Update March 26, 2009

It sure smells good.

I know I can do this.

Oh! it was sure worth it.

Within his normal routine he leads a pretty normal dog life now. He barks at the squirrels and the mailman. He watches the birds out the window. Naps in the sun. Cuddles with me on the couch while I watch TV at night. He knows how to sit and come (when he feels like it J). He also knows words: walk, cookie, go outside, lay down in your bed, etc. He?ll jump up on the couch or bed if you pat it with your hand. We found a wonderful place for him to run. It's a huge wildlife reserve near here. Acres and acres of grass and lowland. He can run like the wind!! His health is good. He weighs about 50 pounds---a little chubby from long winter naps, but he also has grown a LOT since we got him. He had his teeth cleaned last fall. They are so crooked he does have trouble with big pieces of any food so we have to break treats up for him.
Our other English Setter, Molly, went to live at the rainbow bridge last fall (L RIP Molly L) She was always in charge of Jasper and our other rescue, Rocky. With Molly gone there was some tension over the winter between Rocky and Jasper as they figured out who would get first crack at the best resources. It's pretty settled now and Jasper is usually in charge. He can be quite the little napoleon, also a rather good watchdog---as long as his courage holds out. He still has his abandon ship threshold though. Too many people, new loud noises, windy sunny days, too much activity, etc. and he will run for his safe place in the closet or freeze and hope for the best.
So on one hand he still has lots of new life experiences left to handle, on the other, he has come a long way, I think. Just the other day I was talking to him and he cocked his head first to one side---then the other---the way dogs will do when they?re listening for a word they know. It was the first time I?ve ever seen him do this and I was so excited!! That'ss one of the cool things about having him. He has these little moments of progress and it just fills your heart to see it happen
Oh..also Jasper has his own twitter account. I don't know if you spend any time with Twitter. It's a little online fun thing where you can post a few sentences and say what you're up to. I opened one for Jasper so he could help make people aware of breed rescues and situations like Boat Mountain. Check it out: www.twitter.com/rescued_dog I post to it every day, mostly. It links back to the IBR blog about Jasper and Boat Mountain. It refers to Boat Mountain as a puppy mill, even though I'm not sure it was one exactly, because that's the term most people have heard of. There are about 100 people following it now. I know there are more who read it and don't log in, too. So that's kind of fun. I hope people will go to the IBR link and maybe you will get some new members or donations.
Hope all is well with you and thank you, again, for rescuing Jasper and giving him such a good start on his new life. He brings us joy every day
Take care,
Kim

Jasper joined the brood last October. So he’s been here about 10 months.
I think he’s made lots of progress towards being a “regular dog.” He is still worried about new situations and people (he goes and hides in the closet when we have people over).
Also he still gets me up most nights to go outside.
He is also still very afraid to be out in the yard in the daytime. (I will just never figure that one out…)

On the upside, he loves to run on the trail (which is wooded) with the other dogs and he is much less fearful when we encounter other people, bikes, etc.
At home in comfortable surroundings, he knows his name, comes when he is called and knows to come for treats (cookies J)
He is very affectionate and loves to cuddle on the bed with us and hang out at night and watch TV with the family.
He plays well with Rocky (our Golden Retriever) and he is on an endless quest to get Molly (our female Setter) to be his girlfriend.

To his dismay, she will have nothing to do with him. J He has gained about 15 lbs. since he got here (not fat, just filled out) and he’s grown a few inches taller.
He loves to bark out the window at the birds in the yard and he like to chase butterflies (That is HILARIOUS to watch!).





So all in all things are going well for him. I am sure that having a daily routine and familiar surroundings is essential for him.
I really haven’t pushed him a lot towards new situations (e.g. like being out in the yard during the day.)
I’m not sure if that would be a good thing for him. On one hand, it seems like it would be good for him to have a wider expanse of world that he can handle. But one the other, it doesn’t take much for him to “shut down” (he just freezes and won’t move) and perhaps it’s better to let him take on new things as well as he can handle them at his own speed.

Hope all is well with you

Kim

Jasper aka Casper was actually on the NBC news recently with mom Kim Diloreto. They were featured in a story about dogs coming from hoarding and puppy mill situations and how long it takes them to gain confidence in a regular home situation. Dear Casper did his mom proud. Here's the link to the story and video coverage:
http://www.nbc26.com/news/local/7571552.html

My favorite is the one looking out the window because when he first came to live with us he was SO afraid of windows and the sky.

I dug out the camera this morning and took these photos of Jasper for you.

Most of them are fuzzy because he was playing with the other dogs and having way too much fun to hold still for a photo.

Then there’s a nice one where he IS holding still and Rocky’s tail is in the way…oh well !

He is making slow and steady progress.

He’s sleeping on my feet right now .

He’s comfortable with the routine of our house…plays with the other dogs.

Sleeps with us on the bed.

Barks at noises.

He loves to walk on the trail and he’ll go sit by the truck anytime he gets in the garage.

It’s his way of telling us he wants to go to the trail.

He has the most wonderful personality!

He’s kind of a ham .

Still…if someone new comes to the house or we meet other people on the trail, he is afraid. Not as much as he used to be though. Baby steps… J

I'm Kim, Jasper's new "mom" in Neenah, Wisconsin.
I just posted a photo of Jasper and Rocky (his big red GoldenRetriever friend)running on the trail.
They are in heavy duty searchof squirrels, chipmunks and rabbits. (Of course, they never actuallycatch them...they just enjoy the chase :)
I started a new album for Jasper because I have more photos to postwhen I get the time to do it. Hope that was an OK thing to do.In general, Jasper is doing well here. Getting the hang of the noisesand people who come and go from our house.

Casper's first night at HOME!

Thought I would send you all a quick Casper update…
Casper is eating and drinking well.
Also pottying outside (Yay, Casper J)
He slept next to/under our bed last night, curled up next to Rocky and Molly.
This evening he ventured out from his “safe spot” in the living room to explore the house a bit. Tonight at dusk I took him for a short run in the field behind the house.
He absolutely enjoyed that!
So now we are settling down for evening number 2.
So far, I’d say he has been a brave little hobbit J

,.....little buddy,.. is that you?

Casper's new foster home adopted Gimli just recently, we are hoping that Gimli will be able to help Casper to regain his confidence

Dad, ...IS that you??

This is Gimli,who we believe to be Casper's son 

Casper being reassured, by Rosiland at the shelter