Desi Dogs in British Columbia

22/06/2024

J'adore l'idée 💯

28/05/2024

I can honestly say, these past couple of years have brought about a new anxiety. When Rolo reached 12, I was both thankful that she had reach

26/05/2024

I hadnt realized the risk of dogs being overdosed by exposure to street drugs, found a couple of news reports of recent incidents in Vancouver and Coquitlam - it can happen just from dogs sniffing a substance left on the ground. The govt doesnt allow reposting of news report - but one was on BCTV News "Mans dog nearly dies from fentanyl overdose warning to other pet owners" if you google drug overdose/dogs...

22/05/2024

21/05/2024

Sorry to learn of Zola's passing this week - but what a life of love and adventures this lucky street pup got to live with her adopters. They write of their sadness at having to let her go. Zola was having difficulty breathing and would randomly loose her footing. Her blood work showed street drugs (co***ne, m**h, benzodiazepine +2 others). The vet said that can happen when dogs ingest contaminated human f***s - although Zola didnt eat p**p, they think that she could have stepped in it and licked her paws, or drunk from a contaminated puddle.
They miss her deeply, and want to let other dog owners know to wash their dogs paws if they have been on trails or in the city where there are street drug users. Such a huge loss, best thoughts to them, and a deep thank you for adopting Victoria/Zola in 2011 and keeping her so safe and cuddled and loved for 13 years.

05/05/2024

👤 Gau Bahadur Roka stands tall with his service to the animals at Friendicoes since 1997. With his sincere dedication and love for animals he has devoted nearly three decades helping us care for our rescues.

👥 Gau Bahadur and his wife tend to 60 dogs in their “family unit”, feeding, cleaning and looking after their medical needs. Their work is challenging, but it rewards them with the delight of experiencing many transformed lives.

🇳🇵🇮🇳 Although Gau Bahadur originally hails from West Nepal, he has made his home at Friendicoes where his younger brother also followed in his footsteps. The prospect of returning to Nepal remains open, but his loyalty to the shelter’s goal and the animals he adores keeps him here.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Celebrating Gau Bahadur is a lot more than just recognising the years he’s spent at Friendicoes; it is about appreciating how substantially a single compassionate & committed heart can affect the welfare of so many animals. His story motivates us all to do our part to make the world a better place for animals.

🫶 Let us continue to support him and the people like him at Friendicoes; it’s because of humans like him that we can assure a better future for the animals we rescue.

04/05/2024

What lovely adoption for these pups and they look like they have Bhotia Mountain dog in their lineage

01/05/2024

02/04/2024

31/03/2024

Perfect playmate for Chime!

03/06/2023

Just an old lady rocking some trail walkies. She may spend more time in the stroller and more time napping but the ol girl still has some short bursts of gusto left yet!

07/05/2023

RIP Penny [2011-2023] So well loved and cared for.

"It's taken me a week to post this. We had to say goodbye to Penny last Thursday. Her journey was pretty incredible and we were so lucky that she ended up joining our family. Penny was always up for an adventure and would just wait for us to lift/carry her when she needed help. She had a tragic start and many health challenges, but was such an easygoing dog and settled into our family with ease. So many people around the world followed her story and her life. We miss you Penny 💔"

31/03/2023

28/02/2023

Dis my sheep 🐑

17/02/2023

Couch o’clock!

16/02/2023

Fireside at the cabin with the human for Valentine’s Day because she is obsessed with me even after all these years 🤦🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🥰

30/01/2023

RIP Lychee Age 14

"Hi Barbara, it’s with a heavy heart I have to tell you of Lychees passing . She was 14 years old . She had kidney failure and was suffering from arthritis. She was a good dog , part of the family and loved very much . Thanks for choosing us for her adoption."

Post #116 Lychee Age: 13 (arrived Sept 9, 2009 as Lichi on the first AAIDD airlift along with Mooli, Kishmish, Kaju, Kingston/Sultan, Riley/ Cesar)

"Lychee aka Liche was born April 2009 . We adopted her when she was a year old . She is a loyal and loving dog with a stubborn streak. It took Lychee a while to learn to walk on a leash and house manners. She tried walking on the piano and kitchen table . She has some issues regarding unknown dogs while on leash but accepts dogs once she gets to know them . She no longer jumps on new people. Lychee loves snow and lying in the sunlight on the floor. She lives with 2 cats and 2 little dogs . She suffers from poultry allergies with chronic ear infections as a result. Even the smallest amount - which she tries to get - results in an ear infection. We love her very much and we are happy we adopted her 12 years ago. We can't imagine life without her."

