable and he looks so handsome afterwards! He feels secure enough now not to follow me everytime I move (we're down to about 90% of the time). He is great with the boys - our 20 month old loves to lie down right on t op of him. He loves to go for rides in the car and is doing great when we do have to leave him behind in the house - no accidents or chewed up things. We leave busy bones and things for him but he won't even touch them until we get home He has chewed a shoe or two but it is when we get home and he is "excited" then he goes around and graps whatever he can get hold of and throws it up in the air in celebration that we are home. He has trained up (even the boys) to put our shoes in the closet. He is for the most part very laid back and just seems happy hanging out with us. The neighborhood kids love him - he is like a big teddy bear to them - he is gentle with everyone. The boys love giving him treats for sitting and he takes them very gently from their small hands. I will never have another dog besides a bouvier - I am totally devoted.

Bouviers Name: Maggie
Maggie on the Beach	Maggie is absolutely wonderful and is a well adjusted happy girl!!!! EVERYONE that knows her or even those that just meet her on her daily walks become her buddy. She has a play group at the Old Towne Pet Resort that she frequents several times a month. We drop her off on the way to work and pick her up on the way home. Maggie, Butch, and I took obedience class together. At the final testing she came in first place 4 out of 5 times. There were 10 pets and 2 instructors. All of the other dogs (except Maggie) were busy with their owners or snacks and not paying any attention to the instructors until it was their turn. Maggie sat perfectly still between the two of us and watch/paid attention to the instructor at all times. She was really cute!!!
Maggie on the Job
She definitely has a problem with car sickness. We have discovered that when one of us sits in the back, we put on her seatbelt and have her lying down w/her head on our lap. We place a small towel around her eyes and then we can drive for hours and she is perfectly fine. In fact she is so comfortable that she ends up on her back and snores away. Every time we drive with her sitting in the back and looking out she'll get sick within 5-7 minutes. We have not been diligent in taking her out daily for the short rides. We plan to start this weekend to take her out every day after her afternoon walk to take her for a 5 min drive. When she clears 5 min for a week then we'll increase 6-7 min. etc. We'll keep trying. But at least we know the sitting in back with one of us works. We took her on our summer vacation to Bethany Beach, DE. She had an absolute blast playing on the beach. We only took her out twice in the early part of the day (to hot later) and loved surf and went crazy pouncing the sand. What a job cleaning her up, it took a total of 2 showers each time to get out all of the sand. We can't thank you enough for connecting us with such a wonderful dog. Butch & I, my folks, the rest of our immediate family, and our close friends take such a delight in being with her.

Bouviers Name: Cora
Cora and Family	This is a match made in heaven! Valerie and Fred were meant to be with Cora. They adore her but more importantly, she adores them. Cora is such a sweetie!! What a great girl. Even though it's only been a week, it is obvious they really care about Cora. Cora has a nice house and has everything she needs. She has her own bed, but we think she's sleeping with them. The bed is awesome and made our visitor want to take a nap the minute she checked it out. Thanks to Greta Huygen & Karen Kennedy for helping to make this adoption a success!