PUPDATE! NEW HOMES ALL 'ROUND!

Just thought I'd let you know that the dogs are all safely tucked away in their new homes.

Cindi and Luke went to one family where the MIL is taking Cindi home and plans on spoiling her royally. Cindi will LOVE that! She's gonna get to sleep on the bed and everything! Of course, she's always known she wasn't really a dog and just couldn't understand why us other human types didn't get it! She will get to see Luke often.

Luke will be living with the wife, husband, 3 or 4 kids, a parrot, a ferret, a cockatiel, and a rat-like rodent of some sort - all in the house. Outside they have several other animals including horses, dogs, pigs, chickens and cows (I think. It's a big place and I couldn't tell where their property stopped and the neighbor's started.). He will have room to run and play and lots of loving help doing it.

I didn't get to meet Belle's new family, but this is what Rita told me about them:

Belle is today's miracle answer to a sick little boy's long time prayer. I don't know his real name, but I'm going to call him Will because with everything he's been through, it is only his will to live that's kept him here.

Will is about 7 years old, but he's only the size of a two- to three-year-old. He walks and talks at about that same level, too. He is not expected to live past 10 or 11 years of age. Several years ago the family got the Lassy movie and watched it with Will. He fell in love with collies. One of the longest sentences he says is "MY LASSY!" Any time he sees a collie picture, stuffed toy, figurine, anything, he has to have it. His room is covered with MY LASSYs. His parents could not afford to buy a dog and have it trained to meet Will's needs. When they saw the posting on Freecycle giving one away, they thought that just maybe this might be the answer to their prayers. And so it is.

Belle is a gentle, kind and VERY intelligent animal. When Rita introduced her to Will, she told her that "this baby is now your job." Belle has taken that job very seriously. Will's parents were initially worried that Belle was unhappy because the first day she paced almost nonstop. However, late in the afternoon, Will took Belle for a walk in the back yard UNASSISTED. His mom was astonished. She never thought she'd see him able to walk his own dog. She also was amazed to see Belle obeying Will's commands even though they are spoken in Will-speak and usually only his parents know what he is saying. Belle sits and stays, lays down, and shakes hands on command. She understands Will perfectly and obeys his commands without hesitation.

Friday night Belle slept peacefully on the floor at the foot of Will's bed - between him and the door. When Mom and Dad looked in, Belle immediately came to full alert. She didn't get up, just raised her head and acknowledged their presence, and then went back to sleep guarding her new boy. I'm betting Will had sweet dreams, at last, about his very own MY LASSY.

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR YOUR PRAYERS. As you can see, they have been answered - and then some.

GOD IS GOOD!