29/01/2023

Chime enjoying a sunny balmy afternoon watching for the arrival of the artic outflow which arrived around 7 pm, winds not over 40 km, but have charged the flashlight and made a thermos of hot tea just in case.

18/01/2023

RIP Jackson (age 12) You have lived such a loved an exciting life with your family - lucky you and they. They miss you so much.

05/01/2023

Post #293 Chai age 6 (arrived December 1, 2016 with littermate Karma (Post #292 RIP))

"Apologies for the delayed response, it’s been a busy but lovely holiday season. Chai is doing amazing, such a special part of our family! Her and Gemma (her families two year old) are the best of friends which is honestly such a heartwarming part of our lives! We are very lucky because I know this isn’t the case with lots of desi dogs. It took a while to get here - lots of boundaries and patience initially but it was well worth it in the long run because our hearts are constantly exploding at their love! 🤍 She loooooves to run, it’s still her absolute favorite thing!!!
We taught roll over with a high value treat like chicken etc, and now whenever we are eating dinner she comes into the room and just starts rolling around lolololol in the hopes of a bite. They put two and two together better than most dogs lol One of the biggest comments we get from family and friends is how gentle she is with her mouth - for example: when receiving treats or when taking/releasing a toy, etc..."

Chai is one of the trio of pups who along with their mother wre rescued by Karma Animal Foundation Farm. When an adopter in the Yukon decided to adopt one of the pups (Karma RIP Post #292) we decided to send a second littermate in the crate as permitted). Erin then fostered Chai and found a lovely adoptive home for Chain with a young couple in Victoria who have since welcomed baby Gemma to their family).

Mini Seth did all the care and support needed to organize the pups to get from the street to Vancouver. Mini's friend runs Karma Animal Foundation Farm and knew that the pups were available for an airlift. Although sadly Karma passed away from what may be a hereditary genetic disease, her two littermates are healthy and leading safe and loved lives, one in Victoria, and one in Delhi who remained at KAFF.

Here is the original post Mini sent me about the mother and the trio of pups:
"There are 3 female pups, about 11-12 weeks, rescued at around 6 weeks of age. There was a post on the animal rescue forums about a mother dog being hit and unable to move/paralysed hind, with 5 lil pups. She was in a remote corner of Delhi, my friend from Karma was tagged in the post, she wanted to help but could not figure a way to get across and bring the dog over to her sanctuary. I offered to send the pick up service I use, and with some difficulty and a high charge the dog pick up agreed to go that side. Even then it took us 3 days of coordination to get the dog n her pups picked. Only 3 pups were found, who are now with the lady at her home. Since the mother dog needs treatment and monitoring they have not been sent to the sanctuary yet."

05/01/2023

Old dogs can learn a new trick.. Riley at 13 has finally figured it is his turn to sleep on my bed at night - it's been pretty empty since Francis passed away. Chime takes it during the day, but won't stay up with me at night. She has been challenging Riley about his decision (luckily he's deaf so is totally oblivious to her statements), and this morning was the first time she came up and settled while he was still up. So nice to see him warm and relaxed. Riley is still nervous about coming in during the day, staying on alert outside... at least he did come in when the weather was bad. I try to do off property outings only on dry and warmer days as he will usually come up and settle a bit when it's really wet out. He's such a sweetheart that I don't mind shifting my life around his anxiety. Riley is on his way to turning 14 and Chime 8... a household of snoozing seniors (dog and human).

03/01/2023

Jasmine kayaking out 2022 and bringing in 2023.

31/12/2022

Post #292 Karma RIP age 1 (September 2016-October 22, 2017)

This is one of the saddest posts to write. Karma was adopted into a wonderful home on a huge acreage outside Whitehorse, in the Yukon. She joined a couple with two dogs, a 10 year old sheepdog, Sage, a 3 year old black lab, Morley, a housecat, and 30 horses! She had fantastic outdoor adventures, before she became terminally ill at just one year of age.

Karma's adopters had fallen in love with their friends desi "Indi" that they had brought back from Goa (by coincidence her friend had contacted me while they were in India for help in how to get bring a dog back to Canada). They contacted me in October 2016 to adopt a puppy from India. Mini Seth knew that there was a litter of three young female pups that her friend who ran Karma Animal Foundation Farm had rescued along with their mother.

