Darin's Lucky day came Saturday when Janice and Jim decided to make this not so little boy part of their family.. We unfortunately did not get an happy ending picture but are hoping that Darin's new family will send us update as he grows and grows and grows..

Thank you Janice and Jim for opening your heart and home to this once unwanted and unloved little boy

[QUOTE] My husband, our dog Max and I just had a great loss of our 10 year old Golden Retriever Toastie. It only took us a few days to decide to open up to the thought of adapting another puppy. Well I started looking and I found "Darin." I was a little unsure at first but when I showed him to my husband, Jim, he agreed he was maybe the one. I was a little unsure at first when I started filling out the application. Within just a little while I found out that we were approved and we made arrangements to bring Max and come meet him. Well, what can I say but it was love at first sight. So of course he came home with us. Being a proud new mom I went and showed him off to all those that would listen to me. Although it did take us a few days we also agreed on a name (of course this was with the help of ALL our family), we now call him Griffin. It has only been a few days and Jim and I cannot belive how well he has fit in around here. So thank you to Second Chance Dobes for saving my son's life and helping him find us. I know Toastie would be so proud of us for bring him home. We will always miss her but Griffin has made his own place in our hearts and helped us to heal. Thanks to all those who take the time to read our message and please consider opening your home and heart to a pet that needs you!

Janice and Jim,

When I read your application, I knew you were the ones Darin (Griffin) needed...and believe me, there were a lot of apps on that little guy. I am so happy to hear that he is making himself comfortable in your home. Although it is hearbreaking to lose a dog like Toastie after 10 years, sometimes the best thing you can do in their honor is to adopt a homeless one. I couldn't be happier that you now have each other! Keep us updated and send pictures....

Lynn

Thank you very much for posting for us. I did get a couple picts of "Darin" (Now Griffin) in his favorite spot on the couch. I am going to try to see if I can post one on my own but I am now always good at that. He is still doing wonderful and he definitely loves his new brother Max. Thanks again for the e-mail and I am sorry that you were not there to see him come home.
Janice and Family

Hello, to all those that took part in rescuing me. I thought I should write you myself and let you know what I think of my new home - my forever home. My new mom, Janice, has been very busy making sure that I am comfortable. We went shopping and bought a bunch of new toys for me and my brother Max. I was not to sure of what to do with them at first but I soon learned that they are a lot of fun. I get along with all my brothers and sisters. My kitty cat siblings did not know what to think of me at first but now we play together. And my BIG brother and sister (the horses) really scared me when we first were introduced but now I go help mom with the chores and we have a good understanding of each other. My grandma's and other relatives think my mom and dad are a little animal crazy but they can't deny what a calm and good boy I am. I am pretty well house broke but I still have a few not so good moments. I will be starting basic obedience this December. I already know a couple things but my mom thinks it would be good for me to get out and meet some new people. I still cherish my beloved spot on the couch but I have taken to sleeping on the floor by my mom and dad's bed. Of course my brother Max is there with me. Max also tagged along to introduce me to our vet. I think he is a really nice guy and the people that work there spoil us both rotten. I did find out that I am a Great Dane mix. Mixed with what we are not 100% sure but maybe a lab or something. I do however have many of the Great Dane traits. I am going to be good sized but not quiet as large as a Dane. At the vet I weighed in at 37.4 lb.. I know I have grown taller since then but I haven't stepped back on the scale yet to check my weight. My brother Max is a 115 lb Golden Retriever and I hope that I can get taller than him so I can wrestle him to the ground someday like he does to me when I get a little to hyper. Well it is time for me to go help mom and dad feed the BIG kids. I will write again soon and let you know how my obedience classes are going and also let you know how much I have grown.

wow We Can't Wait to see how big Darin GETS.... What a sweet boy

Wow Griffin...you sound like you are living in the lap of luxury! And you have couch privileges too?! I'm so glad your folks found you and took you home to be part of such a loving family. You sure deserve it since the first few weeks of your life weren't so great...definately not good enough for such a noble guy like you. Tell them to take pictures of you and send them to us here at Second Chance Dobes so we can watch you grow. Be a good boy...

