Bailey, the Cairn Princess Vies for Bissell's MVP

Bailey and her four 11-day-old pups found freedom & escaped their imprisonment in a puppy mill this past October, with the help of Col. Potter Cairn Rescue . She was a wonderful mom that is now retired. She is, loved & pampered in a wonderful home in sunny Florida. A far cry from the cold & harsh world she endured for nearly 6 years. Please help us help others still waiting for their chance at retirement. To see more of Bailey & her pups copy the following address http://tinyurl.com/yferzxw.

Jude's Adoption Day

Here is a great adoption story about how a scared mill puppy can adjsut in a loving foster home, then be adopted for a happy ever after, as told by foster mom Kathy:

My little foster Jude (black brindle) has come so far in the last few weeks. The day I picked her up from the breeder, she immediately started drooling as we drove away, and within 30 miles, on straight, fairly flat 4-lane highway, she threw up out of nervousness and fear. For days, she was scared of truly everything, hiding her head between your arm and your body. She acted like she'd been kept in the dark her whole life - and I think she literally had. But I knew being with my pack she'd start learning what it was like to be a normal dog. Over the past 6 weeks, she's learned that toys are fun, lightswitch clicks won't harm you, car rides are kinda scary but do-able, and people can really be a wonderful source of great things. The lights came on for her! She not only has been overcoming her fears, but she's also become a great ambassador for my scared foster boy Louisville - helping him to come out of his shell and play. Watching them has been like Mutt and Jeff - he twice her size. Yesterday, Jude's new mom arrived to spend the night and take her little girl home with her today. We had a wonderful visit, even though the weather was cold and drippy. I had to count heads when she left today to make sure one of my kids hadn't stowed away in her suitcase - especially since little Daphne was able to overcome her timidness and gave her kisses galore, and she couldn't sit down without Rudy wanting to be in her lap! LOL And Jude did the 7 hour drive home without having a sick tummy :-) Attached are a couple of pics I had Barney take before they left this morning -

Happy Forever, Jude! Maybe I'll see you again at CRAP this summer :-)
Kathy H in MO

Harvey and Wilton - Boys Will Be Boys!

Mary N and her foster Wilton came out yesterday for a visit. My foster Harvey and newly adopted Drifter (a Cairnabee) were excellent hosts. The boys sniffed, peed, zoomed, peed, mouth sparred, peed some more, zoomed again for a couple of hours.

Kaaren J - Tecumseh, KS

And All That Jazz!

Foster Mom Lori in Rogers, AR sent this picture of Jazz with his cairn sister Katiria that his forever home just sent to her. Jazz was one of Contralto's(Connie) puppies and a brother to our WuWu. His forever mom came all the way from Puerto Rico to get him.

Vote for CINDER - This Week's Bissell MVP Entrant

Visit daily to vote: http://mvp.bissell.com/mvp_petdetail.aspx?id=8590128577&cid=mvp10_widget_1101350

Here is Cinder's story Entrant #: 1101350
Home at Last!

We decided to foster a Cairn terrier after watching a UTube Video about Col. Potter Rescue. Cinder came to us in Feb 2009 from a commerical breeding facility and was completely terrified of pretty well everything. He stole our collective hearts and we adopted him in June 2009. Thanks to Col. Potter we were able to save a beautiful dog from a life of misery and he has become a much loved member of our family which includes Chloe the Cairn, Coco the Pappillon, Katie the cat and the four humans!

Thanks for voting and helping CPCRN win money to save more Totos!!!!

Nashua Moves from Pennsylvania to Maine

Furever Family sent Foster Mom Amy this update following Nashua's adoption:

We arrived home to Maine uneventfully yesterday afternoon. We are calling our girl Bella and she travelled like a champ. It went surprisingly well.  Fursister Abby is adjusting - less "spoiled child" outbursts. Bella stands her ground on what's important to her and Abby respects that. We are very please with their interaction. Both are now seeking the other to play. Bella loves the snow and has done well walking with Abby.  Potting training is in progress - I'm sure time and adjustment to her new home will bring her along fine.

We are so happy to have Bella and love her a ton already. She is a wonderful fit with our family. Will keep in touch as we progress. Again, thanks for all you do to make this happen!!! Col. Potter is heaven sent.

Love and best wishes,
Jackie, Carl, Abby & Bella

Cree is now as Free as a Butterfly!