Here is the original post about the mother and the trio of pups:
"There are 3 female pups, about 11-12 weeks, rescued at around 6 weeks of age. There was a post on the animal rescue forums about a mother dog being hit and unable to move/paralysed hind, with 5 lil pups. She was in a remote corner of Delhi, my friend from Karma was tagged in the post, she wanted to help but could not figure a way to get across and bring the dog over to her sanctuary. I offered to send the pick up service I use, and with some difficulty and a high charge the dog pick up agreed to go that side. Even then it took us 3 days of coordination to get the dog n her pups picked. Only 3 pups were found, who are now with the lady at her home. Since the mother dog needs treatment and monitoring they have not been sent to the sanctuary yet. "

Karma and her littermate Chai flew to Vancouver with the help of a flight volunteer on December 1, 2016 and met the flight volunteer who brought Karma and littermate Chai from Delhi to Vancouver. Sami flew down on the same day to take Karma up to the Yukon, and Erin Bishop fostered the littermate and found her a great home in Victoria (Post #).

I am so saddened by the loss and grief for the adopters and for the short life of Karma. What a fantastic life she did get to experience, but I cant help but wish that it had been otherwise, and that the adoptive pup would have been one to live along life in such a fantastic home. There is only one other dog that came over that died from ill health. She was one of our early adoptions and had come straight from a shelter. After that, we shifted dogs into foster care and checked blood work. We did hold off on two pups airlifts that we were concerned about, and both pups did pass away from health issues. So I suppose the 'record' of pups arriving healthy is 'good', but I continue to feel the sadness for the two adoptive homes that went through such grief to see a young dog pass away of an incurable illness and wish it had been otherwise for them.

Here is the post that Karma's adopter wrote to use to let us know that Karma passed away October 22, 2017.

"I have been putting this off for a couple weeks now... Karma is no longer with us... broke my heart. She became very sick....loosing weight(dramatic weight loss), no energy, couldn't contain any fluids or solids..... multiple vet trips... results turning up negative for the basics.... then discovering karma basically couldn't absorb nutrients out of her food anymore. Her basic system was shutting down ... not even a year and half old they related it to The possible side effects of not getting the nutrients she needed in the womb. I was told there could always be shots and some tube insertions, organ replacements and so on (all of course possibilities)if I wanted to try... well that was karma's choice. So we went to our hunting cabin for the weekend, to get away and just figure out what we wanted to do.... karma proceeded to get extremely worse on that weekend ... keeping nothing down, giving up drinking and eventually curling up with her head by my side and refusing to move. I took this as a sign of what she wanted. Karma is now at rest on Teslin lake, on a beautiful beach where we took her camping this summer ...it's one of the Yukon's biggest lakes where we frequently visit. I am so sorry everyone... extremely heart breaking. Karma was such a major in the family dynamic. It's easy to see now with her gone what she held together. She brought a lot of life and personality to the herd. Nights now are very quiet and dull.... everyone here misses karma"

30/12/2022

Fran sends holiday wishes

29/12/2022

Post #291 Ricky Lee age 7 (arrived April 2015, direct adoption from DAR)

Ricky Lee’s story:
"And then there were three….
After Lewis, we adopted Cricket, a senior Bhotia from Mussoorie, directly from Barbara’s household pack. He was our first mountain dog and quite the character he was- different to Lewis in almost every way. After his passing, we greatly missed him and his wonderful guardian dog presence. I am not sure how we ran across the Dharmsala Animal Rescue site, but there she was, a photo of her on her day of rescue by DAR. She looked so helpless and in need of care. Cricket, like Ricky Lee, had Rickets. He was left with permanently disfigured legs but made up for his health issues with a larger-than-life personality. We immediately became attached to Ricky Lee, the little pup from a place we knew nothing about, and imagined her as our future mountain guardian dog. In the time Ricky spent at DAR, her legs straightened and strengthened. We asked Barbara to help us make the connection with DAR and within a few short days, Barbara connected with Deb Jarrett, founder of DAR. Ricky’s physical journey was then underway, from the mountains in Dharmsala (by taxi) to the Fraser Valley (via Winnipeg- thanks to Jagriti).

