To Our Friends at Save A Dog:
We write once again to tell you how happy we are to have "Jazz" as a member of our family. She has been a real joy and makes friends wherever she goes. Jazz was our first German Shorthair Pointer, and we were so thrilled with the breed that we have recently adopted our second GSP, Ruger. Ruger's foster father, John Rosenberger, brought him for a visit on Saturday, August 24th and we adopted him that same day! He was still fairly underweight and had the remains of a skin rash, but he didn't let that slow him down - he immediately did multiple laps of the fenced back yard at breakneck speed! He also inadvertently ran into the swimming pool, but it didn't seem to faze him, as he calmly swam over to the side, climbed out, shook himself off and took off running again!
In the 11 days we have had Ruger with us, it seems to us as though he has put on about 10 pounds. His rash is almost gone and he is looking very fit. His energy levels have improved every day and he has turned out to be a real snuggler. All we have read about the breed tells us that GSP's love their people, and Ruger is no exception. He seems to have bonded especially with Deborah, perhaps sensing that she has the most affinity for large dogs, having previously owned Labs and a Great Dane.
Ruger is very calm and gentlemanly, yet he really mixes it up with Jazzy. They love to rough-house and race around the yard together, which is fantastic for blowing off the steam of this active breed. Our 10-year old Jack Russell Terrier, Abigail, sometimes joins in or, if she thinks the play is getting too rough, rushes in to break it up (Jazz can sometimes get over-excited when playing and needs a gentle reminder to calm down). Abby, may be the smallest of the group, but everyone acknowledges that she is the boss (she certainly has us well trained!).
Like the other two dogs, Ruger loves his "belly rubs" and prefers to sleep on the furniture - especially the bed, if there is room. A picture of him and Jasmine on the chaise lounges poolside is one of the ones attached. We were briefly thinking of re-naming him Reilly, as in "he's leading the life of Reilly," but he seems to know his name and responds very well to it. He has already taken to obedience work and is very smart. He not only learns from his work with Russ, but he seems to also learn from observing Jazz and Abby while they are being worked on the leash and on long walks in the Danville Town Forest.
All in all, Ruger has been a terrific addition to the family. Thank you, Save A Dog, for the wonderful work done by you and all your foster families.
Russ & Deborah Francis
Danville, New Hampshire
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