Sully, Betsey and Brett

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Sully has settled in nicely with his new owners, Brett and Betsey, who happen to be just as active as he is.

First Day
Our first day was very exciting and a little scary. We weren't sure what to expect. We wondered if Sully would be OK with just us — if he would be confused, etc. But all went well and he adjusted fairly quickly to his new home. I don't think that Brett and I slept at all that night because we were so curious to know what Sully was doing at every second. To our surprise, he fell fast asleep at the foot of our bed and didn't move an inch until sunrise!

Home Fit for a Pooch
To make Sully feel at home, we laid out a bunch of blankets for him to lie on. He took to certain ones right away and others, he didn't care for to lie on. He basically picked out his favorite spots from the get-go and settled in. Brett and I were like kids in a candy store when we went to PetSmart to spend our gift certificate. We bought way too much stuff, but we wanted to make sure that Sully felt at home. He ignored his bed for the first few weeks; now, it is like his "couch." He doesn't sleep on it at night, just during the day. Sully's most favored toy is "Buddy." It is a little stuffed animal that is the perfect size for him to chew on.

It's a Family Affair
Sully fits in great with us. He isn't the leader, but he definitely isn't the follower either. Sully kind of finds the pocket where he needs to fit in at the appropriate time and just goes along with it.

Made for Each Other
Sully is a happy, loving, protective dog. We had no idea how wonderful he was when we had him for the 24 hours on the show. He has an amazing personality and we are overwhelmed by his love. He still struggles with other leashed dogs when he is on the lead , so sometimes he comes off a bit aggressive and angry. We are all working on this behavior.

Getting to Know You
The biggest adjustment for us has been managing our schedules. We aren't as flexible as we used to be. We find ourselves rushing home from work, and we spend as much time with Sully as possible. We take him in the car with us when we run errands, etc. It is a little pathetic on our parts at times, but it is so hard to leave him! The biggest adjustment for Sully has probably been being by himself. From what we know, he has been with other dogs since birth — his litter, the shelter, his foster home; now, however, it is just him in our house.

Favorite Pooch Pastime
Sully would live outside if he could; he can't get enough of being outdoors!

Paws and Sit
Sully came with some tricks we didn't know about. He could sit, shake and lie down. We taught him to sit at street corners and to wait for our command to cross the street. He is currently working on staying and not jumping on people when he first sees them.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Dog Park
One day we had the trainer, who had Sully before we got him, over to our place. He was sitting on our couch talking with us and out of nowhere Sully jumped right over him. He literally leapt from the floor over his head to the other side of him to the floor. Brett and I were astonished, speechless; we had never seen him jump like that before. The trainer told us he'd taught him how to do that trick in a short amount of time. Now we try to get him to jump over objects all the time ... he isn't as enthusiastic about it with us, though

Another cool thing is that while Sully does have a problem with "leash aggression," he is totally opposite when he is off the leash. I recently took him to the large dog park near us to test the waters. Once again he amazed us and was so excited to be around other dogs. Brett and I are used to seeing him bark at other dogs, but off the leash he has a blast running and playing with them. It is great!

No One's Perfect
Sully doesn't really have any quirks, other than the "leash aggression." We can honestly say we think he is quite perfect. Well, he does tend to want to get up a lot earlier than we do in the mornings, especially on weekends!

Lessons Learned
We've learned that living with an animal is a large responsibility, and although the life change seems a bit overwhelming at first, it is the greatest feeling to know you helped give them a much needed home. Sully's love is unconditional, and it is such a joy to have that in your life. We couldn't be happier with our new addition. Many thanks to Animal Planet and Who Gets the Dog?.