When the first of our three senior Bostons died in September, we believed we were much too old to start over again. It was a long three months of healing. We missed the interaction of three dogs. The two remaining dogs seldom played and took longer and longer naps. They obviously missed their sister.

With some trepidation, we made application to the Birmingham Boston Terrier Rescue for an older dog to fill the gap. We were not sure if any dog would fit into what remained of the pack. We needed help with evaluating the situation and most certainly in selecting (if we should select) a possible match.

The help we received from the Birmingham Boston Terrier Rescue could not have been more sincere, patient and knowledgeable. The health and well being of all senior citizens (two legged and four legged) involved were primary. Suggestions were made. A meeting place and time were set. We loaded the car with dog beds and supplies and headed to Birmingham.

It was my husband‚s seventy-six birthday. What a party we had! We took over the SuperPetz lobby in Hoover for the afternoon. It had not been planned as such, but the store manager and employees were the greatest as Bostons from foster homes came to meet us and get to know our family. Our twelve year old male Boston quickly made friends. Our eleven year old female who is a rescue herself and has had two major spinal surgeries as a result of early abuse, enjoyed observing the play as she was passed from lap to lap for her own protection. The dogs romped, played and became friends as customers, employees and parents watched the fun.

That evening we were joined by the President of the Birmingham Boston Terrier Rescue for dinner. The conversation focused on Bostons and specifically the ones that most interested us. The different personalities and individual needs were discussed. We decided on a male two year old and asked to see him the following afternoon in our motel room.

Shortly after he and the foster family arrived, we knew it was a perfect match for our family. Our new little boy has brought renewed energy and vitality. He is a perfect gentleman who is willing to wait his turn and share toys and beds. He romps and plays with his older brother. The first thing each morning, he even does some playful posturing with his old sister. They are delightful from morning until bedtime. None of us were too old to welcome new life into the family.

We would not have been able to accomplish this without the help of all the dedicated people at the Birmingham Boston Terrier Rescue. We own a debt of gratitude to all who open their homes and hearts to these special creatures. If we can help another adopting family by sharing our experience, please contact the Birmingham Boston Terrier Rescue for our contact information.

Sincerely, Margaret, Bruce and the Pack of Three

Bama
2005-12-17

Thank you, thank you, thank you for the wonderful home you found me! I just love it here on the beach! Mom and Joey take me for walks three times a day and we usually go to the beach and play at least once a day. The sand is fun but I like trying to catch those crazy birds mostly!

Every night I go to bed with Joey, and he always wakes me up in the middle of the night so we can sneak in and crawl in bed with mom and dad! This is so great the whole family all wakes up together.

My new mom and I bonded on the long journey from Montgomery to Destin. When we are home, I just kinda stay by her side and follow her around from room to room as she does her stuff. She takes me everywhere she goes. Oh and get this, when I have to wait in the car while mom goes in the store or something, I always end up stepping on that silly hazard light button so when she comes out all the lights are flashing! I even get to go to the offices with her on days when she has to go work there. All the girls in the office love me. I am such a good dog, I just sit next to mom on my special blanket and snooze while she gets her work done, and then we go.

Dad is really cool too! He sneaks me treats when mom is not looking!

We take Joey to school morning and pick him up every afternoon. One day mom even let me go in the school to meet Joey's friends. It was great; all those kids loving on me! And when I looked up on the wall, I saw a collage of photos of my new family; and can you believe it, they even had a picture of me up there also! Joey really loves me, and I so very much love my new family!

I have this really comfortable pillow I hang out on next to the couch—I'm not allowed on the furniture—and I even have a plush fur blanket! This is my favorite place because essentially I am a lazy dog. But oh the toys—Joey has his, and I have mine. It's great! Joey taught me how to play fetch with a tennis ball; that's my favorite!

Mom takes me every week to have a bath, so I always stink pretty. I have even made some friend there as well. They are all very nice when I go. Once they even brushed my teeth for me!

I have a really good doctor mom brought me to, and I know if I ever get sick she will help to make me better. They put a micro chip in me so I will never get lost! I think I gave mom a bit of a scare because when she took me there to get my teeth cleaned, they wouldn't do it. They found out I had an irregular heart beat. I think I am ok though, they did some tests, and I haven't had to go back so that's a good sign. They told mom when she is ready to have my teeth cleaned, we can go back. I guess she spent a whole bunch of money having my heart checked out that we need to wait till next month for my teeth but that's ok with me. I like my new doctor, and I know she will always take care of me!

When I first got here, I didn't want to eat. I made mom believe I was afraid of the bowl (really it was that diet food, ya know it makes me fart an awful lot "silent but deadly" as mom calls it) so anyway, she started to hand feed me, boy I almost had her trained; but she's a smart mom, and it didn't last long. Now I eat out of the bowl.

