Gone To The Dogs

How many of you have pets? How did you go about obtaining those pets?  Breeder?  Pet store?  Ad in the paper?  Walmart parking lot?  Shelter?  There are so many ways for us to find our furry family members.  Or for our furry family members to find us. 

When Steve and I got together, more than 18 years ago, we quickly found that one of the things we had in common was our love of animals.  I already had three cats, which I brought to the relationship.  He had never had a cat in his life.  I had never had a dog.  Well, that's only partially true.  When I was too young to remember, my parents had a basset hound named Claudia for a little while.  When I was a little older, they had a German shepherd named King for a little while.  Other than that, we had a couple of cats. 

Steve and I decided that we were going to have pets instead of kids.  We weren't terribly fond of kids, but we knew we wanted a lot of pets.  (HA!!  Three kids later...)  We talked about our favorite breeds of dogs, and cats.  We looked at pet store puppies and kitties.  Our first dog, Chaz, didn't come from a pet store.  He didn't come from a breeder.  He didn't even come from a shelter, or the Walmart parking lot.  He came from one of Steve's co-workers.  This co-worker came to work one day and asked everyone if they wanted a five month old lab mix puppy.  She had to find a new home for him, or take him to the pound, because her room mate was beating him.
 I consider Chaz to be my first dog. He was a spaz, and had some sever psychological problems, but he was the sweetest dog in the world! When he died, six years ago, we were all devastated. He was Gabriel's first sibling. Gabriel still mourns him. 

I could write story after story about Chaz.  I could post a thousand pictures of him too.  He was our first child.  We got him before we got married.  For all his anxiety, and spazziness, he was the best dog ever.  (There are quite a few people who would beg to differ on that statement!) 






About four months after Chaz died, Steve brought home a little 10 week old mixed breed puppy.  A guy he worked with, and his girlfriend, had just rescued this baby from a guy who was keeping her locked in a crate in the basement, but they couldn't keep her.  This co-worker asked around at work to see if anyone wanted her before he took her to the shelter.  Steve brought her home the day before Valentines day.  We named her Valentina, and called her Val.  Apart from Steve and Gabriel, Val hates men.  We had rescued two kittens about six months prior to Val coming to live with us.  They were about nine months old when this 10 week old puppy entered their lives.  They raised her as best they could, therefore, this dog thinks she's a 60 lb cat.  She doesn't lick.  She doesn't pant.  She doesn't eat food off the floor, unless it's meat or cheese.  She is a great dog, and we love her dearly.  It goes without saying that she loves us right back! 

Once again, I could write countless stories, and post countless pictures of this dog with our family.  Gabriel and Annalise are her litter mates.  We've had her in our lives a little less than six years, but it's hard to imagine life without her.

Two days ago, one of Steve's co-workers came in to work and asked if anyone wanted a two year old Australian shepherd.  He and his wife split up, and when she left, she took the kids, but left him the dog.  He loves the dog, but like all the guys at Steve's company, he's away from home half the year, two months at a time.  That's not a good life for a dog, so he thought he'd ask around before he took her to the shelter.  We now have two dogs.  I've never had two dogs at the same time before.  I've never had a long haired dog before.  I've never had a full breed dog before.  I've never had a dog who came from another family, a good situation.  Chaz and Val had been abused, so they were very happy to be out of their old situations and with us.  This poor dog is not happy to be with us.  She wants her family back.  She is very sad and nervous to be here. 

This is Khalua.  She is a beautiful girl.  She is bunking with Gabriel until she gets used to being here with us, and she and Val figure out who's who in the pack.  I know it will take some time for her to come to think of us as her family, but we are willing to love her even though she doesn't want us right now.  She's only been here a day and a half, so it's still very, very early.  She is a very good dog.  For as nervous and sad as she is to be here, she's still very sweet.  She has only growled at Val, and that's when Val was too close by when she was checking out the kids.