BILLY JOEL (FORMERLY PEACH)

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“Today marks one year since we brought home the artist formerly known as Peach (Beau). Now known as Billy!

It's hard to imagine that for the first few days, Billy didn't want to leave his crate. These days, the moment we put the key in the door, he's waiting for us, his whole body wiggling, ready for kisses and cuddles. Billy has done an amazing job of coming out of his shell this year, and has made many friends, of both the four-legged and two-legged variety. His favourite people include his grandmother, his dog friends Yogi, Poppy, and Joe, and his dad, Christian, MUCH TO MY DISPLEASURE. He does love his mama as well, but Dad is #1.

Billy absolutely aced his training and is ready to go on to intermediate level in the spring. He's traveled to cottages and campsites and is a road trip superstar. He enjoys chilling on the roof with us while we BBQ, having a lazy day in the park, or going for a big hike where there's lots of things to sniff. We worked hard at his walking skills and he's now confident on the leash, trotting along with his tail wagging. He even met one of his sisters, who literally lives around the corner from us. Amazing to think that they both came all the way from the same litter in Mexico just to casually bump into each other in the same dog park in Toronto. Every time they are reunited, antics ensue.

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Billy is still nervous around new people, and can be quite skittish. He's consistently afraid of a few things, including water, men with deep voices, and, weirdly, bras. I've offered to give up bras several times in order to make him more comfortable, but our trainer tells me this won't be necessary. As long as Billy has regular routine and someone he trusts to give him guidance, he's absolutely fine, and he's getting braver every day. We've noticed that Billy gains a lot of confidence from co-habitating with other dogs, so we're actually hoping to get a bigger place in the next few years so that we can go back to fostering dogs ourselves. For now, he spends the occasional weekend with my parents' dog, or my brother's dog, both of whom have taught him a lot.

It was evident the moment that we brought him home that Billy won the foster dog lottery. He was amazing in the crate and with his commands, thanks to the structure and love that Jen and Andrew provided him. We are so grateful to them for giving him an amazing start to his life in Canada - you guys are the actual best. Though we will never be able to properly express how grateful we are to have Billy, and how much we owe to everyone who helped get him here, please know that you've help us build a family. Every day with Billy is a good day - he is a pure vessel of abounding joy. It is, quite simply, impossible to imagine our home without him. Thank you, thank you, thank you for the part you played in saving his life.”

– Elizabeth