Jan,
Since I was unable to find a formal application to adopt the Baby Newfie, I decided to write you a letter that answers
your likely questions. First, we are Carla and Mike Satterwhite. We have two young sons, Sayre (7) and Stuart (3 ½).
Carla and I have been together for 15 years and have lived in Ames, where we work at Iowa State University as
English instructors, for six of those years. In fact, we firmly believe we are done with moving and consider it highly
unlikely that we will be moving for any reason. In short, I certainly think we have a stable life.
Even though we walk to work, we have a great deal of space for a dog. We have a large house, which I have been
building for the past four years, located on 6.3 acres of woods with a creek that runs through the woods (Newfies love
water since they were bred to be water rescue dogs). Still better, our woods sit between two large publicly owned
forests. This means that as we walk out the back door, we have almost 100 acres of woods that run along either side
of one mile worth of creek. From the front door, it takes 5 minutes to walk our son to school and 20 minutes to walk
ourselves to work. Baby Newfie would have a great deal of room to get her exercise in both civilized and uncivilized
environments.
As I told you on the phone, we have been without a dog for five years, which was when we lost our little girl, Emma.
Emma was shelter dog I adopted in Boise, Idaho as a 4-month old pup. Like Baby Newfie, she was a Newfie mix that
grew rapidly, until she was a beautiful 130 pounds and 29 inches at the shoulder. Needless to say, we know what we
are getting into with a giant dog. Emma lived for 10 ½ years and touched many lives in that time. She was the first
thing my oldest son crawled to (see picture) and the first thing he walked to. She went everywhere possible with us,
and when it wasn’t possible, we had friends lined up willing to have her for sleepovers. Tears were shed in five
different states when she passed. Lumbering giant that she was, she could be delicate as a daisy when it mattered.
My boys still don’t open Christmas presents with Emma’s light touch.
While it’s fair to say that we wish to adopt Baby Newfie because of
Emma, don’t think that we expect Baby Newfie to be Emma. I
learned long ago that each dog is their own dog, and deserve to be
cherished on their own merit. Baby Newfie would be a true part of
the family. She would not be stuffed in a cage and spend most of her
time in a small pen. My wife and I often work from home and spend
most of our time here, so Baby Newfie will grow up as a functioning
part of the family, and not be asked to spend 12 hours a day by
herself like so many animals.
She will be spoiled, but not ridiculously so. I’m sure the occasional
banana pancake will slip from my grasp and find its way into her
belly. But she won’t be allowed on the bed or the furniture, and if she
wants something, she will have to ask politely. I believe the best way
to raise a well-behaved dog is simply to spend a great deal of time
with them and be consistent about your expectations.
We have waited a long time to take this major step again. It is not a
commitment we take lightly, but certain serendipitous events lead
me to believe the time has come to commit again. If we are not the
people you want for Baby Newfie, we trust you will find the right
family. The video on the website is very short, but I see enough to tell me that this is a very special little girl for whom
I would drive two hours one way to meet.
Sincerely,
Mike, Carla, Sayre, and Stuart Satterwhite
447 Westwood Drive
Ames, IA 50014
515-292-0844
msatterw@iastate.edu