Mary N reports that her little foster, Cree, has gone to her forever home--flew with her mom to TN--Nashville area.

Cree now has a wonderful and sensitive new mommy who is a vet tech. and studying to be a veterinarian. Cree's new name is Nahbi, which means "butterfly" in Japanese. Nahbi will have a cat brother and sister and Grandparents doting on her. She will seldom be alone.

Thanks to Deb C who found Nahbi this wonderful home. Nahbi was a hit a the airport, but a little too nervous to enjoy the attention. After about an hour she became very curious about the coming and going of so many people. She is a great little dog, who has come such a long way. I will miss her and our walks together.

Newark's New Home

Hi there, Col Potter family!!
It's me, Aberdeen Eilean Thomas, better known as "Abbey", formerly known as "Newark".

My new Mom, Gail, picked me up last night from Foster Mom Chris. I said good-bye to all my foster brothers and sisters and headed home to Momma's house, and my "fur-ever" home. I spent a lot of time looking around inside and outside. I even went potty nicely for Momma outside where I am supposed to go potty. She said I was a "very good girl". I had some supper, went potty again, and then settled down on the sofa with Momma to watch TV.

We were very comfy and cozy on the sofa. All of a sudden new sister Sedona Kitty came out to see what was going on. We just kind of looked at each other for a bit. Momma said I was very good. I didn't chase my sister or anything. I wish she would let me say "hi", but she just hides under the bed. I think once she knows that I am a good little girl and won't hurt her, she will come out from under the bed and play with me.

I slept very quietly last night. Momma said she didn't even know that a new pup was in the house. When she got up, we went outside to potty. I was very good again and got a treat. I helped Momma make her coffee by supervising the preparation very closely. She even let me lay on her bed while I gave her some makeup tips. I was VERY helpful this morning. Momma says that, because I wanted to be everywhere she is, she feels like she has run an agility course this morning, having to step over me and around me so many times. She says that's OK, because this will help with keeping her knees in shape and with her exercises.

I think I am really going to like it here. Momma loves to play with me and teach me fun things. I think we already have a handle on sit, and down. Tonight we are going to the park for a nice long walk. She says I will see boats in the marina on our walk and meet other nice dogs like me.

So, I just wanted to say thanks everybody for taking such good care of me until I could find my "fur-ever home". I am so happy I could just......... pee!

Oh, oh!

I will be in touch again soon. Momma lets me send e-mails on her computer. Did I tell you Momma says I am very smart!!

Licks and puppy kisses

Abbey Eilean

From Camper to Baker - This Boy has a Great Career!

Foster Mom Kathy H sent this adoption day story:

Our Camper boy left this morning for a new adventure in life - that of being someone's forever boy. He'd been here since the end of June and was feeling VERY comfortable.  His new mom and dad are retired military(one an audiologist and the other physician) and live in Vancouver, WA - the perfect place for this boy as he loves water and loves snow!

He now has a Cairn sister named Mollie who is 11 years young, and she's given her approval of the new boy in the house. Mom works a few days a week, and Dad's office is out of the home, so he'll pretty much have someone with him 24/7.

Camper's new name will be Baker, which ironically is the name of the university our two daughters graduated from.

Happy Forever, Camper - you've found HIGH COTTON for sure!

Our Three Cairns - Ginger, Buddy and Millie

Anne and Bob M of Pittsburgh, PA recently sent an update of their three cairns. Here is what she says:

Ginger is a dear senior cairn, who we adopted from a local shelter 10 years or so ago.

Buddy is the light of our life, adopted from Col. Potter a few years back. We picked him up in Gros Isle, Michigan and he has been our delight ever since. He is a dog dog and does not think he is human. Loves to cuddle but at his own time and place. Follows my husband about, always anticipating a walk. He is eager, funny, fast, and so sweet.

Millie came to us during a transport last March or April. She didn’t bark for 6 weeks (does now!), couldn’t do stairs for even longer, although she could jump onto a couch for a snuggle. She is still, almost a year later, proud of herself when she manages stairs. She is a dear sweet marshmallow of a dog with not a mean bone in her body. She is tilted to a definite California Rake with her back end much higher than her front and her fur the consistency of silk and oh, those eyes!!!!! In her whole life she will never get enough pats.

Cinny and Skeeter Say "Erin Go Bragh!"

