4/12/08: This beautiful black girl is called Joy. Joy is a very friendly, loving little girl. She's not very big, only 38 lbs. She's close to being a mini. Joy loves male dogs, but doesn't much care for other females. She will be spayed and have her eyes fixed on 4/19 or 4/26, then she'll be ready for adoption. Joy is crate trained, vaccinated and on heartworm preventive.

4/19/08: Joy had an emergency trip to the doctor on Wednesday. She had a terrible abscess on her rear leg from an old bite wound we think. Doc lanced it and Joy is feeling much better. She's taking an antibiotic for a week to make sure all the infection is gone.

Joy is house trained and loves people. She loves being in the house. Joy is very social with our dogs, both male and female. If you had seen Joy 3 weeks ago and again now, you would not believe she is the same little girl.

4/23/08: Joy has recovered very nicely. She REALLY likes being in the house!

6/9/08: Joy Bean surprised us on 4/25 with 5 beautiful little peilings. Because Joy had been vaccinated, there was a chance that the puppies might have some medical issues. But, lo and behold, they are happy, healthy little peibies. They have their own page. Go check them out, but come back if you're interested in applying to adopt Joy Bean.

7/17/08: As bad as we hated to see this little girl go, we know she is in a great home. I think Leslie and Steven were really happy with how beautiful Joy is. It's going to take a little time for Joy to warm up, but we know she will. She's a very smart little girl and it won't take her long before she realizes what a good life she's going to have. We miss you, Joy Bean.

7/20/08: Leslie writes - Joy and I are making great progress! She wakes me up at 5:30 a.m. with a kiss. She loves going for walks and she comes when I call her. I have only tested that inside. She follows me and comes to me periodically for love. My husband and Joy ae slow going, but do seem to be making progress. We left Joy by herself for almost 2 hours today and came home to fnd her asleep and not a scratch on the door or anything else for that matter. Things look like they will turn out great!

8/22/08: Joy is doing really well! We just love her so much. We are really having to work on socializing her. She is afraid of people and has an agressive posture when it comes to dogs. There haven't been any problems but she will not settle down enough for group obedience classes. We thankfully have a neighbor who lets his dog out for us to meet in the street for practice. I am going to take her to some private lessons. I hope this will help her.

She has been to the vet. He has given us medicated ear wash and antibiotics to keep on hand. The ears he said might be an ongoing battle. Nothing unexpected. I was suprised that she weighed 36lbs. with how much she eats. That is down 2lbs. from when we got her. She does however get a ton of exercise. She takes us for very long and frequent walks. Sometimes she decides they need to be stepped up to runs. This keeping all of us in good shape.

She is so happy and loving! It was such a great feeling when she no l onger looked down when I spoke to her or tried to pet her and looked me in the eyes and made her decision to trust me. Those little black eyes peak through her wrinkles and tell me every time I see her that she has overcome her fears and her past and trusts me.

I am so grateful to have the opportunity to share in Joys life! An opportunity we would not have if it wasn't for you and the others that make up Tenn. rescue. Leslie

Just an update on Joy. She is doing well at home with myself and husband. She has almost mastered come, sit and down. We work with her all the time. She is just so afraid of the unfamiliar that outside is to distracting for much training. She is learning to walk well on a lead! She will hesitate if a car is not parked in its proper spot. If someone has a visiting car she is very apprehensive. She seems to have an inventory of the neighborhood and is very nervous of any change. We have along way to go but are enjoying getting there.

9/6/08: Just an update on Joy. She is doing well at home with myself and husband. She has almost mastered come, sit and down. We work with her all the time. She is just so afraid of the unfamiliar that outside is to distracting for much training. She is learning to walk well on a lead! She will hesitate if a car is not parked in its proper spot. If someone has a visiting car she is very apprehensive. She seems to have an inventory of the neighborhood and is very nervous of any change. We have along way to go but are enjoying getting there.

I read a article about adopted/rescued animals and their flight instinct. They said to give them a year before you ever think of having them outside without a lead. This is going to require some creativity in her training. Sometime in the future her training switches to off the lead. We are going to borrow my mothers yard and the fenced baseball field that is inside another fence. The article really scared me. So we are very careful!

She is such a good dog! She is always by my side and now is very comfortable with my husband. She lays out on the deck for long stretches of time now that we have had some cooler days. She is enjoying the outdoors! Leslie

10/7/08: Joy has turned into a diva. In the mornings when I get ready she waits for me to put on perfume. When she sees the bottle, she comes over to be under the mist as it falls to the ground. Then she rubs herself on the ground to make sure she gets enough. She is such a girl! Leslie

10/14/08: Joy has turned into a diva. In the mornings when I get ready she waits for me to put on perfume. When she sees the bottle, she comes over to be under the mist as it falls to the ground. Then she rubs herself on the ground to make sure she gets enough. She is such a girl! Leslie

11/1/08: Finally, we have new pictures of little Joy - with her daddy and on her first visit to the dog park. Here's what Leslie said about that playtime: "One is Joy with her Dad to show the progress that relationship has made! The one of Joy laying on the ground is her right before she began tarring at full speed around the park. She was very stand offish for her first half hour in the park with the other dogs. She then went out to the middle of the park and lay there for a minute as if she were going to sleep (the picture.) She then slung herself around and ran, jumped and spun around into a slide. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. She then gave chase to every dog in the park. She was so funny! She plays with all her heart! She had everyones attention and put on such a show." Leslie

12/11/08: Just a quick note to let you know Joy is doing great! She can sit, lay and shake hands. War of the wills breaks out when the issue of rolling over is mentioned. It is so funny! She is going to the vet. in a week to get her ears cleaned. They will be sedating her, so I will have them clip her nails while she is under. She is on a weeks worth of steroid drops in hopes of opening up the canals. I'm sure she will not be pleased when she is picked up. I hope a trip to pet smart on the way home to pick out a new toy will smooth things over between us! She is such a sweet girl and we have grown to love her so much! Even her grandmother has bought her something for Christmas.

Thanks for giving us the gift of Joy! Leslie

2/7/09: By the way Joy is doing great. She did not have to be sedated at her last vet visit.. The vet said I had done a great job in caring for her ears and he was able to see everything he needed. She is such a good girl. She still is scared around new people but I hope to improve that once it is warmer and we can get out and mingle more. I love her so much! I bought a new movie camera that burns its own DVD's so I will take one of her and send it to you soon. Leslie

Look at this cute thing! 5/2/09

Little Joy Bean had a great Memorial Day on the boat!!

The Little Adventurer at the beach 6/12/09

Leslie's little Angel 6/27/09

8/30/09: Joy is great. She has finally figured out that when you throw something, it doesn't disappear. That it moves and she now knows to go after it. It sounds like something so simple for most dogs but, I guess without that type of life experience it has taken her until now to master the art of fetch. Also she has figured out how to squeek her toys. She comes to you with them to show you her new talent, she is so pleased with herself as she squeeks them for what sometimes seem an endless amount of time. She just has blossomed so much since we got her! We are so grateful for her and enjoy her everyday. She is my very faithful companion and has brought so much joy to us. Leslie/Joy

Leslie loves this little girl.

Joy has a new little person in her life. Precious - both of them!