Happy Halloween from "Miss Libby", Lewiston, New York~

Happy Halloween Momma Sue and Papa Mike


Love and Kisses from Libby

"Miss Bella" and "Miss Bethany" from Tuckaseegee, North Carolina~

Hi Sue,

Time has slipped by quicker than I like! It has been an extremely busy late summer and fall although today it feels more like mid January! As I'm typing the wind is blowing, snow flurries are flying around and the cold cuts to the bone. So far we've made it through without any major issues and I'm praying for everyone caught in the grips of Sandy!

Bella and Bethany have staked out the warmest areas, in front of the woodstove and my kitchen range when it's on. They're so funny!
I have to tell you some wonderful news:

1. Geoff is back home and enrolled in college!! Praise be and Thanks to our Lord and Savior for bringing him home safe and out of harms way! Thank you for all the prayers! We know prayer works!
2. My niece, Sarah got married in Charleston, SC three weeks ago (thankfully before Sandy)! The wedding was outside and so beautiful.

3. Bella and I received a special invitation to visit a Church and speak about being a Nationally Registered Therapy Dog Team. Since then Hospice has asked about using us with some of their patients or familles and there are other pastors interested in learning more about Therapy Dogs and how to use them as part of the healing process. Needless to say, you have touched many lives by having such loving well socialized puppies. You and your family are truly blessed!

I'll try and get some new picture to you of the girls! Let me know how you're doing!

Love and hugs,
Cherrie' , Bella and Bethany

"Miss Bailey Glory" from Buffalo, New York~

Hi Sue!
Bailey made it through her spay surgery on Friday just fine. The staff at Clarence Animal Hospital didn't want to give her back when I went to pick her up at 4:00 :). I left her with one of her giant stuffed doggies so she'd have something familiar when she woke up and when they went to get her, she was sleeping with her face and Doggy's face pointing out. Apparently it was so adorable they didn't want to disturb her...

I took this week off to stay with her and do some things I haven't found the time to do on the weekends. Tomorrow I'm going to the Botanical Gardens for the first time. Thursday is a HUGE day that I look forward to all year! A friend and I are going to Christmas In The Country at the Fairgrounds! I love that craft fair! And Friday I'm going to check out the Albright Knox Art Gallery.
The hardest thing has been keeping Bailey quiet. Fortunately, my apartment is a balmy 89 degrees and the obnoxious heat seems to being draining all their energy. They only get up to move to a cool spot on the floor :). We've had to restrict our walks from 2 miles a day to a half mile twice a day until her stitches come out on the 9th. Easily done with all the rain the last few days-no one has really wanted to spend much time out there.
Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by Sandy. The videos on the news are just devastating.

We hope all is well with you and your family.

Love,

Sarah & Bailey

"Schatzie" from Pallatine, Illinois~

Had to steal this off Stephanie's facebook page.  What a beautiful picture of Schatzie and the sweet little girl who owns her.  :")

"Miss Hannah" from Cambridge, Wisconsin~

Hi Sue,

We thought Hannah should meet her sister again as they are

approaching a year old. So we decided to meet half way

between our homes. So we each drove 115 miles and met in Tomah WI. It

took the girls a few minutes to warm up to each other. We had lunch and

then went to a park so they could play and get reacquainted. Hannah was

the largest of the litter. We had a good time and plan on

meeting again at a park where they can run off leash. Thought you'd

enjoy the update on Starr's previous litter. Hope all is going well with

your family. Sally and Hannah :)

"Miss Noodles" from Boxborough, Massachusetts~

Dear Susan,


My husband and I adopted Noodles from you back in 2008. She is a wonderful dog, with a tremendously calm and sweet personality. I have attached a recent photo for you that I could not resist sharing. I titled it "The Meditating Noodle".

Hope all is well,

Jenn, Brian, and Noodles

"Miss Maggie" from North East, Pennsylvania~

Had a lovely trip to Erie to deliver Maggie to her new Mommy and Daddy.  What a sweet couple! Maggie settled right in with them and I could tell she is where she is supposed to be.  :")

"Archie" and "Toby" from Fleetwood, Pennsylvania~

 

  Hi Mama Sue,

You will be receiving several photos of Archie and Toby as I am not very computer literate and wanted to let you know that they are alive and doing very well.

Archie continues his work as a therapy dog and always does very well, no matter what the circumstance. He is my independent boy and does well either alone and with other dogs/people. Toby is taking a class with Awesome Dawgs and doing much better when around other dogs. I have come to the conclusion and the dog trainer agreed, Toby does not do well with excited dogs and he tries to correct their energy. He loves people, young and old alike and I hope to have him get his therapy dog certification later in the year. In the one photo sent, Toby is carrying a green bean in his mouth. I removed the bean after several minutes and it did not contain even one tooth mark! He remains a petite cocker with a Great Dane persaonality! He greets people at the door always with a toy in his mouth, ready to play. The boys bring great joy to my life and I thank God for bringing them into my life to take care of!

