We haven't written about Simon recently, so I thought I would post a recent photo I took of him at "his park" (a.k.a. the local high school where we play fetch with him every day) and an update email to his foster mom, Heather. While he isn't perfect (just visit our home to see how excited/crazy he gets for visitors), we like him a lot and I'm very grateful for his companionship and love.
Heather,
It has been about a year since we welcomed Simon into our home and I wanted to thank you again for encouraging us to adopt him. He has been such a great dog for our family -- he loves being outside as much as we do, he is a big ball of affection (especially for Joshua, with whom he is a little obsessed) and he even loves our cat a much as we do. While this past year has had its challenges with his desire to bark at everyone who passes by our house, dog training classes helped us all to find a way to communicate and his barking has subsided greatly.
We took Simon and Shanti (the cat) to the vet last week and the vet was excited by how healthy they both are for living in a small rowhome in South Philly. We have been blessed with Simon's ability to play in parks off-leash so we spend over an hour every evening playing fetch with him. He is quite the runner and is always getting comments on how fast he is. Most weekends we go for a longer hike along the Wissahickon Creek in Fairmount Park. Simon used to just wade in the water, but this summer he finally got the hang of the doggy-paddle and now it is all he wants to do! We have also been taking him camping. He is still getting the hang of sleeping in a tent -- it is hard to get him settled when there are so many noises in the woods -- but he is slowly learning.
Overall, we could not be happier with having Simon as part of our family. Thanks for helping us find him! Below are links to some videos of Simon and I've attached a few photos, too. Enjoy.
Hope you are well!
Laura and Joshua Chisholm
This past winter when we went snowshoeing with Simon
A month ago when Simon decided that swimming is the greatest thing ever
Some photos:
Heather's reply:
Hi Laura -
Wow, what a great treat to hear from you guys! I've thought of Simon often and I can't believe it's been a year already. I will always think of him flying through the backyard with those ears just flopping. He will always be one of my favorite fosters ever!
I'm so glad to hear how happy all of you are as a family! I knew in my heart that you were exactly right for Simon and he knew it too! The pictures are wonderful (I LOVE the hat!!) and the videos really made us smile. Simon deserved a family that would encourage his vitality and incredible sense of wonder and joy and I will be forever grateful that he found just that!
We took a break from foster dogs to help a kitty in serious need - Pumpkin was almost euthanized at a "pound" in Montgomery. I pulled him and got him a cage at PetSmart to be adopted but he developed a serious upper respitatory virus that ended up in his eye, which he almost lost. Most vets would have just taken the eye but Del Val decided to do surgery and, with lots of prayer, TLC and medication, he has recovered and is ready for adoption! The problem is that after all that he went though I'm not willing to put him back in a cage at PetSmart. Getting kitties adopted is tough and especially from a foster home but I'm holding out for the best! I'm hoping he will be as lucky as Simon and find the perfect family!
Please, please give Simon a hug and kiss from us! You have no idea how happy you made me with this E-mail!!!!
Many Thanks,
Heather
No comments:
Post a Comment