Dear SMAWL,

Today marks one week with our new (old) dog, Odie, and we are happy to say (and please don't take this the wrong way), you may NEVER have him back!

My husband and I are absolutely in love with him!! He has been the perfect dog. He seemed a bit depressed on the first day, but we expected as much, since he has been through so much upheaval in the past month or two. On his second day, the honor of his presence was requested at a cookout, where he interacted all day with two great danes, a French bulldog, and a bullmastiff. He did wonderfully! He perked up as soon as he saw them. All the dogs played well together, and at the end of our outing, Odie was instigating the barking at strangers walking on the park trail on the other side of the fenced yard. He was such a "tough guy." Haha...if only they knew -- he can't stay awake but 20 minutes at a time.

He was great throughout this past week also. No accidents in the house, not even during all that horrible rain. He's such a sensitive boy though -- he hates the rain, scared of thunder, and apparently not too fond of the parrot squawking (he goes into the adjacent room to lie down, when the bird is having a moment). He's eating very well; no surprises there. When we put down his food bowl, he looks back at us as though he's asking permission or waiting for some previously taught release command, but we dumb humans have no idea what he's asking of us. So, we just tell him he's a good boy and that it's okay to chow down.

We took him to the vet on Wednesday and everyone agrees with Dr. Autumn that his bone lesion is most likely an old injury. He has been managing very well on his Rimadyl. We sent out a thyroid profile to Michigan State Univ., to make sure his ultra-laid back demeanor is exactly just that and not due to any hypothyroidism. The vet said that he had a 'big fat belly,' but I ear muffed Odie and told him not to listen to such crazy talk.

Our new favorite sight is seeing how excited he gets when my husband and I return home from work. Odie gets so happy and runs to greet us.

We are so in love with him and often find ourselves lying down with him for a good belly rub. We can't thank you enough for taking him into your organization and providing us the opportunity to find him. A big 'thanks' to Dr. Autumn for taking such good care of his medical needs and for driving him all the way out to us, and 'thanks' to his foster mom for bridging him from home to home. We really appreciate and admire all the dedication that the SMAWL organization has provided.