I hope you and Mike are doing well and hope that your vacation to Hawaii was wonderful. Tim and I had a great time in Alaska, so much to see and do. I highly recommend it! While in Alaska we went to see a musher's camp. This is where they breed and train the dogs to pull the sled. I was privileged to hold 4 week old and 8 week old puppies! At least I was able to get some dog kisses while in Alaska,

God Bless,

Kathy

Note from Sue~

        As much as I would have loved to have gone to Hawaii to celebrate our 45th wedding anniversary, it was just not meant to be.  We were married there when Mike was in the Marine Corps and was on leave from Vietnam. Mike is disabled and doesn't get around much these days, having to wear a cast on his foot to offset the weight off the foot wound.  Instead, my daughter and I went to Georgia to see my son off on his deployment to Afghanistan. I would love to go to Alaska with Mike someday!  That would be a dream vacation for sure! 

"Miss Bailey Glory" from Buffalo, New York~

Hi Sue!

     Someone stole my fuzzy puppy and left me this very grown-up looking little girl in exchange! Didn't Alex do a great job?! It's the first time he's ever tried this cut. Usually he just shaves them bald, but Bailey's so beautiful we're going to keep her in full coat, so he consulted the source of all knowledge...youtube...and here she is! A mini-Cocker! I'm hoping that if the vet has to shave a patch on one of her legs when she's spayed on Friday he can do a back one-it will be less noticable there, I think.

      Bailey has found many things to like and dislike about Fall. Blowing leaves...HUGE like! Chestnuts and crabapples-how much fun are they to carry around in your mouth...for a mile?! Spooky Halloween decorations that turn on when you walk past them...yeah...not so much...

     This week she figured out how to jump on our California King-sized sleigh bed...I was kind of hoping that would take her a while yet. The first time she jumped up there when we weren't in the room she couldn't figure out how to get down. I was in the family room with the older two, watching TV, and she started barking so I called her. When she didn't come I went to see what was wrong...I admit it-I couldn't help it-I laughed when I saw her up there, obviously struggling with how to get down. She hasn't jumped up there without us since. She did jump up there the other night when we again attempted to leave her out of her crate for the night. Apparently she decided she didn't want to sleep on the floor and I woke up with her nose in my mouth like she was giving me CPR, which was unpleasant for two reasons-it was Midnight and I must now acknowledge that Alex is right-I probably snore...
I     'm looking forward to having another week home with the kids following Bailey's surgery. That will be two weeks that I've taken to just relax at home. Usually I use my vacation for trips home or to see Alex's family and we're constantly on the go. I have some great photography books lined up to read and some wonderful classics lined up on Netflix. It's going to be a great week!
Hope all is well with you and the family!

Love,

Sarah & Bailey

"Bailey Glory" from Buffalo, New York~

What a lovely surprise the postman brought me today!   Two lovely Christmas ornaments!  You are just too sweet, Sarah!  Thank you so much!!!
And thank you from the bottom of my heart for giving Bailey Glory such a wonderful home!

Big hugs,

Sue

"Miss Muffin" from Scottsville, New York~

Dick and Kate got their new puppy, Muffin today!  They wanted another puppy after someone stole the little puppy they got from us last year out of their yard.  They were heartbroken...but are so happy now that they have a new baby cocker to make their lives complete!

"Smithers" from Minoa, New York~

Smithers went to live with his new Mommy and Daddy today, Pat and Dick from Minoa~

"Miss Aspen" from Sparks, Nevada~

 Happy Monday Susan,
Just wanted to send you a hello and some pictures from Aspen's 3rd Birthday
Party. My sister brought her dogs over for the special occasion, so we had

6 all together. They dogs had a great time and loved their treats. We

still can't get over how special she is. I have still been watching all the

new beautiful puppies from afar and wish I could bring each one home with

me. I can't wait to see the new colored additions. It has been a very long

time. Best wishes with you new grand daughter and I hope everything keeps

improving.

Valeri & Aspen

Sparks, Nevada

"Cyrus" from Victor, New York~

Hi Susan:


My little Cyrus earned his first title, CGC, at 10 months.I am so proud of him!

I am not sure what direction we are heading next. I am thinking rally obedience would be fun. His brother Carter is in Novice Agility and doing very well. His brother Charlie is starting flyball this week. That should be fun.

I watch the adventures of his sister, Natasha and really enjoy the beautiful pictures of all the different places. It is really wonderful to be part of the High Calling Family.

Love to you, your family and all the High Calling Family


Sandy & Cyrus

Note from Sue~

www.Adopt a US Soldier.org

Hello to all my "High Calling Cocker" family,
Just wanted to share something with you all.  As I mentioned a few posts ago, our son is currently deployed to Afghanistan. I have been making "care packages" to send him of things he needs and likes. It has been brought to my attention that they are lacking some basic items over there...like towels, or warm pajamas. It is almost wintertime over there and they are "wayyyy cold". I fould this website where a person could "adopt" a US Soldier. If you have it in your heart to sign up and adopt a soldier so you can send some things they may need, please feel free do so. I know they would appreciate it so much!

