We have really been enjoying our time with Neo! He had a great time at the PetSmart event on Saturday. He got a lot of great birthday pets and ear scratches and even some new birthday toys and treats from some of the other volunteers! Thanks Cindy and Lindsey! We will send the toys and treats along to his new house where he doesn't have to share them with the resident dogs. He wasn't phased one bit by a couple of louder, barking dogs that we saw at Petsmart. He just doesn't engage in that nonsense, he just walks away.

We had some marking in the house at first but he really just took a liking to one particular spot on the family room carpet (which we are replacing in a couple of weeks anyway!). So we have blocked his access to that spot and this seems to have taken care of the problem. Other than that he has no behavior problems in the house. He doesn't chew anything in appropriate, even though we have a very tempting pile of shoes and boots by the back door and gloves and hats on the table. He does like to rip up stuffed animals, just like the resident dogs. He doesn't counter-surf, per say, but he sticks his nose up and sniffs around to see what you're cooking. At night he sleeps quietly in his crate in the bedroom, though we will probably try giving him free roam of the bedroom at night here quickly. During the day he is crated downstairs with the rest of the gang and he has no problem being alone for a full work day. He is not a barker, even when the resident dogs get going defending the homestead from people on the sidewalk. He was previously an only dog and I think that he could easily go back to being an only dog or would be happy as part of a multi-dog household.

Neo has learned to co-exist with the cats and has the scratches on his nose to prove it! He still thinks they are fun to chase, but no one worries about their safety anymore -- including the cats themselves. They love to taunt him by walking around just out of his reach on the back of the couch.

He is also happy to accompany you to the bathroom, just in case you need assistance. If not, he might just jump in the bath tub and hang out there for a bit. Do you think he might be a water lover? Of course with all of the snow this past week we have a big snow pile in our backyard from clearing off our patio. Bishop (resident Golden) and Neo now love to play "king of the hill" and when Neo wins the "king" spot he likes to lay down on top of the mound and survey his domain. He also got the resident canine queen bee, our 6 year old Maltese mix to play with him today. She almost never deems the fosters worthy of her attention, so this is a true endorsement!