UPDATE 7/26/08 - WOW!! Six months already?? It seems as if Roxy has always been here until it's
time for me to provide an update.
Roxy continues to thrive and rule the household (except for the cats "territory" in the basement. She has
finally given-up on trying to befriend those two!) My parents were recently here visiting from Florida
for the last two weeks. I was a little nervous about the meet...my dad has some health issues that make
him a bit unsteady. Roxy is just too smart! She would do the boxer wiggle dance in front of my father
and then gently go up to him for rubdowns and kisses. It never ceases to amaze me how intelligent and
instinctual this girl is when she comes in contact with new people. I trust her instincts more than my
own! Roxy also had the opportunity to experience the "full house" with several kids of varying age to
play with at my dad's birthday party. She had no problem at all barking at my 12 year old niece when
she became too rough w/her "girls". Roxy stood in front of Jenna and Kayla so that their cousin Claire
could not reach them if Roxy thought the girls were being treated 'improperly". She would only
stand-down when ordered to...and then would make little whining and huffing noises. Thank God for
the training that she was required to do! (although she was a very well behaved girl to begin with!) My
father keeps telling everyone he meets about his newest "granddaughter", and my mom praises her to
everyone she meets! I was afraid that I was going to have to check their car before they left...dad
didn't want to say goodbye. Roxy keeps looking for them to come "home" also! At least now I am
getting my usual boxer greeting upon returning home again. I guess that it applies to four-legged
grandchildren too....they are spoiled!
Roxy has also had the opportunity to make a few more friends at my aunt's house. My aunt has two
dogs of her own and then has a dog-sitting service. Roxy finally went over for a play-date and a great
time was had by all! Roxy has been getting her fill of activity and sleeps like a rock at the end of the
day!
After reading all of the postings on yahoo, we followed the advice of several members (thanks to all!)
and switched Roxy to Orijen brand which she has been doing very well on. She is maintaining her
weight at 58 pounds now! As my friend Joe calls her "muscle with teeth"! Her allergies have steadied
now, but we still need to give her benadryl twice a day. I tried to wean her down more, but she began
scratching at her ears and biting at her paws so we'll just stay where we are at for the remainder of the
summer. I hope that this is seasonal so that she can get a break from the meds in the fall/winter seasons.
As soon as I download the pics off of my camera I will add them to the yahoo photo album that we set
up.
One last item....Roxy seems to be infatuated with "Oscar the boxer" on you tube! She is yet another
girl who loves to sing along with him! Anytime that I go near the computer she walks over and sits next
to me waiting for her "fix"! She is too cute!
Our best to everyone on the site! Thank you all again for the effort that you put forth to place these
lovely dogs! We really won the lottery with our girl!
UPDAT E 4/28/08 - I am starting this over again....computer glitch. I am not sure what if anything was
sent thru so I am re-writing the entire update.
Roxy is amazing! It is as if she has always been a part of our family. She is truly a blessing. There has
been an additional benefit to Roxy joining our family that I at first thought was either my imagination or
was a coincidince. Now that Roxy has been with us for three months I am convinced that I have much
to owe my four legged daughter. My younest daughter Kayla has had some minor medical problems in
the past that has resulted in some language delays. Since Roxy has come into our lives Kayla has
increased her vocabulary and is using her words much more often than she used to. I have watched
Kayla "reading" books to Roxy and "explaining" what the pictures are of in her books. Roxy's latest
role...speech therapist!
Roxy completed her basic training. She is super smart and definately needs for us to keep on top of her
with what she has learned. Thank God that she has responded well to her training. Someone must
have come in to the yard to check our meter and left the gate open (even though there are "beware"
signs posted on the fence at both gate openings). I looked outside and saw that Roxy was in our
neighbor's yard. I ran downstairs and called to her....she came running right back to me! Every cent
that I have invested on her training paid off in that one brief moment! We have since "secured" our
gates so that you have to ring the bell to gain access to our back yard.
We still haven't taken any big trips anywhere, but we have done many small trips and visits to friends for
introductions. I think Roxy finally knows that she will always come home to us. She has been dropped
off for a "day of beauty" at the local Petsmart. After we picked her up we went to visit a friend.
Across the street from our friend's house is a very handsome young boxer named Jackson. He is used
to playing with other boxers. Roxy was a bit guarded so we are taking it slowly. Jackson is her first
four-legged playmate since being with us. Thankfully he is a laid back doggie and is willing to dial down
his natural exuberence to make Roxy feel more at ease. Now if we could just get Roxy and the cats to
get along.........there has been no movement in attitude on either end. Our house remains divided into
zones, but it seems to be working for all of the involved animals so I am not pushing for anything else at
this time. They just avoid eachother.