Can you believe they put me on a diet; can you believe it I'm only 36 pounds! It's ok I still get a bit of steak or chicken at dinner time, they can't resist my "look"—you know the look—it works every time! Oh and the treats! Great chews, but the treat bones are diet treats to go with my diet food—not as good as the regular ones, but I eat them anyway! Sometimes when we go to the drive through I even get my very own burger as a special treat! The "look" works every time!

I just love my new home! I do miss my old mom and dad, and I'm sure they miss me; but I just want them to know I am in a safe and caring home with Joey and my new mom and my new dad. They all just love me to pieces! It's great to be part of a family!

Love,
BAMA

Tami & Jackie and Betty Bevis
2006-02-14

We just want you to know how much we love Tami. She is a joy to have around. Thank you so much for the part you played in getting her to our home. Here is her happy beginnings story...

Being a Boston and needing a loving and caring home, I stayed with four different people before I came to live with my Pop and Granny in Tuscumbia, Alabama. I met them once for about two hours before I stole their hearts, and they wanted me to come live with them. They love me more than mere words can say. The second time I saw Pop and Granny I went to Nashville, Tennessee with Randall, Valissa, and their two Bostons, Mira and Zoe. Pop was sitting on the bed and I was jealous of Mira and Zoe. I kept them away from Pop. This was the start of my love for Pop and Granny.

I have a one acre yard to play and explore in. It keeps me very busy. I love to look around and smell everything in my yard. I don't know exactly how old I am, but we made my first birthday fall on Valentine's Day - February 14th, 2006, which is the date I was adopted. My last foster mom, Valissa, gave me a beautiful pink blanket with my name, Tami Lynn Bevis, on it along with a heart shaped pillow with a squeaky in it that I love very much. I carry it almost every place I go. I often sleep with my head on it.

When I first got here, my Pop would carry me up and down the stairs because I was afraid. Mama Valissa taught me how to do it with the help of some treats. Now I fly up and down. I wait on Pop at the bottom of the steps.

I am not much of a talker. I've been here a little over a month and have only barked about five times. They seem to always know what I need without me having to talk. I am very relaxed here. They say sometimes I even snore when I sleep.

Pop and Granny had a Boston for almost 13 years that they loved dearly. She died on Thanksgiving Day and they said they didn't want another dog because it hurt too much to lose her, but that was before they met me. I love them very, very much.

Pop and Granny have a small den they call the doggie den. I can get on the furniture there. Sometimes I sleep with pop in his recliner (like I am right now), and at other times I sleep with granny on the couch. At night I sleep with Granny and Pop upstairs. I sleep on top of the cover and my Granny covers me with my blanket.

When they go out to eat they always bring me a treat. I like that a lot. I like to ride in the car, so sometimes they take me with them. My pop once took us to a place that sold catfish plates and saved me a hush puppy. They didn't know if I liked them or not. Granny was holding it in her hand and was going to feed me a little at a time, but it smelled so good, I ate all of it through her fingers before she could stop me.

I don't give them any trouble at all in the car. I have been to Birmingham to visit with Valissa and Randall, and I have even been to a funeral that was outside. It was cold so Pop and Granny got out and let me stay in the truck where it was warm. I wore my sweater because they didn't want me to get cold. When we are on a trip in the car or truck, I like to mostly sleep. When we go to the pet store, Granny buys something for me while Pop and I explore the store. I like to smell everything in the store, but I have not picked up anything. Pop and Granny are going to take me camping with them when the weather gets a little warmer. I can't wait to explore the campground with them.

I am very happy where I live and with whom I live. I wouldn't change a thing. Thank you for finding me such a nice place to live.

Tami Lynn Bevis

Spike & Keith Krawczynski
2006-02-24

Howdy Folks,

I want to tell you all about my wonderful new life with my master Keith, who recently adopted me from the wonderful people at the Birmingham Boston Terrier Rescue group. These generous and loving people saved me from a hard, lonely and dangerous life on the tough streets of Birmingham, where I was found covered in paint and fleas. I was also starving and very skinny. These nice people cleaned me up, fattened me up, and gave me plenty of TLC before finally allowing me to go to my new home with Keith. The only thing I regret is getting neutered. Oh well, I guess every good thing comes with a price.

When I first met Keith at his home I knew this was the place for me. He has lots of toys for me to play with and we have a great time playing together. I have to admit that I absolutely LOVE toys. Toys are to me what cocaine is to a crack addict. Fortunately for me Keith brings me new toys almost every day. I have so many toys now that I often don t know which one to play with, so I usually get out all of my toys and fling them around the living room. I particularly like the stuffed animals, which I rip limb from limb with enormous relish and then “destuff.”

