Vallie came to Doxhobbi from Rhode Island Valentine's Day 2004. A few weeks after her arrival, I let her out the back door to exercise and five minutes later found her holding up an extremely swollen left foot. She had broken several metacarpal bones, we assume by getting the foot hung in one of the patio chairs. She was in a cast for 4 weeks - not fun for a 3 month old puppy. When we got the cast off, we found that there was also damage to the ulna that was causing the foot to grow assymetrically. She required surgery and another 4 weeks of casting to correct that problem. We had no dogs living in the house from 1996 until Vallie came along. She had to be kept indoors while she was casted and, although she now stays in the kennel during the day, when we are home, she's the house pet.

She will be entered in her first show July, 2008.