Update on Daisy

Hi Michelle,

I've been meaning to send you an update on Daisy (one of Lucy's puppies – pointer mix) for the longest time now. I hope you're still involved with SBBR. I check the website frequently, looking at the dogs that are available for adoption (I think I might get a second dog within the next year).

Daisy is now almost 2.5 years old. It's been a busy two years. She is a bundle of energy, gets into all kinds of trouble, but is also incredibly cute and sweet. People ask me all the time what kind of dog she is because she is a very good looking dog (I tell everybody about SBBR). When I first got her she was almost all white, then she developed some spots which are now covered up by longer white hair that started to grow when she was about 7 months old. Also, her little rat tail became very feathery around that time. She also has long hair on her ears which gets curly when she is wet. She has developed some allergies and I will have her tested in the next two weeks. I think she is allergic to gluten and she's been on a gluten free diet since she was 6 months old, but she is also very itchy and scratches herself a lot. Her skin looks very pink, and I'm hoping that we can at least figure out what is causing it, so that I can somehow reduce her exposure to it.

We still live in Pacifica, very close to the beach. Daisy gets to spend 1.5 – 2 hours on the beach most days, as Fort Funston is only 15 minutes from home. We also have a beach by our apartment complex, but it's been closed lately due to some construction that's taking place. On days when we don't go to the beach, we drive to a beautiful park in Half Moon Bay where we go hiking. Daisy learned to fetch her ball pretty early on, and I have become a master with the chuck-it. I have the freedom right now to work from home 3 days a week, which means that Daisy and I can take long walks during the day. On days when I'm in the office, Daisy goes with her dog walker and a group of dogs to Fort Funston or a large park in San Francisco where she can run around with her buddies. Her dog walker refers to Daisy as a "party girl" because she usually has a "boy friend" or two in the dog group and loves to run and give kisses.

I must say that I'm glad that Daisy has slowed down just a tiny bit. The first year we would go for 3 hour walks (meaning I throw the ball and she would run, and run, and run….) and she still wouldn't be tired. She is the epitome of a high energy dog. These days a two hour walk seems to be enough. She has also made friends with my one remaining cat (one died in January at the age of 16). Sam and Daisy are very cute together, even though Daisy sometimes scares Sam (also 16) with her energy. But overall, they are buddies and I have seen them snuggle up next to each other (though both would probably deny it).

Do you know what happened to her siblings?

Also, I have some of Daisy's toys, leashes, etc that are still in reasonably good condition. I was wondering whether I can mail them somewhere because I don't get down to San Jose very often to drop them off during your adoption meetings.

I will also be sending an update and photos to SBBR for the website.

Bettina