Afterwards, I see Keith talking to me while cleaning up the carnage I have left behind. I don't exactly know what he is saying but I sense that he s not particularly happy with me. Anyway, I have him trained like Pavlov’s dog. I make a huge mess and he cleans it up. What fun!

But the toy I enjoy playing with most of all is a basketball. My mouth is too small to bite into it, so I smash the ball with my flat face and chase it all around the house. I am so fanatical about chasing the ball that I will destroy anything in my path to get to it—television stands, compact disk racks, bass drums, etc... I think that I sometimes get carried away chasing the basketball because after a while Keith will take it away from me. But then again I am quite fanatical about all of my toys, so much so that I will play with them until I pass out from exhaustion and fall asleep with one still in my mouth.

Being a young boy, I also enjoy playing outside. Keith knows this so he takes me to the park every day, where I enjoy marking every free standing object (including iron sculptures just outside the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts), chasing the ducks and geese, running through mud puddles, and playing with other dogs. He also sometimes takes me to his work, a local university, where I have great fun pooping on the soccer field and retrieving tennis balls hit outside of the tennis courts. Finders keepers, I say. However, Keith won t take me to his office anymore. I think its because I chewed up some of his student s papers. Hey, I was just giving my own critique of the assignments.

Of course, all of this playing makes me tired. I used to sleep in my own soft bed, at least until I ripped it to shreds when Keith wasn’t looking. It doesn’t matter, though, because I prefer napping on the couch during the day and sleeping in bed with Keith at night. Here my master tolerates my snoring, which is deafening at times, as well as my malodorous gas, which doesn't bother me but sometimes makes Keith open up all of the windows and run into another room.

Recently Keith has been trying to teach me to heel and sit. As an alpha male, I prefer to do my own thing and so resist his attempts to make me his bitch. But when Keith puts the choke chain on me I know I better do as he wants. At the same time, though, he also gives me tasty treats when I obey him, so it's not all bad. Still, I won t easily give up my position as “top dog.”

Overall, I have to say that things have turned out great for me. I have a wonderful master who, because he goes to work for only half a day twice a week, spends a lot of time playing with me. He also feeds me A-1 prime chow, sometimes from his own plate, and gives me tasty treats every day. I particularly like yogurt and peanut butter. Anyway, I have the feeling that I give as much happiness to Keith as he gives to me. Why else would he treat me so great. I ll keep you all updated on any changes or big new adventures in my life.

The Spike

Bella Abzug & Dr. Nancy Whitt
2006-01-09

I had never planned to foster a Boston! After my German shepherd died, leaving me with a frou frou shiht zhu-poodle-chihuahua mix, Jersey, I’d brought home for her, I decided I was a one-dog woman. Playing around on the web in my office on a boring Friday afternoon, I applied to a Boston Rescue thinking, “maybe someday. . . .” The next day Donna Farmer had a fat, crooked-jawed, flat-faced Boston grinning at me as she looked me over through her one brown and one blue eye. Eva (Evie), named for my Grandmother, who had a Boston named “Pet,” became Jersey’s sister and my funny companion. Though Evie was not well, and I didn’t have her long, her personality lives on. She was unaware she was not the Queen of the Universe; she was absolutely oblivious that the world didn’t circle around her; actually, in our house, it did.

When Evie died, I once again decided I was a one-dog person, though I participated in Birmingham BTR events and regularly went to the website for a Boston fix. Then Donna called asking whether I couldn’t foster a young Boston while she went through heartworm treatment and I reluctantly agreed. Donna picked up the dog in Pell City, calling me on her cell phone as she drove to my house, saying, “Nancy, you’re a goner. This one’s so cute.” In came Donna, carrying crate and Boston, the latter shaped more like a whippet than the squatty-bodied Evie. Also, this one, then called “Mandy” had a nose with a bridge, giving her a somewhat serious, thoughtful look. And she was young.

Donna was right; I was a goner. I named her Bella Abzug because, as I’ve said, she was too sweet; she needed to find her inner bitch. She’s still sweet. She can’t get too much attention, too much petting, too many hugs (or too many treats). But she’s holding her own with Jersey; they’re playing tag and mock-growling at each other as I write this. They’re both black and white and not much different in weight. When I come home from work the living room floor is covered with stuffed animals they’ve taken from their toy basket. They love to race each other across the yard to bark at the black labs across the back fence; they always go out and come in together. When I pet Jersey or tell him he’s a good dog, Bella goes through all of her cute tricks, rolling over, nudging me, hopping on my lap to re-call my attention to her; when there’s food to be had, she gets hers first or shoves Jersey aside for his—she’s learning to live up to her name—she’s not going to take second place to a guy, ever. On the other hand, she does have a crush on the Maximilian, the cute boxer next door. . . .