Lynn

Griffin and I went to his 1st beginning obedience class December 4. There are 4 other dogs in our class. Griffin and a little husky female are the 2 youngest in his class. Griffing is catching on very fast. We already knew sit and kinda down when we went. We are learning the clicker method of training. He is getting it a little faster than I am. It has been over 8 years since I had to train a puppy. I think we might try fly ball next class. Both him and Max love tennis balls so I think The three of us are going to go. Everyone that meets him just falls in love with his laid back attitude, with how loving he is and of course his looks. His brother Max has to compete with him sometimes when we go places. Don't worry about pictures, I take a lot of them. It is just making myself take the time to download them and send them. I will send some soon. Thanks for checking in on him, it shows how much you all really care about what you do. Will be back again soon!

In all honesty, it the stories and pictures that gives us the strength to keep fighting for the animals we rescue. When ever I had a really bad day.. or sad day.. I can come here and see that even though we deal with depressing satistics and not being able to save them all. We have proof we are making a small difference. And the lucky ones that we were able to help are happy healthy as every animal deserves..

Thank you so much for sharing.. Words can not express what it means to us.

Sherri

New picture of Griffin and Max .

Griffin is still doing well. He is teething right now. I found 3 of his baby teeth on the floor in the last 2 days. I know his mouth is tender because it takes him a little longer to eat the large milk bones. He has also gotten taller. I have not had a chance to weigh him lately but he is getting big. He did not know what to think of the christmas tree but he loved the toy train track. He only got the end of 2 parts. Thank goodness it came with extras but we just put it away this year so we don't have to worry about it. He still has not figured out why Max likes his stocking so much but I am sure christmas day he'll figure it out. I bought him a matching collar and leash set. Griffin's has purple and green swirls and Max's has ducks on them. I still have to purchase the treats. That is what they really look for. He still really likes going to class but he'll be even happier the next session because his big brother is coming to learn clicker training too. I think fly ball will have to wait a few more months. I will try to get some christmas pictures and post them. But you know how well I do with that. I have had a few people who think that he may be mixed with a doberman or some type of hound and others think maybe lab. I am not sure of what the mix is but I know he is 100% loveable. It is kinda of interesting to watch him some days because I see some habit he has that my dog Toastie had. His willingness, his favorite spot on the couch is the same, and the way he looks at me with those big brown eyes. Everyday I just thank God that he guided us to Griffin.

Got up this morning, kinda down, but reading this has sure lifted my spirits.


Thanks and God BLess you and your family
Suzanne

Well things have been a little crazy with the holidays as I am sure it has been for the rest of you. Griffin really enjoyed his stocking. He and Max got new tennis balls, collars and matching leashes. Also identification tags to go on them. He is getting bigger. I still have not taken him in to get him weighed but I am guessing about 60 to 70 lb.. I also met a lady through work that raises Great Danes. She also said that she feels he has a lot of Dane in him. She only got to see picts of him but she invited Griffin and the rest of the family over to her kennels in Imlay City for a visit. I learned quit a bit from her and her husband in the little time I had to talk with her. She also has offered to help me at anytime. Griffin is trying to test his boundaries a little more but we are keeping a restrictive hand on him as he will be very big someday and he will respect us and others. He only has to be told once or twice though and he knows. That is one thing I have learned about the Danes is that you cannot let them have their way all the time. I am making it sound like he is unruly all the time, he is still super lovable and sweet. I have taken some sweet x-mas picts I am hoping to get posted! I hope everyone had a safe and happy holidays!!!!!

Look everybody I figured out how to post my own pictures!!! It only took me almost 2 months! Next pict is Griffin and Max under the tree just after christmas.

Griffin on the couch the day before christmas.

I got up for just a minute and I guess he wanted the have control of the remote!

I hope you guys enjoy the pictures, now that I have it figured out. If you can't tell I had a great time adding a few. In this one you can see his new christmas collar. Max's is somewhere there in all that hair. I love all the pictures but this one is my favorite one of "the brothers." Let me know which ones you like. When we get another good snow fall I am going to try to get some outside pictures. They both like the snow. Have a safe and happy new year!

What a Wonderful Christmas for Griffin.. This is truly what it is all about.. May the New Year bring more unwanted unloved animals into wonderful families like yours that will show them how truly special life is.

Thank you for being Griffin's Hero!!!

Sherri

Love all the pictures, can't decide which one I like best!! Looking forward to the pictures in the snow!

Thankyou
Suzanne

Haven't got to the snow pictures yet. Even Max and Griffin haven't wanted to spend to much time out there. But I did get a picture of Griffin and I in doggie class last night. He is testing his position in the house with me a little but thanks to the help of out teachers we are going to make it through just fine. I knew I just had to learn how to handle him when he is trying to rule the roost.

