To our wonderful OES breeders, and Maya's first home!

I have been meaning to write you for while now, I cannot believe that Maya is one year old.

She is the greatest dog ever. I still cannot believe how gentle she is with Zoe, our three year old. They are the best of friends, to the point that Maya is very protective of Zoe, and even if we raise our voice at Zoe,, not even yelling but firmly, she barks at us. It is very sweet. They play for hours. Maya starts her day with a run at the local dog park, where she is a very friendly visitor of all the dogs and dog owners at the park. She is a socialite and visits everyone! She has even displayed her herding gift. I must get a comment at least everyday how beautiful she is and where did we get her? I tell them of course. People are so impressed with her good nature.

Maya loves to stay with the family and is so much a part of our family, she is a real blessing. My older girls, Annalise and Jillian, age 13 and 11 love her so much as well, although the bond between Maya and Zoe is the strongest. Maya knows every bit of the family routine and is right by my side for school drop off and pick up, she even knows when to wait at the door to get in the van, its amazing and also for bedtime stories and  bath time,  is right at our side. She is very much a family dog! I think we would all be lost without her. She even knows when to expect Wil home from work, they have a love affair too!

Maya and Zoe are inseparable! I am amazed every day at Maya's gentleness.

About five months ago we almost lost Maya, due to her ingesting a bone, we are still not sure how she got it, but we think she sneaked it off the table when we weren't looking, anyhow she had to have emergency surgery. During that time she almost died  due to the anesthetic, in addition to internal bleeding. Although, miraculously she pulled thru, I like to think it was me by her side whispering prayers in her ear and telling her that we love her that helped in the turn around. Anyway she recovered beautifully and then two weeks later had a near fatal reaction  to the recovery drugs they gave her. With Iv and  broth (and prayers again) she recovered. You would never know it now, that she nearly died twice, now she seems the picture of health. We just have to be careful about drugs. I am not sure if any of your other dogs have had these reactions? Maya initially had a weird reaction to her booster shots as well. Anyway, she was well worth the thousands of dollars we spent on surgery although it was a very trying experience.  Every day I walk her I am thankful to have her and I must say I am an OES fan now.  She has such a beautiful temperament and spirit. She is protective of our home and does bark a lot although all her other wonderful qualities make up for it. I certainly feel safe with her around!

Today we discovered that she has lice! Yikes we think that she may have picked it up from the dog park. She loves to roll around playing with the other dogs. They only get it from contact. In any case I took her in for treatment and at the same time they discovered a heart murmur. I was very saddened by this. Has this happened to any of your dogs? The vet told me she may have a fine healthy life, but It is hard to say how long, and it will need to be monitored.

Anyway we are committed to her for the long run and whatever she needs we will give it to her.

Even before this, we were thinking of a playmate for her?