Alfie, now called Paddy

Alfie is one of Olivia's puppies who was bred in the mills and born into freedom in our Rescue program. His dam received full pre-natal care, and Alfie, like his siblings, grew up with every advantage and the best of care.

He is an active playful puppy, who fearlessly embraces life and all the adventures in it. He recently kept 3 large dogs under control by barking at them when they shifted from the sit position. He often initiates play by stealing a toy and running away with it. Alfie wants to be the man in charge, yet he shares his food and toys and is nonaggressive in every way.

When he isn't lording it over his playmates (including cats), Alfie loves to cuddle and nap, and is an extremely sociable guy with a sweet and loving temperament. He's easy to bathe and brush, loves to be held, friendly with everyone, and is a curious, happy, well-adjusted little guy.
To our prospective adopters: Raising a Kerry puppy requires time, commitment, and patience. They need training, attention, socialization, and a stable, happy environment. Our Adoption Contract requires that they have their ears set, like all good Kerry puppies, and complete one full course of puppy socialization classes, and later, basic obedience instruction. We can only consider homes where an adult is there during the day, with a securely fenced back yard, and with prior terrier experience. We will not consider homes with children under 5 years old. Raising and owning a puppy is a joyous experience, but it takes effort and devotion to train a well-adjusted family companion. For more information, see Kerry Puppies .

From: ritasway2@YAHOO.COM
Subject: [KBL] Paddy formerly known as Alfie
Date: December 7, 2006 3:32:40 PM PST
To: KERRYBLUES-L@APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM

Paddy's new mom has written us an update on the boy formerly known as Alfie.

Little Paddy showed those other kids in obedience class that Kerries Rule. He had a great time & learned lots. Soon he will be going on to the next class. Lots of opportunity for continuing socialization as well as improving his obedience skills.

He successfully "passed" neutering, & was appropriately rewarded with lots of love & attention. He demonstrated how smart & loyal he is by proving he knows which house is his, & how happy he is to be back home. I hear he practically pulled "Papa" into the house when they got home.

He shines like a star when in public, enchanting & endearing all who meet him. I believe he is in line for a position at PetSmart as their Public Relations Officer. He hasn't decided to accept yet, as he is considering other positions. OK, I'm joking about the job, but not about his charisma.

Seriously, his new family is pleased as can be with this little guy. This seems like a good time to point out the far reaching effects of Rescue. His mom, Olivia, was rescued from a puppy mill before her pregnancy had been verified. Now he & his siblings are healthy, happy, well adjusted, and sharing Kerry Magic with lucky families.

Rita Lockwood Portland OR

From: "Cathy Dufford" <Duffsmom98@comcast.net>
Date: January 28, 2007 11:12:04 AM PST
Subject: Paddy

Jerry and I have been thinking about you and just haven't had a minute to sit down and send an update. Our daughter, Katie, took a great picture of Paddy the other day during our 3-year old grandson, Aidan's birthday party last weekend. I told our daughter to send it to me electronically, but she has been busy preparing for a baby shower that she hosted yesterday and her 6 month old came down with a cold. I will bug her later this week to send it to me so I can share it with you.

Paddy is doing GREAT. Due to the holidays, we haven't started our second level of training and need to get that moving. We have paid, just couldn't find the time to start with the holidays.

Paddy is still very quiet and gentle, but ready to play at the drop of a hat. This past week, I have noticed a little 'woof' being emitted when he hears the back door open. This seems to be the entrance that is used more than any others, so he knows that someone has arrived when he hears that door open. Guess he has finally started to feel this is home and he has to warn us someone has entered. However, the tail is wagging as he trots down he hall to investigate. The other time he is more vocal, barking during play. He has discovered that Aidan is a great source for romping. Yesterday, he also decided to join Aidan during his afternoon nap on Aidan's bed. Aidan was delighted! Aidan tends not to like anything in his bed except for the one favorite toy, so for him to allow Paddy to join him is quite a feat.

