George and Suzanne, in Arizona, decided to add another Cocker Spaniel to their family.  They had been on vacation in Wisconsin, and seen some sable Cockers there.  When Suzanne gets home, and gets on the computer - she decided to search for a sable, and up

Hancock is now Spencer.

popped Hearthside Family Pets.  Once she saw this guy, she was in love - though they have always had girls before.  Well, Spencer was the only boy in his family of 9, so he already knew how to get along with his sisters.  Now he has more 'sisters' to play with.  He is such a love, and has one of the most relaxed personalities - like most of our babies have.

"Hi Mary Ann,
WOW, yesterday was a DAY I will NOT forget for many years to come. First, I received Spencer from you and LOVE him to pieces! He is the sweetest and smartest little guy around!!! :-) More on him later!

Second, Spencer and I did NOT get out of St Louis until today at 7AM! Our plane had engine trouble and we could not get out till today. We spent the rest of the evening at the airport with 2 kind friends we made that were also passengers living in Phoenix. One lives in Sun City Festival and the other in Glendale and he is a 25 year old police officer! As we had to check in at 4am for our flight confirmation, we decided NOT to go to the hotel. I do NOT know how I would have managed Spencer in the hotel without any more papers? Thanks good ness you sent his food with me and I bought bottled water for him and me. We did make it ok and I was beat this afternoon as I had NOT slept the night before because I was so excited to get Spencer. Also, everything was closed up by 6:30pm when we got off the airplane and did not get a chance to eat. It was a VERY BAD experience need I say??? :-)

Now to catch you up on Spencer. I DO LOVE him and he is quite the little lover boy! He cuddles, talks to me with his cooing and has endeared himself to me with the 20 hours we spent in the airport and on the plane! He is also just a gorgeous little guy! He will make a BEAUTY when he is full grown! EVERYONE at the airport stopped me and told me what a precious beauty he is! There are a lot of "dog-lovers: out there! :-) While we waited in line to get new tickets--3 hours worth, one gentleman was in love with Spencer and took him outside 2-3 times for potty breaks and sat on the floor cuddling him and playing with him. That really helped me out a LOT even though Spencer would not go potty for him. There was too much commotion and noise outside for him to do anything! One set of 3 girls also told the ticket agent I was still back at the gate in the family bath pottying him and such and he came to get me to tell me they had cancelled the flight instead of delaying it for 3 hours! Several of these people were on the same flight as we and so we saw they them today. I gave one lady your card as she could not believe how beautiful Spencer was and she might call you and get one???

Oh, when we first got on the plane yesterday, Spencer was wild as I had to put his head and all into the carrier. He whined and scratch and put up a real snit! As we were waiting to get the engine working, the plane got hotter and I put his head out and the flight attendants told me HE HAD TO BE IN THE BAG--ALL OF HIM! I sat him on my lap and fanned him with a magazine and felt the warm air come out the other end! He was so frightened he even pee peed while in there so when we got off the plane and went to that same family bathroom, I washed him down a bit and also the carrier--NO MORE SMELL.

George is smitten with him also. He thinks he is a beauty and such a lovable little guy. He has NOT had an accident in the house yet--knock-wood! :-) We take him out every couple of hours with the girls and he does his thing. He even pooped again this early evening and it was well formed stool. We take him to the vet tomorrow afternoon.

Spencer was a little bit intimidated by the girls but by tonight he was getting them to play with him some. In a couple of days, they will be running all around the house chasing each other! He is settling in nicely. How much food does he eat each day? Should I watch the amount? I can't leave it out or the girls will eat it! :-)

Well Mary Ann, I want to thank you for Spencer. We ALL love him and I am sure the girls will take good care of him until he is old enough to return the favor--man takes care of female??? HAHAHA! I can't wait until he can get a bit older and we can let McKensie play with him too! He lives in the house behind us and the girls love him! I am sending you the pictures I took. I think they turned out well and thanks for the ones you sent! I also will send some new ones of the girls and George. More to come!

Love and God bless. Glad you made it home safely!

George, Sue, Brittany, Libby and Spencer--the 5 Hoods!" 

"Hello Maryann, Just letting you know theat Luke is doing very well. He is such a people person and has to be w/ us @ all times...sort of like a cat under your feet. Ha Ha I have a few photos when he came to his new home and Reece and him were just hanging out...just can't wait for the teething stage to be finished. Reece loves his new puppy and he has been a great part in our family and always keeps us going..gotta love it. I will send you some recent pictures real soon. Let me know if you possibly have anymore cockers for sale as he might need another puppy friend to be able to play with real soon. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!! Thank you again for such a beautiful and happy puppy. He is spoiled rotten and lovin' it!!! Sincerely, The Berry Family in Hartville, MO "

Prince started out as Augustus.  He is one of Posey and Thaddaeus' children.

He was adopted by Robert and Inez in Maryland.  He is so loved by them all.

I hope we get to see more pictures of this happy family.

"Good Evening Mary Ann,
I hope you enjoy the picture attached. We love and enjoy Prince so much he is such a blessing to our family. Thank you so much for being such a blessing to us as well.
Inez"

Emma is Prince's sister.  She is also one of Posey and Thaddaeus' children.  Emma has her new home in Wisconsin, with Tom and Lorrie and their 3 children.  Lorrie called me after getting Emma at the airport and said how so "In love" she was feeling.  Seeing a puppy in picture, no matter how sweet and cute they are, is nothing like having them with you, seeing them in real life. 

I love getting to visit with our new puppy's families and getting to know such wonderful people all across our country.

"Hi Mary Ann,
We love her! Sending a few pictures.
Thank you so much.
Lorrie"

Carmel has kept his name.  He was a present for Mia, but the

whole family is really enjoying their new puppy.

"He is a true pleasure and a welcomed addition to the yeager home."

"Mia has decided to keep the name Carmel. She just loves him!!!"

And, I have enjoyed several phone conversations with Nanette, Mia's mom.  It is nice to have reasons to talk to people all over our country, just one of the great perks here at Hearthside, which keeps me loving what I do.

Smudge grows up.

Dear Mary Ann,

I wrote you a nice long email about how happy we were with Smudge and what a good first day we've had, and then when I went to send it, my computer froze up and I lost the email when I had to "end program." What a bummer!

So this won't be as newsy, but the bottom line, is that we are all hopelessly in love with Smudge. We couldn't have had a better first day. She really lets us know when she needs to go outside...I find that amazing. We've been out a lot today, and every time, she wants to explore a little more of her new environment. I don't think she's going to be shy about anything, and it won't be long before we will need to put her on the leash. We got a cute purple collar today and had a gold-tone heart tag engraved with her name and our phone number...she didn't bat an eye when we put it on her.

She enjoys sleeping on anyone's lap, and right now is curled up at my feet. She is a dream, and we really see the benefits of all the hard work you and your family put into socializing your pups. She has cried very little, and when I put her in the crate earlier today to see how she would respond, she curled right up and seemed very content in there. We will try it tonight and see how it goes.

Mom had such a nice time visiting with you...I am sorry that my time was divided with the gentleman who was here for our closet plans. I hope that I wasn't rude. Mom, Fran and I all commented on how sweet Grace was. She is so well-mannered and was so patient with all the adult business going on this morning. Not the funnest time for her, I'm sure, but she did a great job of occupying herself. Tell her how much we enjoyed being with her.

I took a few closeup pics of Smudge today, and I've attached the best one. I will try to get more tomorrow.

Well, I'm better close for now. Hope you all enjoyed your shopping and were able to find another coat for Grace.

Thank you again, so very much!!! God bless!!

Love,
Rhonda (Fran and Mom) and Smudge