Here are some snow pictures. Griffin is growing fast. He is as tall and as long as his brother Max now. We start our Obedience 2 class next week. He is doing great!!!!!!!!

Here is Griffin and Max wrestling over the frizbee. I also promise to get him weighed soon so that you have a better idea of his size.

Wow is he beautiful, THEIR BOTH BEAUTIFUL!! love all the pictures. You sure are on the right track taking him to doggie obedience classes! Please keep the updates and pictures coming.

I was going through some pictures and I saw this one. It is a picture of Jim, Max, Toastie and I about 2 weeks before we lost Toastie. I just thought that you might like to see Jim and I and the our most missed Toastie. She is sitting right next to me in the photo. Thanks again for checking up on us!

Awww she is beautiful, and you can tell how loved she was. They are in our life for a short time but they leave their paw prints on our hearts forever. Thank you so much for honoring her memory by giving a second chance to a once unwanted and unloved boy like Darin

Today Max, Griffin and I went visiting. I work in my families Nursing Home and the residents love seeing the animals. So I try to take my kids when I can and today we did. Since the first day I took Griffin there he has never had a problem with the wheelchairs and things. Both of them love all the attention they get there!!!! Well we were there I took a moment to see how much our little Griffin weighed. Well I was pretty close with my quess of 70 lbs. He weighed in at 68.4 lbs. He is going to be a big boy! We also went to see my riding instructor ( aka their Aunt Loreen) at her cell phone store. They greeted everyone that came through the door and were pretty patient with the boring moments in between. He is doing GREAT. We start obedience 2 this Wednesday. His teachers can't believe how smart he is. Sometimes I think he is too smart! Well I will give you another size update soon and new pictures when we get some!

Griffin has grown even more in the last few days. It is awesome! His first night of obedience 2 he as a little mad because he was created while Max and I worked. He got over it but he was loud!!!! Our insructors are teaching us what it takes to do ralley obedience. It sounds like a ton of fun and Griffin is catching on fast. It is nice because Griffin and I are the only ones in our class so we have a lot of one on one with 2 insructors. He is very handsome. I will get some more current pictures and post them soon.

Griffin's instructors and I were talking about how fast he is growing. So I went home and measured him to see just how tall he was (from the withers). Well he came in at 2 foot 1 inch, which that was last wednesday. So today I got out the measuring tape and he has grown a 1/2 inch since last wednesday. So he is at a grand total of 2 foot 1 1/2 inches. He is not going to be as big as pure dane but he's trying really hard to come close! I will be measuring him again Wednesday before class and I will update you of how much taller he has grown.

Our little boy is growing up!!! Take a look at the most recent photos. He is still doing great! It is getting a little harder to share the couch though. But he loves to cuddle. We are still advancing in our obedience. The end of class is his favorite time though because he gets to play with Max and a few friends that he has made at class. I will get some pictures of the playing for you all to see. Well enjoy the new picture. I just took them last night.

Griffin is on the couch looking down at Max.

These pictures are so small in my photo program but they look so large on the site. Well, next is Griffin chewing on one of his favorite toys.

Next is Griffin's Froggie pose. Usually he stretches out his hind leg, but he knew I had the camera. At a full stretch he is about 4 1/2 foot long from tip of nose to tip of tall. He moves to fast for me to get an accurate measurment of him in that pose.

Here is the last one for this post. It is Max and Griffin showing how well the wait for the photographer.

[COLOR=blue] Im so happy that you guys got Griffon. He is such a great addiction to your family. Griffon is such a cutie . i luv u Griffon
luv Auntie Candy

WOW, BEAUTIFUL PICTURES!! THEY BOTH LOOK SO HAPPY

THANKYOU

Had to take Griffin to the vet yesturday because he had some discharge in his left eye. It was no big deal he will be fine. But of course while we were there we got on the scale to see how big he was and he wighed in at 80.6lbs. He also grew 1/2 inch taller. So he is 2 foot 2 1/2 inches tall at the withers. All that size and he is still a lovable lap dog who thinks he is little.

The next 2 pictures are not great but the were the best I could do. I was trying to take some pictures of Griffin and a few of his friends at dog class. But they were all moving to fast to catch them. I had to delet half of the ones I took because all I had was wall or all you saw were blurrs running by. This one is a picture of him and Sadie where Sadie has claimed all the toys as her own. The picture does not show what an awesome dog she is but she is looking for a home. She is posted on petfinder.com and on compdogsports.com. So if anyone wants to take a closer look at her she is a sweetie!!!!!!