To date, Ricky’s adventures include saving an injured Morning Dove from certain death, finding tiny kittens in our barn, also saving them from certain death and fearlessly guarding our home from all intruders. Her character, a mountain guardian in every way, is to be tenacious, vigilant and fearless with strangers. While she initially appears threatening and protective, she quickly becomes a fluffy love bug, once she knows the person is welcomed by her humans and the other dog friends. She is single-minded and independent, often going in the opposite direction from where you need her to go. Flopping down is her go-to strategy to get out of doing som**hing- really, to get out of doing anything! Luckily for us, we can pick her up, place her on her feet and encourage her to move along with a little push and the promise of a treat. She loves to play with her toys, running quickly past in a ‘Ricky Lee fly by’, attempting to grab them from the ground. We often visit Barbara’s home, with other Desi dog owners and their pets. Ricky especially loved it when Barbara had goats, pigs and chickens. She loves to walk with the other dogs and hang out with the animals. At home, she watches over our horses and alerts us when they eat apples from the tree or get into som**hing they should not. She spends her days snoozing with her senior best friend, Gracie, our lab cross. The rest of the time she spends patrolling the fenced acreage, watchful of anything unusual beyond the fence line, exploring the barn for leftover horse grain, playing with her housemates and alerting us to bunnies in the yard. She is a wonderful addition to our farm and to our lives."

The FB post by Deb Jarrett/DAR that Ronny, Ricky Lee's rescuer, had passed away July 29, 2020

""Our dear friend, and champion of desi dogs passed away. I met Ronny back in 2009. He loved street dogs more than anyone I know - so much so that he even handed me a puppy with barely a scratch on her leg at dinner at the best restaurant in town Raja Sahota and Elise Gonzales-Sahota's. Back in 2016, apparently the world was crazy (clearly Ronny could not see into the future) and he decided to write this post. It put such a smile on my face reading it today, so wanted to share. Thank you for all of your support and friendship over the years Ronny. I promise to keep saving those street dogs for you. ❤️"
~
A Tale of Two Rickys...Canine Pays it Forward by Ronny Novick
A while back Dharamsala Animal Rescue found a street puppy with a very severe case of rickets (a vitamin deficiency which causes bones to be soft and not form properly). They took her to their clinic gave her meds, and put splints on her legs. Deb named her Ricky. She stayed there, continued to improve and get stronger and then came to stay with with my five dogs and me for a few weeks while she was in puppy rehab. My guys recognized that this kid with the splints was in need and were great with her...not bothering her until she could, quite literally, get on her feet (Foxy, of course, became her special guardian from the get-go). DAR vets visited every couple of days to check her progress, change splints, adjust meds, etc. You can see the results in the photo below. She now runs, plays and lives on a farm in Canada with a lovely family and other dogs and critters. I just came across a letter from her new owner and thought I'd take a breather from all the nasty stuff that's going down right now and share. Here's the letter:
Deb and Ronny,
Just wanted to share a little story about Ricky Lee. As of this morning she has saved 3 lives. A few weeks ago I heard her barking non-stop at som**hing along the waters edge. She kept it up until I went to see what she was doing. She had found a badly injured Morning Dove . We had seen a dove being pursued by a hawk a few hours before so assumed it was a hawk attack. The dove is now doing well at Elizabeth's Wildlife Sanctuary. It would have died if Rick had not been so insistent with the barking.
This morning she did the same thing in the barn. The barking went on so long that it again attracted my attention. When I checked in with her she bounced up and down, obviously excited and then showed me a tiny kitten. Poor kitten was traumatized but would certainly have been dead if any of the other dogs had found her. While trying to catch her/he I found another tiny kitten. They are now safe in the hayloft tucked in some hay and blankets in Ricky's crate from India.
Brenda
If you ever want to donate to make a difference in the lives of animals, Dharamsala Animal Rescue is a good place to do it. Check out their page to see all the swell stuff that they do."

27/12/2022

Project Update 2022 - well, I thought I'd be done by mid-July but I'm almost there for my end of year goal. I have just three more 'known' dog posts waiting to come in (Chetak, RickyLee, Zetta) and about 15 for dogs that I have not been able to get contact info or a reply or have passed away. Hoping to get all the posts up by the 31st with quick note of the dogs where owners did not maintain contact.

My goal was to learn how the dogs did over time, health, etc. and to get a count of the number of dogs I had helped make their way from the streets of India to a home in North America. I did reach my goal of 300, though not the 500 I had first thought I would try for until the dogs started being returned pretty much weekly. So with rehomings it would be closer to 400 homes, and hundreds more applications and screenings and visits (every day and evening for several years).

The photo is from 2014 a snowy time when I had more of my own group of desi's to enjoy play.

