The following update was received 11/24/09:
I thought I’d give you an update on Beau and Blake. They have both adjusted wonderfully and everyone loves them both. Blake adjusted fairly quickly and continues to do well. About a couple weeks ago he decided to give us a very fine thank you gift. Early one Sunday morning we were still in bed and Blake came to the bedroom door and dropped something. Without my glasses on it looked like a dark shirt or something. I thought I better pick it up before they tear it apart. I went over to discover it was a squirrel. I’m sure he thought it was a very wonderful gift, but I would have preferred chocolate. I guess Blake likes both chickens and squirrels. (Editor's note: Blake ended up in rescue for killing a neighbor's chicken.) Unfortunately this is not the first dead animal that has been brought into our house. When our husky was younger he caught squirrels, rabbits, snakes, and birds.

Beau is doing much better! He has settled down quite a bit and doesn’t need to chew nearly as much. The first couple weeks he was chewing on anything he could get his mouth on. We pretty much bought every chew toy in the store and removed all decorations within reach. He would go through a raw hide bone in a few hours. The last couple weeks his chewing has decreased significantly and the raw hide bone in the picture is now over a week old. I think he had a lot of nervous energy at first but is much more relaxed now. I wondered if you have any information about his background because he seems to have been abused in the past. He drops down at loud sounds or fast movements and is very afraid of our living room. He is comfortable in other rooms but we can’t seem to coax him into our living room. I’m sure that will change with time.

Another update was received 12/5/09:
The boys are enjoying playing in the snow today (2 pics). The one of them sleeping was taken after we went for a long hike in the woods. Their noses were hard at work tracking.

The living room has a fireplace and hardwood floors that make it different from the other rooms. Beau is starting to make brief appearances in the living room (a few minutes at a time). I'm sure he'll get comfortable with time.