This picture is of a little Jack Russel and Chihuahua mix named Scrappy. He was my sisters dog but she is now going through a divorce and could not keep him. So one of our dog class instructors has taken him in and is training him for fly ball. So someday soon he will be looking for a forever home too. But he and Griffin were playing tug. It was pretty funny seeing the smallest dog playing with the 2nd largest one.

Hello! Griffin has grown almost another full inch at the shoulder. He is doing great. We are taking another obedience class starting thursday. He just does so well with it and I really enjoy taking him!!! I will try to get some more pictures for you soon! I also need to see what his wight is now. I know we have gained a few pounds. Well have to run just wanted to drop a quick note to let you know all is GOOD!

It is really great to see him having so much fun.. A well socialized dog is great. We can never thank you enough for opening your heart and home to Griffin. He is one very lucky and loved dog..


I will pray that one day all dogs will have owners as loving as our adopters are.

We are very happy and blessed that the good lord has sent so many wonderful people to us to take care of and love our guys. And even on my worse days, I can come and look at this board and KNOW we are making if only a small difference and when I am so very angry and think that nobody cares I can come and see that I am very wrong.

I thank all our adopters for this. With out you I would totally be person full of anger and hate.. Maybe but don't count on it, I will have learned enough from our fosters dogs to be as forgiving and loving as they are. Believe it or not every one has touched my heart and has made my life a little better.

Well, sorry it has been so long! With spring coming it has kept us busy as I am sure it has all of you. I measured Griffin today and we are now 2 foot 3 inches at the shoulder and around 5 foot from tip of noes to the tip of his tail. He did not really like getting that measurement but he dealt with it. I don't have a current weight but I am going to guess around 95 to 100 lbs. We will find out how close I am on Saturday when he and Max go for their heartworm shots. I also have some more recent pictures for you so I hope you enjoy them. He is still doing great and he loves this warm weather. We are still attending obedience lessons but are working on more complex things. For his age he is doing VERY good. He can stay as long as some of the veteran dogs in his class. He is a little sad though because his friend Scrapy has been adopted so he does not get to play with him anymore. His friend Sadie also has a possible home but it is not for sure yet. He has taken an alpha status of Max but we have helped make it a graceful step down. They get along really well and as you will see he also uses him as a pillow at times. He finally has got to have a cushy bed in his crate. He thought his first few were really big toys. He has just fit right in and turned into a "little" farm dog. I will let you know his weight on Saturday when we get back from the vets.

That 1st picture was after playtime at class. The next one is a day or 2 later.

Griffin always has to touch one of us or Max at all times. He hates not getting attention. Here is one of his best baby faces!

The last picture and the next 3 all from the same day. It was the last week in March. Here he had given up on us getting on the floor to cuddle so he decided Max needed some lovin. Usually he lays his head on Max's side while he is sleeping.

By this picture he wondered when I was going to put the cameras away. Of course Max is used to mom and her obsession with taking pictures.

This last picture I was trying to take a picture of Dakota, one of our cats. She is on the back of the chair. But Griffin did not want to be left out of any picture. I thought you guys would be as amused looking at it as I was!

I also got a better picture of Scrapy and Sadie from Griffin's play group at dog class. Sadie is the one that is still up for adoption and Scrapy has been adopted out to a Fly Ball home. If anyone is interested in some more information on Sadie go to compdogsports.com and e-mail some there. That is where we go to dog class and the one of the owners is fostering her. She is VERY sweet!!!!! I wish we were able to adopt her but we do not have the room.

Heres SCRAPY! I got an update on him last week and he is doing GREAT in his new home. He has a 5 year old little girl that loves him to death!

That is wonderful, if wanted we could place the one that still needs a home on our pet list and refer any applications

That would be wonderful! Sadie is a great dog and she deserves a forever home also. Competative Dog Sports has their phone number listed on their website. Sadie is around 2 and had never been exposed to toys, other dogs and a home environment. She has learned to sit, down, heel and has been socialized now. If anyone shows an interest they can also e-mail me at toastie@chartermi.net and I will pass on the information to them. Thanks for the help! Would you be able to look up my phone number on our paperwork to call if you needed any more info? If you can do that you are more than welcome to. THANKS!