Happy St. Patrick's Day from Kayla

An Update from Rick fka Merrick

Foster Mom Mary Ellen in NJ received a note and pictures of Merrick who was adopted by a retired couple on Long Island, NY. They sent the note and photos to thank me and remind me it has been three years this month since they adopted Rick.

He has a beautiful coat with every Cairn color in it. He sits up like a gopher to get treats, he goes to his crate at 7 PM every night. He loves to play with their granddaughter's puggle Deliah.

Thanks to everybody who was part of getting Rick's to his new life new life.

Izzy's First Year of Freedom and Fun

Hard for us to believe it, but February 13 was Izzy’s (fka Macaw, Freedom Flyer) 1-year “Got-Cha” day! It seems like just a short time ago that we drove to Florida to meet her foster parents at Cracker Barrel and that we first laid eyes on that terrified little gray ball of fur.

The ride home back to South Carolina was accompanied by frequent “what are we getting ourselves into” thoughts. It filled me with tears to look into her eyes and think about what the past 4.5 years had been like for her as a mill-momma. Izzy would flatten-out if someone moved too fast near her, instinctively thinking someone was going to hurt her. She was afraid to walk outside, would not move from one spot in a room to another spot, so we did a lot of dog-toting-around those first few weeks.

Izzy’s “first-time” achievements, when they occurred, made us so happy you would think we’d just won the lottery. Like the first time she walked a few steps across the living room floor. The first time she jumped onto the couch. The first time she licked my face. The first time she walked down the hall alone (she was terrified of halls and doorways for over 6 months). Potty time was a real challenge for months, as it took her a looooong while to relax enough to “go”. When walking outside, she would stop, freeze in her steps, and refuse to move any further. Now she does her business as soon as we take her out, then she uses the rest of the time to smell the yard and visit with the cat.

We had snow for the first time last week and she is a real snow-hound. She ran in it so fast that she was kicking up a snowstorm in front of her, then she would fall over on her side and roll in it. She still does not play with or show any interest in her dog-toys, but in the last few weeks she occasionally will get frisky and start “mouthing” at our hands like she wants to play.

Can’t wait to see what “first-time” achievements are in store for the coming year! Izzy has blessed us so much this last year and we can’t imagine life without her. Thanks to Col. Potter and all the wonderful people of this rescue group that made this possible.

Annie - the Four-Footed Valentine

Two weeks ago, I got the best Valentine's gift!! I flew to Omaha from Durham, NC to get Annie and bring her to her Forever Home. I got the chance to meet Annie's foster mom, Diane, which was great. Annie met the resident male Cairn, Rex ,upon arrival. He was very curious about her, and she was very shy and not very interested in him. Annie is 4, a former working mom, and Rex is nearly 10, and has lived a wonderful life since birth. Annie followed my every step at first, but cowered or ran if I tried to touch her or pick her up. She was scared of most things, but she has never been shy where food and treats are concerned! She dances around so much that sometimes I have to put her on the kitchen counter to keep her from getting in Rex's way while he eats. Some special friends have been over to meet Annie. This allowed Annie to be held and stroked while I had some Rex time. We even went to play with two other Cairns who were adopted by Gail in Chapel Hill. Annie learned to go up and down stairs on that visit. She's such a brave girl!


Annie has really blossomed in her short time here. She now comes right up to me for a love or to be picked up. She still flattens to the floor or runs if I make an unexpected move, or there's a loud unexpected noise. She sleeps on a king sized bed with her special pillow and pink blanket. She loves playing with her toys, leaving them all over the house. She no longer follows me, but she does keep an eye on me. She goes outside with Rex, instead of waiting for me to take her. Every little step towards independence is a huge achievement. She is still afraid of new things and new people, and we've got to get that potty training done. Annie is a delight! I look forward to hearing her bark when she hears my car pull into the garage. I enjoy seeing her climb onto the little sofa next to Rex.

It's amazing the changes that Annie has made since she has been here. In only two weeks, she has gone from shy, scared, staying right on my heels, to going outside alone or with Rex, playing with toys, and coming right to me for hugs and kisses. She has a long way to go, but she has made great strides already.

Here is a picture of Annie with Rex.

I'm so happy to have Annie in my family. I know there's a beautiful flower in there, just waiting to fully bloom.

Sally B