I am so pleased with all the responses - adopters have really come so attached to their complicated desi's and figured out that they just want to stay in their comfort zone and be understood. A huge shift and relief for me following the early years of so many troubled emailas and returned dogs.

24/12/2022

Post #290 Jeevu age 7 (arrived as "Jeevith" November, 2015 via Jagriti and KAW)

"Hi Barb. Jeevu is still with us and doing well. We moved a year ago and she adapted well. There is a lot more activity and she is the queen of the neighborhood. Although we still have to keep her separated from our other Desi, she shares her end of the house with her best friend, big red dog. For all her physical disabilities, she is healthy, with very few vet visits."

Jeevu lives with desi Yula (Candy) and big red dog, a golden/irish setter mix. She was in such bad shape when rescued that she was not expected to live more than a couple of hours. Through the extra special care of KAW/Vandana and through Jagriti's/Pawsitive rescue, they were able to raise funds and help Jeevith get well enough to travel to Canada to her adoptive home on a 100 acre farm with the other dogs and animals.

Jeevu has been so lucky to have had so many hearts open to her. And special thanks for her adoptive home, Mary Ann and Wayne for managing the complications that arose when their two female desi's who looked like they would be friends, reversed into mortal enemies, with resource guarding fights breaking out over everything, food, bedding, space, toys. They have managed the complications by keeping separate spaces for Jeevith and Yula and making sure both get lots of exercise, warmth, attention, and treats. This situation is one that is not uncommon - I have lived with it from the beginning, as have other homes that took in two females. Or two males. It seems to work best if its a male/female combination, a mother/daughter, or maybe older females. Kudos to them for figuring it out and handling the situations when things have not gone so well, and not giving up on the possibility of making it work.

Jeeviths background rescue by KAW July 2015 info provided by Jagriti from FB post

Brief Synopsis of her Rescue Story- from FB
Jeevith was found around mid-July all skin & bones, in a dirty pool of water. Her one eye had been eaten up completely by maggots and they were eating away the rest of her body too. She was so weak that she couldn’t move herself and had been sitting in that puddle for who knows how long. Wound, maggots and water made her skin and legs become tender. She was also suffering from severe dehydration.

She was taken for first-aid immediately after rescue and then moved to KAW’s centre at Noida. She was then kept on drips, her maggot wounds were cleaned and she started. She had 22 holes in her entire body, small and big, infested with maggots and filled with pus, but she wanted to live. On one of her vet visits, the KAW team came to know that Jeevith was not an accident case, but a cruelty case. Someone had hit her so hard that her spine suffered injuries. There is still hope though that she will walk one day.

Current Condition
She is eating well and has gained a lot of strength from her original condition. Her weight is about 10kg she walks /runs even plays but gets tired easily as she is still weak. As described above she is a suspected cruelty case so there is some damage to her spine and also the maggots have partially eaten one of her eyes. She is good with humans. Her behaviour towards other dogs depends on the other dog, she was quite abused on the road so she gets defensive. She has not fought with any of the dogs at the centre but from what I can observe she is slightly protective about her food/treats. She can be in close vicinity with other dogs and be perfectly fine , she will even lay beside them.
Keeping fingers crossed:)
Jagriti

24/12/2022

Post #289 Kharma age 11+ (arrived as "Keeper" May 28, 2011 with littermates Chai "Karma" (Post #32) and Tiffin "Keen" (Post #268)

Some Christmas wishes don't come true... I have been waiting for several months for promised photos of Kharma, but I was lucky to reach Suzy by phone and catch up on how loved Kharma is and how happy they have been to have adopted her.

The family has moved to southern California and have a cabin in the middle of a wilderness area in the Cascade mountains. Kharma is a terrific companion and is good at staying close on their hikes and makes a good trail dog.

Kharma is very intelligent and knows what they want and obliges. She is easy and very gentle around all the children that she teaches in her art studio. There can be 60 students and they take "Kharma breaks" to be with her.

Their home life is a good match for Kharma's enjoyment of freedom. She does have a strong prey drive, is a great ratter and and can kill them with one shake. They do have to watch her around small fluffy dogs that look like rabbits and she HATES Wiley Coyotes. Kharma got into a brawl with a coyote and suffered some puncture wounds but luckily did not get infected. She has no fear of them and blew through their fence to go after them. Kharma also loves to go after deer and will lope after them and go far out of sight but once they have gotten away she will stop and come home.

