1/11/09: Have you ever seen a more beautiful Pei? This boy is a gorgeous chocolate horsecoat. We're calling him Bennie. Bennie was found wandering around in the country, just trying to find somebody to help him. He is such a good boy - very well behaved, loves other dogs. He's not particularly fond of his crate, but we're working on that.

Benny is approximately 2 years old. He will be neutered on 1/15/09 and will have his eyes fixed if Dr. Traci determines that he has entropion. Bennie is current on his vaccinations and on heartworm preventive.

	What a regal boy!

11/7/08: From Griffin's foster mom: He is truly one of the old horsecoats.  Way too smart. These brushcoats are really dumb next to these old horsecoats.  He is not going to be good with cats.  Yesterday, he was fine.  This morning he is hunting them.  He will definitely go after them if they run.

He loves treats, loves food.  He now knows after part of one day that when we go on walks, he gets treats.  He will go pee and come and stand in front of me for his treat.  He is also barking, not because he wants to go, but because if we go, he gets treats.

Seems like he wants to come in the house.  He can act afraid, but I'm not sure he is as afraid as he acts.  He can put on a pretty good acting job to get what he wants.  LOL. Vicki

11/7/08: Griffin is doing great. We let him out in the back yard, he does his business and goes back and stands in front of the kennel building. He will come up to us when we sit on the steps with him, and comes to me when I stand in front of his kennel run when Amos is out. He refuses to fence fight, but didn't want to play with PT in spite of her best efforts to make friends. He just mostly wants to eat. LOL Vicki

12/31/08: Sweet Grif, who is already house trained, no problem in a crate - It's been very interesting to see him slowly come out of his shell. He does sit and shake and loves to run around the yard at full speed. I took him walking and he's great on a lead, will just smell the other neighborhood dogs and didn't seem to be bothered by them at all. He sniffed one of our cats and then ignored her but once she ran back into the garage, he became much more interested in chasing her. Grif loves to be out walking and he's wonderful on a lead. Lois

He looks as though he's saying thank you for saving him.

I need to start by saying that the wonderful people who found him and wanted  to keep him safe deserve so much of  the credit. They took a scared, lonely, almost feral dog, whose collar was embedded in his skin, and helped him  learn to trust, while seeking the medical attention he needed. I know Benny will be forever grateful and that family will never forget him.
Benny is  a little skittish, but very friendly toward people and other dogs. He eats well, and loves yogurt in his food. He will let you clean his ears, but is seems to scare him a little. He is not much on taking snacks, but I did give him a small chew bone and he seemed to really enjoy himself.
His caretakers had a big blanket for him to sleep on. Although Benny is in the process of being crate trained, he only sleeps in there at night for now.  He hung out with me while I did some painting. I put his big blanket on the floor and as he watched me, we got to know one another.
Because there are other dogs here, he watches them and is learning the routine. Benny follows the other dogs, who follow me, and is comfortable enough to stand close to me as I sit and lets me know he wants to be petted. I pet and pet and pet, if I stop, he gets closer. I even got the approval by having him lick my hand, oh, so sweet. I just smiled and kept on petting him.
Benny is a very, very sweet dog. He can be vocal when he wants something, but is not a barker. I feel it will take a patient person to gain his trust in all things. It will not happen overnight, but the reward will be well worth a faithful, loving companion. Celia

5/30/09: Today was a great day for The Ben Man. You see, he met the Burgess family and was picked by them to be their new boy. Jeff and Jennifer, but especially Jeff, fell in love with Benny and we think the feeling was mutual. We are very happy for Benny. He had a rocky start, but hopefully things will settle down for him and he can learn to trust and love again.

5/31/09: Well, we all got up at 6:30 to see how Benny is!! He is starting to eat and he follows my son everywhere!!!! Me? I am still kind of sad about this. I told Benny he could be friends with the family, but he has to be my dog . . Well, I guess he didn't like that very much. :) But he is doing well and we are really enjoying him. I just hope he will like us. I also want to say thank you to you and Galon for all you have done for us. There sure aren't many people out there like you guys. Jeff

5/31/09: Good Morning All,
I would like to start out by saying that you all are some of the nicest people I have ever met!
I was surprised by the way you took to Benny. I had no idea that I would be leaving him behind. I was rather hoping I wouldn't. I texted Cindy this morning asking her if I should come pick up my dog. She replied "I don't think so, go read your email." My heart broke, the tears just started flowing. I miss him so much already that I just cannot stop crying while I think about him. I missed him last night, and I missed him coming for his morning rubs and kisses, and then stretching his legs in front of me while I was trying to walk.
Benny is a great, great dog. Don't worry, he will be a daddy's dog. If you feed him, you give him treats, you walk him, he will look to You for everything. Take things slow, not a lot of noise, no sudden moves. How is he getting on with mama's little Yorkies? I hope it works out for all of you. It is hard sometimes to find the right dog for a family - things do not always work out, but for you all, my heart wants nothing but Bennie to be part of your family.
As for a bath, yes, he will need one eventually, but do not worry about it, right now. You just need to gain his trust. The bath can wait.
We have fostered several dogs for Cindy, and even though I love them all, a small few capture our hearts and it is hard to let them go. Benny is one of those dogs. My heart is big enough for heartache. There is still more room in this old heart of mine to be broken again. Because of it, I will continue to foster and love more dogs for Cindy.
Again, I wish you the best in this adoption. May you all be happy for many years to come.
Celia