From the time I was four years old, I have had a dog. That first dog was a white Spitz called Midget. I don't remember him much, but I know my mom told me that he was fiercely protective of me and followed me everywhere. A few years later, I had another small white dog named Baby. A sweet little lady dog, who was once rolled under a car while I was out in the yard playing and got up to run to me in the yard after the car passed, she was unharmed. I can't remember ever being without a dog, or several dogs as a kid. Once my parents rescued a mother Irish Setter and her 7 puppies. Who were a strange mix of Lab and Setter and maybe Hound. We kept two of the puppies, one we called Bear, for the usual reasons, he was chubby, fuzzy and black. And another we called Shorty, the runt, a little hound. These were my companions growing up. Unfortunately, spaying and neutering were not preached as they are now a days, and we had several litters of puppies over the years. Eventually, I was allowed to have a puppy that was "all mine". His name was Prince and he was a beautiful, unusual looking mutt. That's him in the photo in the snow. I am on the right. I was ten years old.
If I remember right, Prince 'ran away' with his mother, Lady. We never did find them. There were many other dogs over the years. Some we kept, some we found homes for. My parents lived at the end of a road, so there were many unwanteds dropped near their home and they took each one in temporarily at least, and gave it a meal.
After I married and left home, I had two different dogs that just didn't work out in our home for various reasons. So we found them other homes. One was a Wolfhound we had called Daisy, and another was a Yellow Lab called Champ. They were great dogs. I wish I had photos of them all.
For several years while having my children, we had only cats. Then the kids began asking for a dog, as all kids eventually do. I had always told them that 'the right puppy' will find us one day. Well, she did. A tiny, scrawny, puppy we named Skipper. We took her in and she turned from something resembling a large hairless rat, to a beautiful Beagle mix. What a great dog! That's Skipper in the photo with me. We then in quick succession, adopted three more dogs that 'found us', having been left by someone who didn't want them anymore.
Dylan, yes he was named for Bob!
Max, what a great guy!
Then came a foray into little dog land. That was not a successful venture, unfortunately. This little guy, just never cared fro the kids. Even though he came into our home as a six week old, and was never mistreated. Chihuahua's are not, as a rule, kid friendly. Though there are some exceptions. When I divorced this little guy was taken to a new home where he, hopefully got the kid of quiet, king of the house, position that he sought. His name was Rascal and he definitely lived up to it.
After the divorce, I had to leave my dogs with my ex. I had a tiny apartment, and the kids wanted the dogs to stay at their home. So in the end, I lost them all. One by one, something happened to them. They did not get the kind of care they were used to, and all but one of them ran away. The other was killed on the road. I have been mourning them since. I have not had another dog, but for a couple of rescued that we fostered. One was a young Rotti that we found a home for in a matter of days. The other was a lovely little Beagle pup, found in the middle of the road on Valentine's day. Hence her name, Valentine. We fostered her and considered keeping her, until I found out we were going to have a baby, that would be Sophie. And the prospect of training a puppy and having a new baby, was more than I wanted to take on. So we placed her with a nice family in town. And I know that she is happy and healthy and loved to this day.
I went into veterinary work because of my love of dogs. That is where I have found the most satisfying experiences of my life. Caring for the canine species. This is all leading up to, if you haven't guessed by now, to the fact that my daughter is about to be four years old. And has been campaigning for a dog. She is a dog lover like her mother. There is just nothing like a dog. So......her father and I have been considering another dog. We have a huge house and fenced yard, so there is really no reason that we can't have one. Besides the amount of time training and getting to know another family member. I don't have a particular dog in mind, so I got online and found this website, Bestdog, which helps you determine which breed of dog would be best for you depending on several criteria that you input. On every such site that I did this kind of 'quiz' the same dog appeared every time. The Golden Retriever.
Exercise Needs43
Good with Children
96
Obedience Trainability
70
Watchdog Behavior
58
Aggression
9
Guard Dog Behavior
16
Grooming Needs
33
Size (lbs.)
65
Intelligence
50
Intensity
32
Shedding
84
Sociability
96
Emotional Stability
70
Hmmmm! We shall see......................:)
4 comments:
I love dogs too, over the years i've done fostering and it is rewarding to see them back on their feet and in a lving home, there's not much better. We have 2 1/2(yes, that's a half not 21/2!- eek!) two of which are rescue dogs and the half is George, a welsh sheepdog who is 13 and still as springy as a pup, when my eldest daughter married she 'sdopted' him, as she only lives 5 doors away it's not too much of a wrench! He comes over in the morning and barks to be let in for his morning toast! Lol! I always say that a person who likes dogs AND who dogs like back (some 'dog lovers' - read breeders and fighters- i wouldn't spit on if they were on fire!) can't be a bad person, dogs are generally a good judge of character. The real proof of being a dog lover is when you DON'T have a dog 'cos you can't give it all the love and attention it needs. From one dog lover to another, good luck in your search xXx
Thanks so much. I totally agree about the 'breeders and fighters' thing. Blessings.
What about Piggy? Wouldn't that be funny as heck, the little dog and the MASSIVE dog playing like crazy.
I grew up with dogs also but haven't had any in years...I lived in small city apartments, moved across the country for jobs, always rented, and then had babies. My sons are getting a bit older and I keep telling my husband, you know...we WILL end up with a dog! ;) He grew up with no animals in his home, so it takes a bit of wiggling him into our direction! Ha!
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