Kharma is also quiet and only barks when it is som**hing around and appropriate warning. Kharma has been an 'easy Keeper' like her name, and has never been sick. Her coat has remained soft like a puppy, and she has no smell unless she has rolled in som**hing dead.

Kharma is not a very social dog, and does not have time for other dogs. She does not mind males if they are the same size as her.

Kharma is very attached to her family, and can handle being on her own, but if they have been gone too long, she will start to verbalize, first whining a little and then shifting into the desi scream....

They adore her and she has been a wonderful match.

From December 2011
Hi Barbara,
I am so sorry that I have been so out of touch. For months I have been meaning to sit down when I have time to write you a quality email telling you all about Karma complete with all of our favorite photos of her but with my busy schedule and full family life and lots of travel both local and more distant, of course, I never seem to have the time or take the time. So now, long overdue, I will instead get you the condensed version with a few pictures of our beautiful dog so that has so captured our hearts and those of so many others.
As we had hoped, she is becoming an ambassador to her breed (finally) as she attracts immediate attention with her striking looks, beautiful bright brindle coloring and perky attitude. She is super friendly to both humans and other animals (although she still sees my chickens as prey, alas), and greets newcomers appropriately. She adores the kids in my art classes and is a constant distraction when she sneaks in (regularly) until she goes to sleep under the tables on the heated floor. She is becoming less self centered with maturity and much more aware of the moods and needs of her family members and less distracted by outside influences which is making her easier and easier to train. She now can heel without a leash all the way down to the road to a greenbelt where she is allowed to roam daily and comes to me reliably and promptly with just a call. I am very proud of her obedience progress because just a few short months ago, we were very challenged on multiple fronts, from housebreaking to chewing issues. We are still working on potty training and she is nearly there but it has been very difficult for her to grasp the concept of physically holding her bladder or bowels for even the shortest time once she feels the urge to go. The fact that I understand evolutionarily, that her breed has literally never had to hold it has helped me be patient with her through this very long process.
Other positive attributes:
She's a great runner! Karma goes with me every time I run and has become a perfect running partner who comes back in even at the end of ten miles as fresh as she went out!
She is sweet and kind without an aggressive bone in her body. I feel even safer with her and my young students than even my sweetest-ever Great Dane, who would occasionally loose patience with them and be annoyed enough to lurch up and get away. She eats up all of their attention and admiration.
She adores our cat who pretends to hate her by batting at her when she gets to close and chases her for short distances when she gets annoyed by her inquisitiveness. However. this is the same cat who has started following us if we go out on a walk--never if it is just one of us, but if we have Karma, she wants to come!
She loves to fetch--now this one was a surprise since I had no expectation that a street dog would have any reason to retrieve but she started playing with balls and delights in chasing and retrieving them for us--who knew?
She is obsessed with socks (well, this one isn't exactly positive, but it's funny) and whenever she can find one (usually in our teenage son's room), steals it away and carefully stashes it in the deep recesses of a couch, or under a pillow or in some dark corner. We find socks every where now...
She is friendly and expressive. As a pup, Karma was a little bit distant and rather indifferent to affection but as she has matured and grown into her family she has figured out just how pleasant interactions can be and relishes attention and love from us which in turn has made her much more eager to please.
She has a great easy going personality that is easy to live with and makes her very pleasant in public. She great other people without going crazy and while she does go a bit crazy meeting new dogs, she has good dog manners and is never ever aggressive.
Physically, she is very lovely, as you can see from her photos. She is much smaller than we expected her to be (especially considering how large she was relative to her siblings) and she has finished out at just 20 inches at her shoulder and I doubt she's anything over thirty pounds. We love her size though because we can still pick her up if we need to and she fits nicely on the couch next to us. Her ears once had a dainty fold at each tip and she looked rather Jack Russell terrier in profile but now her ears stand up giving her a look much more like a pharoah hound--very striking!
She has been perfectly healthy which I know is no surprise to you, but a pleasant break for us.
The photos are:
1. Karma, Bea the cat and I relaxing this summer in the front yard after I returned from a race.
2. Kayaking to a little island in the lake where our summer cabin is. She loves to dig in the sand and chase sticks into shallow water--no swimming yet!
3. Inside our cabin in the fall-Karma had spotted a deer.

I hope that this gives you an idea of the kind of dog that Karma has become. She is a delightful addition to our family and beloved by us all.
I hope to be in touch more regularly and will send you updates on her.
Talk to you soon,
Suzy