Sue

Miss Bailey" (Cadence) from Woodstock, Maryland~

Hi Sue,
Just wanted to send a few pictures. It's been a long time. I've been busy now school and sports have started. Bailey has adjusted to our routine very well. She goes to the bus stop twice a day and we take a few walks during the day. The pictures attached are about a month old. We had just gotten her hair cut. The last two pictures was after a rain storm that my daughter took. We always get the prettiest rainbows. Bailey is almost a creamy white just like a little snow ball. She has been to two of my son's baseball games. She gets lots of attention. I give out treats to strangers who want to pet her and let them give her the treat. She is less nervous in meeting new people that way.
I also saw on your blog about your grand daughter Madison. She seems like a strong little girl and the hardest days are now over. Blessings to her.
Gwen

"Miss Blossom" from Northfield, Vermont~

I have neer been able to catch this in a photo before when she has done this. Last night she let me. Usually when she sees the camera she turns her head as if to say oh no you don't. LOL


Tam

"Miss Bailey Glory" in her Angel costume for Halloween from Buffalo, New York~

Dear Sue,


I asked Bailey what she wanted to be for her first Halloween and she said she wanted to be a Guardian Angel to help watch over Uncle David. I thought that was a great idea. Her older brother and sister, on the other hand, thought something in red would be more appropriate :). But she really is an angel most of the time and the rest of the time she's just a four month old puppy doing what four month old puppies do. It's not her fault I stuck her with a bunch of fuddy-duddies! I took pictures now because I'm not entirely sure her wings will still fit by the time Halloween actually rolls around. She's getting that big that fast.

She's doing awesome at puppy socialization! Last week and this week she really started to come out of her shell and interact with the other dogs. Some of her favorites moved over to the big dog side this week, but she made some new friends and showed them how much fun the slide is. I'll be sad when she turns 6 months old and can't go anymore, so we're thinking about sending her to daycare on Fridays like we did with Chica. It will get her out of the crate for a day and I love exposing her to different dogs because we never know who we'll meet on one of our walks.

Bailey and Curley got to meet their Grandma today. My Mom took my Aunt Moira out to California to see Big Sur, the Giant Red Woods, Yosemite, and Lake Tahoe. After flying in to Buffalo last night, she stopped by the apartment this afternoon to meet her Grandkids before returning to Albany. She could not be any more in love with them and the feeling was mutual. She said over and over again that she couldn't believe how soft and beautiful Bailey is. And she laughed every time she looked at her giant fluffy paws. I can't wait to bring her home with me the week before Christmas. My Dad's going to flip for her and he'll love having a dog in the house again. I've already found a great daycare center for her to spend the days at while Mom and I work around the house as there's so much to get done. In the evenings Grandpa will be more than happy to entertain her, particularly if she'll be so tuckered out she'll just want to nap with him.

And that isn't today's only good news! This morning Bailey slept in until 6:15!!! Usually she has me up between 5:30-5:50 on Saturdays, then sleeps in until 6:30 on Sunday mornings. This gives me hope that one day she, too, will look at Alex getting up at 6:30, say "Have a great day at work, Dad!", then go back to sleep for at least another hour.

Say a prayer for Alex this week, Sue! Saturday we are going to celebrate my Goddaughter, Hannah's, 4th birthday, so I'm heading to Albany. I was going to take Bails with me, but Alex told me to leave her here. It will be the first time I've left him home alone with the three kids for more than a few hours, and I'm a little nervous, as any Mom would be. I'm sure it will be fine...as sure as I am that they'll all be ecstatic to see me early Sunday afternoon.
David remains in our prayers and we'll say one for Phil and Jan tonight as well. We love the pictures of Layla and Madison. They are both so precious and we'll continue to pray that Madison goes home very soon.

Love,

Sarah & Bailey

Sophie from Adrian, Michigan~

Lauren with "Sophie"

Baby Madison~

Chad's beautiful new home in Charlotte.  I snapped this picture as I was leaving after spending a night there on my way to Georgia and Florida last week.

Baby Madison waving in her new yellow hat.

I want to take a few moments to thank everyone for praying for Baby Madison.  For those who aren't aware, our precious little granddaughter was born 16 weeks early.   We had originally been told Annette was carrying twin boys!  We gave her a baby shower and she received everything royal blue.   A day or so after the shower, she passed one of the babies at home, stillborn.  :'(   Chad raced Annette to the hospital, where she stayed for weeks, carrying the other baby.  When she finally went into labor, they rushed her to the OR and did an emergency C-Section...and lo and behold, the other baby was a girl!!!!  She weighed 1 lb and 3.6 ozs!   She was born July 18th.   She is now up to 5 lbs 1 oz and is still in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in Buffalo!!!  God is good!  We hope she will be able to come home soon, as Chad and Annette had just purchased a new home in North Carolina and are anxious to get settled in there with their new baby girl. 

Sue