Roxy has decided that she no longer really likes the Eukanuba boxer food. We have slowly switched
her over to Royal canin which she seems to really like. I have had to add some supplements because
her skin began to dry out and her fur was becoming more coarse. Thanks to everyone's info sharing on
the site. Your recommendations have been a prayer answered! Other than the picky eating and dry
skin Roxy is doing well. She loves to run around the yard and play outside with the girls. Roxy seems
to have two favorite games. The first is to race the girls to the playhouse and charge up the ramp into
the house. She stands at the top of the slide and barks until the girls follow her into the house. Then
she races back down to the bottom of the slide to greet the girls when they come down. By the time
the girls have reached the bottom Roxy is doing her boxer dance and then running up the ramp to start
all over again! She also likes to chase hula hoops being rolled through the yard. Our older daughter
Jenna is convinced that Roxy wants to learn to be a "circus dog" and jump through the hoop. Jenna will
stand there holding the hoop still for Roxy;Roxy stands there waiting for Jenna to roll the hoop for the
chase. They both seem bewildered that the other doesn't understand the game. It is too funny to see
almost identical looks of confusion and anticipation on their faces.
That's about it from the Wronski household. Thank you again to everyone at SCBR for bringing this
wonderful girl into our lives.
UPDATE 3/28/08 - Roxy has been with us for two months now, but it seems as if she has always been
a part of our family. She is so wonderful with both of our daughters. They love to romp and play
together. She is now completely following the commands of my 3 1/2 year old daughter without any
translation from us! We are still in training. We had a few delays with kids being sick at both our
trainers and our own home. As of last week we are back on schedule and have two more classes
planned. Roxy has really done very well during training with only minimal boxer "stubborness" coming
into play.
We continue to take short rides locally so that Roxy becomes more confident riding in the car. I think
that she finally realizes that she will always come back home with us when we go out. Her favorite trip
is when my husband stops home to bring her along to the daycare to pick up our daughters. All of the
kids at the daycare LOVE seeing Roxy with her boxer wiggles and kisses!
Roxy and the cats continue their "cold war" with the occasional flare-up. If Roxy would just stop
sticking her head into the cat's sleeping cubby........ I guess Roxy will eventually learn that curiosity on
the habits of cats can be detrimental to her nose.
Other than the scratches on her nose and the large amount of shedding this past week, Roxy is in good
health. We had received a free sample of the Eukanuba "Boxer" formula which she seems to love! It
makes a very nice gravy when a small amount of warm water is added. That is my daughter Jenna's
job. Roxy sits and waits VERY patiently while Jenna sings her "making gravy" song.
Roxy has also been acting as guardian and helper to my husband this past week. Chris needed surgery
on his knee and has a rigid brace on for the next two weeks. Roxy has taken it upon herself to act as a
physical barrier to prevent the kids from approaching Chris on his injured side. The kids are
"re-routed" by Roxy to his left side. Roxy has also given up her coveted sleeping arrangement on
Jenna's bed to sleep on the floor next to Chris. It is really too cute.
That is it for now. I am sure that the stories will become more entertaining as the weather warms up.
Until then, our best to everyone....with lots of boxer kisses!
UPDATE 2/26/08 - Roxy is incredible! She is one of the most patient souls that I have come across. I
cannot even begin to describe how good she has been with my daughters. You'll have to let me know if
there is a way to attach pics to the updates! Roxy allows my 20 month old to walk over to her and
place both hands on either side of her snout...and then place a big kiss on her nose! The first time that
this happened I don't think that I even took a breath (I was in the kitchen and they were in the family
room which is attached to the kitchen) Roxy just stood there with her tail wagging and gave big boxer
kisses back to her. My daughter just cracked-up which made Roxy even more happy to comply. This
is now a several-times-a-day routine of theirs. Of course my 3 1/2 year old is not to be outdone. She
insists on preparing Roxy's food and gives her her treats. Roxy's birthday is 2 weeks after Jenna's
birthday so that makes Roxy her "twin doggie sister"! This allows Roxy certain privelages that are not
even afforded to our younger daughter Kayla. Jenna is also getting in on the training. You can actually
see Roxy trying so hard to please this little girl whose instructions aren't always said in the clearest
fashion. Roxy has become a pro on "sit, stay, come, and release". Roxy has learned that repetition is a
favorite past-time of toddlers and pre-schoolers.