Last Saturday, Jerry brought Paddy to the park where Aidan's mom held his birthday. Can you picture 4 three-year old children and two four-year old children converging on a puppy at one time, each wanting to touch and hug the puppy. Paddy was in his element, greeting everyone with lots of sniffs, licks and much tail wagging, all the time being extremely gentle. The other Moms were amazed at how gentle Paddy was, never jumping up, just running around greeting everyone.

The park is not a fenced in park, so we had Paddy on a leash and were very watchful that the children were not too rambunctious so Paddy wasn't overwhelmed or hurt. Fun was had by all and Paddy was the hit of the party. I won't be surprised if he receives some invitations to other parties. He just proved what we have known for years, Kerries LOVE CHILDREN.

Not sure I shared that our son and daughter-in-law came for two days during Christmas and brought 3 Jack Russells and a newly adopted (4 wks prior to their visit) Dalmatian (age approx 1 and half to 2 years old) that they obtained from the Dalmatian Rescue. The Jacks are old and quiet but the Dalmatian has been labeled as an alpha dog by the person conducting the obedience class he attends. When he stands on his hind legs, he rests his front paws on my shoulders and I am 5' 9" tall. We were slow to introduce Paddy and LeRoy, but within 15 minutes, during which Paddy's gentle nature reined, the two were fast friends and had the best time together. LeRoy is also great with children and when he greeted Aidan, literally nose to nose, he was very gentle and subdued. So, a great time was had by everyone, including the dogs.

We have been having a bit of a problem with ear infections with Paddy, just not able to get it cleared up completely. A week ago, our vet sent a specimen for culture and sensitivity and really plucked both ear canals of excess hair. She was amazed at how stoic Paddy was. She had asked us to hold food/water the night before and not to feed him breakfast as she anticipated that she might have to sedate him to really clean the ear canals, but Paddy was fine and didn't need any medication. As of Saturday morning we started another medication identified during the sensitivity testing that should be the medicine of choice to kill off the organism causing the problem. We take him back in two weeks to have him checked. Paddy doesn't seem too troubled by the issue, no excessive head shaking or scratching, but I have been staying on top of this as I do not want him to have permanent hearing loss. Boy, is he easy to medicate. He is very trusting and doesn't fight me at all.

We often call Paddy, 'Aunt Rita's little dickens', as in our hearts that was his first title and we love it. Jerry takes him on short jaunts around town whenever he goes out. He still shows signs of motion sickness as he starts excessive drooling, but Jerry keeps the window open and has noticed a decrease in the drooling. Hopefully, with continued exposure to the car and as he gets older, he will outgrow the car sickness. One trip that we do want to make is the 5-hour drive to visit our son's house with Paddy. While the Russell's probably won't be happy and neither will their cat, I am sure that Leroy will enjoy the visit from his friend. But we will have to wait to see how the car sickness goes.

Jerry and I truly believe that Paddy is the BEST Kerry that we have ever had and our daughter totally agrees. We are so thankful to have him as we receive much joy and there

is much laughter in our house because of his presence. Oh, I forgot a funny. The other night I called him over for some lap time. I don't think that he really wanted to leave the comfort of his blanket, but being the obedient dog that he is, he came over and sat down, just out of reach of my arms and wouldn't come closer. As I leaned down to pull him over, he collapsed and I do mean collapsed going limp as a rag doll. When I tried to pull on him, he offered no resistance, but didn't help any either. Try and lean over and pick up an 8 month old Kerry that is like a rag doll. I just started laughing, which made the task of picking him up even harder. Now you know that he was being a bit passive aggressive which cracked us up. So, there is that Kerry personality lurking beneath that quiet, gentle demeanor!!!

From: "Cathy Dufford" <duffsmom98@comcast.net>
Date: October 23, 2007 7:48:21 PM PDT
To: "R Lockwood" <ritasway2@yahoo.com>
Subject: Paddy's picture

Rita, this is a picture taken early summer of my three year old grandchild. You can't help but notice the pure innocent joy of abandonment on his face as he was jumping on the bed. Only a child can just enjoy the moment. However, notice, if you will, who is in the midst of the fun. When I saw this picture again, I thought you would enjoy seeing Paddy playing with 'his best pal'.