Updated 5/18/04 - Life sure has been good the past six months!  I cannot believe how lucky I am.  Everyone loves me, that's for sure.  Especially my mom.  We still love going to the farm and playing.  Here's some pictures of me playing with my ball. 

And here are some pictures of me at my home!  Aunt Jan came to visit me a little while ago and she oohed and aaahed and cuddled me.  But I know where I belong and that's with my MOM! 

Updated 1/11/04 - Hi! I am sending some pictures of my first Christmas at my new home. We went to the farm and I got lots of presents from Nikki, Grayson , Tiger and the goats. and a pile of toys from my Auntie Jane in Florida. There is a little black dog that barks when I squeeze him and he looks just like me. I am being very good but don't like this cold weather. Hope you had a nice Christmas, too. I am so happy. Love, Toto

Our Christmas Tree!  Isn't it beautiful?

I think I got what I wanted for Christmas!

See my toys???

Updated 12/8/03 - My Mom sent some pictures of my adventures on the farm!  I have so much fun with riding in the car and playing with the other dogs, especially Nikki, the Black Lab.  Here's some pictures of my most recent adventure:

Riding in the car is pretty fun!

You can see me with the horse and the goat in the background. 

Here I am with my alter-ego, Nikki. 

Here's me with Grayson, (left) Nikki (right) and Tiger is by Nikki's head.  I think we're getting a treat here!

I think you can see I've come a long ways from being homeless and in a shelter.  My Mom says that I brighten her day, and you know what?  She brightens mine too.  I have her nearly 100% trained.  Love, Toto

Hello!  I have some BIG news!  I have my new Mom! 

Introducing Shirley and Toto!

Here she is!  She is holding me and she keeps saying I'm cute.  I think I'm going to like it here a whole bunch.

What a day!  Aunt Jan came home from work and told me November 18 was my graduation day from foster care.  She said my new Mom was waiting for me and we needed to go meet her.  Aunt Jan was running around packing my bag, ensuring my favorite toys were going with me, and then she put this darn scarf on me and insisted on taking my picture.  

Here I am showing my side facial profile.  I think I look pretty darn cute here.

You can't see this real well, but there's a Kitty on the back of the sofa.  His name is Sylvester and Aunt Jan says that he is really the boss around there.  I kinda liked to chase him but I never made him mad.  He ignored me.

I kept turning my head so you-know-who had to hold my head while she took this picture of moi. 

I have really got my work cut out for me.  I know I'm supposed to say hello to my new skin-brother Dave and his wife Jane and family.  They think black dogs are wonderful, and I sure hope you think I'm a nice addition to the family. 

I am so excited about my new home.  Shirley says she's going to take me for a lot of walks.  She likes to walk and she could use a buddy like me to keep her company.  We've both had a rough go of it lately, and we're going to be a tough team!  Go Team!!  We'll support each other and keep each other company.  Just the way things should be.  I'm a little dog, but I know I can protect her from all kinds of things.  I can bark and make myself instantly big.  I am really looking forward to meeting my new skin-sister and her family.  She lives on a hobby farm!  Wow!  I think I like that hobby a lot.  I get to meet the dogs, Tiger, Grayson and Nikki.  I will also have some goat cousins and that will be really fun.  I hope they don't jab me in the rear with their horns.  I am looking forward to meeting Granny, Pebbles and Bam-Bam and the others, too!  And they even have a horse and some kitties.  Wow.  Shirley says we can spend a lot of time there and I think that's great.  Us girls need a retreat.

So what do you all think? 

I know what I think!  I think I'm going to keep her!  Thank you, Shirley, for giving me the kind of home I needed.  I promise to love you forever!

Love, Toto

And here is my "before" Story

Here's some facts about me:

I was turned into Riverside Animal Shelter in Kearney, Nebraska. 

 My Aunt Jan saw me on Petfinder on October 22, and fell in love in seconds.  She adopted me over the phone and three days later, a wonderful Auntie named Dawn (she says she kinda likes us short black girlie dogs) arranged to get me a ride where I met two of my other Aunties.  Aunt AJ intercepted my ride and hugged me up and loved me right away. 

She brought me over to my other Aunt, Aunt Pat and Uncle Tom where I got to be a dog for a while.  I had fun at Aunt Pat's.  I healed from my surgery that I had while at the shelter and the nasty razor burn that went with it.  I played with Jaime, Kirbie and Kasey, (This is my aunt Pat holding me with my Aunt AJ)

and I liked those things that swim in water in the back yard.  One day I got wet.  Aunt Pat was really a wonderful foster mom, and Uncle Tom let me cuddle with him a lot.  I sure miss them, but everyone says I'll see them again at some picnic.  Sweet little dogs like me seem to warm everyone's heart!

On Halloween Day, I got to meet Aunt Jan.  She had two dogs with her who looked like me - in fact I'm kinda in the middle of them both with my looks!  We rode from Omaha that morning to Ankeny, Iowa and met Jan and then drove to Minneapolis.  I liked everything really well!   Car rides are fun.

I have had fun at Aunt Jan's house and she says that she sees the real girl in me come out more each day.  I didn't like playing with toys, but now I do, and I love playing with Frasier.  We have a little routine that we do when we come inside, and we chase each other around.  Tennis balls are a lot of fun, too.

Here's Frasier and I when we woke up in the morning.  He's a Mini-Schnauzer which is what I might be (partly).  Aunt Jan tried to get us sleeping together, but we thought she might have a cookie with her so we HAD to get up.

I need a home where someone will love me unconditionally.  I do not want to be at a shelter again, and Aunt Jan says don't worry, you can always come back here.  But she kept calling my next home a "forever home" so that sounds really good to me. 

I am not a huge outdoors fan.  I do my "stuff", scratch my back legs and I'm back in the house with my humans.  I love to sit in people's laps and to sleep in bed with them.  I love my food.  I am a small girlie weighing about 16 lbs.  I am kind of shy at times, and sometimes I find it really had to believe I'm not in trouble for something.  I like other dogs okay, but I don't want them sniffing my privates if you know what I mean.  I don't care if you work all day because I'm a bit of a couch potato and I get my beauty sleep then.

Here I am with Frasier and Rosie Fiona.  Aunt Jan's vet thinks I am a combo of the two!

I love going for walks, and rides in the car are pretty cool too.  Aunt Jan took me to a car wash recently, and I can do without that.  Luckily, Aunt Jan held me and I hid my head under her arm so the big machine wouldn't get me.  I barked at it and it stopped.  I am really fierce.

Love, Toto

Copyright - 2004 Memory of Monroe Scottie Rescue

Background courtesy of www.patswebgraphics.com