As for the training it is going better than I initially thought that it would. The gentle leader collar is
working best for us. We are just working on the basics at this point. Roxy is very intelligent, but can
also be stubborn. It has made for some interesting sessions! The family that surrendered Roxy had
labled her as "aggressive" with other animals. She definately takes an assertive stance when first
meeting another dog, but our trainer assures me that she is not a true aggressor. Now if I could only
convince our cats....there is still no love lost among the species in our home. The house remains equally
divided (not for a lack of trying on Roxy's behalf) The one time that Roxy did get close enough to my
female cat, it was not Roxy who was aggressive. Since there is no such thing as training a cat, Roxy will
need to be the one to learn to ignore them. In the meantime they will remain seperated.
Other than her induction by the cats, Roxy is in good health. She did have an ear infection which
responded well to ear drops and has since cleared-up. She has begun her heartworm meds. She is
weighing in at 50 pounds. The plan is to have her well visits every 6 months. I hope those are the only
type of visits that we will need! Oh...she was a gem at the vet's office. They cannot believe that the girl
infront of them was the same dog that was described in the surrender papers...and neither can I! Their
loss, OUR GAIN! Roxy is truly amazing and has brought more joy into our household than you can
possibly imagine.
As for "funny stories"? My daughters have an activity table that has multiple buttons and levers on it
that make many interesting sounds...I am sure that you've seen them before. Roxy has become
OBSESSED with this toy! I was thinking about packing it away come springtime, but there is no way
that I dare now! She would be heartbroken! Roxy loves to use her nose to make the buttons "boing"
and start the balls spinning. Then she starts jumping with just her front legs by the table as the balls spin
and jump! When it quiets down completely she starts the whole thing over again. This act has also
rekindled our daughters interest in this toy! Thank you all again for helping us to find this incredibly
special girl! She is VERY loved by us all!
1/26/08 - Roxy has been adopted!
1/16/08 - I am loving this girl. She is so willing to do whatever you want her to do. Right now she is
laying by my side as I am working from the house, but as soon as I say lets go and play she is willing
and ready. Roxy's day begins when yours does. I take her out the first thing and she does her business
and then comes in for breakfast. We usually then go for a walk right before I go to work and she heads
into the crate with a few treats. This girls is bumbling, affectionate, and eager to please you. She does
not beg for food, does not get on the furniture if you give her a dog bed to settle on and loves to lay her
head on your chest to be patted. She will protect you with a deep bark, but once she knows its okay
will stop barking and greet the people. She just needs a little time to warm up. What more could you
want. She is just near perfect.... Have any questions or concerns? Give us a call.
1/12/08 - Roxy arrived today and what a sweet girl. She is a little under weight, but other then that she
has no other issues. It will be my pleasure to give her lots of treats to help with gaining some weight.
She was a little nervous riding in the car so I assume that she was not taken in the car much in her
previous life. I was told that Roxy needs to be the only dog in your house as she does not get along
with other dogs. We have several dogs in my area, so I will be see how she does on the leash walking
near other dogs. I think Roxy will like to watch over the house as already she barked when she heard a
noise outside. She just started whining a little so I think the little girl needs to go outside. I will keep
you posted on her progress.
MORE INFO ABOUT ROXY:
Roxy was an owner surrender to a shelter we work with. She was surrendered as she was not getting
along with the other two dogs in her home. The shelter tested her with cats and they said she passed.
They said when Roxy sniffed the cat & the cat clawed her face food, she just backed up and left it
alone.
HAVE YOU SPONSORED A BOXER TODAY?? You can make a safe, secure donation through Paypal and make a difference in a dog's life TODAY! Even $5 or $10 helps pay for food and medical care.
Click here to donate today! or Mail your donation to: SCBR PO Box 525 Woolwich, ME 04579
|
STATE: CT
AGE: 3 YEARS
WEIGHT: 45 lbs
SEX: FEMALE
NEUT/UTD: YES/YES
COAT COLOR: FAWN
DOCKED TAIL: YES
CROPPED EARS: NO
CHILDREN under 4: YES
CHILDREN OVER 4: YES
SEPARATION ANXIETY: UNSURE
OTHER DOGS: NO
CATS: YES
CRATE TRAINED: YES
HOUSE TRAINED: YES
OBEDIENCE TRAINED: LITTLE
LEASH TRAINED: SOME
MICROCHIPPED: NO
ADOPTION FEE: $300