Dear Lynn:
Sorry it took me so long to getting around to my Happy Beginnings letter, but considering what we have been through, I am sure you understand. It has been a very tough year for us.

On June 1, 2007, we brought Keysha Lynn home after two meetings with our "resident" Rottie, Onyx. To our surprise, Onyx took Keysha right in and made her a part of our family. Little did we know when we brought her home, that this dog we "rescued" would actually rescue us.

On June 18th, Onyx was diagnosed with bone cancer. He began to deteriorate from that point forward and it seemed every day there was something new that was wrong. By the time we were able to get him into Cornell on July 30, he was completely paralyzed in the rear legs and his front legs were buckling, and he could not support himself at all nor could he hold his bladder. We were hoping that Cornell would have some good news for us; but, unfortunately, they only had the news that Onyx was also probably suffering from Wobblers Syndrome or some other disc disease as well as the cancer. After speaking with our own vet, we decided it was time to send our sweet boy to a better place, where there would be no more pain. It was truly the hardest decision we have ever had to make.

So, here we are, with our little Keysha girl. I truly believe she was sent to us for a reason. I believe that if she were not with us, we would not be able to cope with loosing Onyx. She has rescued us from the loneliness and emptiness of loosing a pet. She is always there to give a kiss, cuddle on the bed, or just nudge us to let us know that she is there. She never asks for anything in return. She also grieved for Onyx. There were days when I thought she would not come out of it. She would just lay on the floor looking at his pen and whenever the door would open she would run to see if he was there and when he wasn't she would return to lay down. Very unusual for that full-of-energy pup we had brought home. We are all getting over our loss, together. I am very, very thankful that we have Keysha in our lives. She is such a wonderful gift! She definitely keeps us on our toes and always makes us smile (most of the time, lol).

Over the past year, Keysha has brought so much joy to us. She has graduated from basic and advanced obedience classes. Her best friends are Apollo, her new brother Rottie, Goucho the Boxer and Mac the Black Lab. Her favorite activities are playing with Apollo and walking. Her favorite place to be is snuggled up next to me.

I have included some pictures of Keysha, Keysha and Onyx, Keysha and Apollo and one of our family.

I want to you thank you, Lynn, as you have done such a wonderful job with this girl. We are very lucky to be the chosen forever home and you can be sure that she will be with us always. We will do our best to make sure she has the best of everything. We also want to thank the Furry Friends organization for giving her a chance. I am not exactly sure what her full story is, but I do know with the problems she has with her hips, she would not have had a chance in a typical shelter situation. I think that FFN is an awesome organization and I recommend them to everyone I know that indicates they are looking for a companion.

I hope to see you soon! Again, many thank you's go out to FFN and especially you, Lynn. You are truly a very special person.

Lance and Jerri Rook
And Keysha Lynn too!