Dogs you've had and how you got them.

Sadie - She was our first dog. I had wanted a dog forever, but my mom never let me have one when I was a kid, so I had to wait until I moved out. Sadie came from a BYB I guess you could call it. I saw an add for beagle puppies in the local paper and wanted to go see them, somehow fiance (then BF) agreed to go see them. It was a nice family farm she was from, a girl about 14 was selling the puppies, Sadie was the only one left. She came out of the house, did this clumsy puppy stumble towards us, ignored us, stumbled down the stairs and went pee in the flowerbed. hehehe. We fell in love. We didn't take her right away, we went home to think about it - it was all such a spur of the moment thing, we didn't have anything prepared, we hadn't even moved into a house, we were living with fiance's parents for a short while. We decided we had to have her, so we called the girl and went back the next day to pick her up. We knew nothing about dogs at the time, we didn't even ask how or why she was bred, the girl was selling her as a beagle, but she looks like a beagle basset cross to us, now that we know a whole lot more. We bought a bunch of training books, read them like crazy and trained her ourselves - she seems to have turned out well :)

Timmy - We wanted a brother for Sadie, so when she was about one, we started researching breeds, we came down to a few we were considering: Rottweilers, Bernese Mountain dogs, and American Bulldogs were the top three contenders. We both LOVED Rotties, but fiance's family went kinda crazy when we told them that's what we wanted......we heard all sorts of stereotypes, we made an effort to look for another breed, but nothing compared to a Rottie for us. I had loved them since I was a kid and they just seemed like the perfect breed for us. We researched and researched for about a year, went to visit a few breeders, saw some terrible and some good, and oddly enough ended up going back to the first breeder we saw. She was great. We talked with her a lot and met all of her dogs, she had pups available around the third time we went to see her, but we were set on ones from a certain bitch. We were willing to wait...and we did, for a whole other year. We had second pick of the litter and while everyone says picking a puppy is hard, we found it quite easy. Timmy was from a litter of 13, so we went to pick him out at around 5-6 weeks. We eliminated half the litter by looks/sex alone, then were faced with the other half, we played with them for a bit, took each one aside to spend time with it and eventually decided on Timmy, he was the largest, but had the nicest head, and the most outgoing and "obnoxious" puppy there. We had liked another puppy, but he didn't seem to like us, so we didn't think that was right to choose him. We left Timmy at the breeders until he was 10 weeks old, then I went to pick him up.

I LOVE Rotties, they are such a versatile, confident, loving breed. I don't know that I will ever not have one in my life. He is the perfect dog (for us).

 Cheyanne was my first dog. I got her 8 1/2 years ago when she was 6 weeks old and I was 15. I was only supposed to be keeping her till I found her a home. That's what I agreed to with my parents. I never attempted to find her a home. Here's her story. My friend lived a mile down the road. Her Lab/Chow mix got her neighbors purebred Dalmatian pregnant. She had 13 pups out in the hay barn. Only 3 survived to weaning age. 2 boys and 1 girl. I wanted the boy with the patch over one eye but my friend took him. The other brother died of parvo and the owners were gonna "take care" of Cheyanne because she was a girl. So I took her home knowing I was gonna be told I couldnt keep her. We already had 2 dogs, 2 ducks, 2 geese,2 goats,2 guinea pigs,and 5 cats already. Like we needed another animal!! But I brought her home knowing my grandma wouldnt say no once I told her what was gonna happen to her if I hadnt. And I promised to find her a home. Just not a home that didnt have me in it! Now here we are 8 1/2 years later!

Willow- My first Irish Setter. She was a field bred one though so hardly any coat. I got her a year after getting Cheyanne. Always wanted an Irish Setter after reading Big Red and seeing the movie. I was 16 so didnt know any better and got her from a BYB. I was looking in the paper and saw Irish Setters for sale close to home. I begged and begged my parents for one. I was working so they said I had to pay for everything and 2 dogs was gonna take more money than 1 dog. I didnt care. I wanted an Irish Setter badly. I had planned on getting a male. But Willow picked me as soon as we pulled in the drive way. I looked at all the pups while Willow sat at the car door. My friend that was with me told me to quit looking because one had already picked me. Well I couldnt decide on a pup and I took the one that obviously wanted to go with me. Great decision! She was a good dog. When I left home the next year I could only take one dog. And since Cheyanne was my first I rehomed Willow. I found a great lady that had a Gordon Setter and even though it killed me I said goodbye.

Morgan- 2nd Irish Setter. Field and Show lines in her. She was a little weird looking. I saw an ad in the paper and even though she was a year old I wanted her and had the money. Owners kept her fed,watered, and utd on shots but they just left her in the backyard(fenced) with nothing more than that. They didnt know what they were getting into when getting an Irish Setter. Finally came to their senses to find her a new home. Took me 2 months before I could get her to see me for more than the source of food and water. Once she realized that she was very easy to teach stuff to. We were finally getting somewhere when she got loose one day during deer season and never came back. I found her body in a field 2 weeks later and buried her there because well she was a mess. No way I could get her home. She had a bright orange reflective collar on with rabies tag and a id tag that was 3 inches long on. I was very angry to know someone could be so heartless to kill a dog just because they were freaking deer hunting and a small "problem" popped up.

Zoey- Pound puppy. Aussie/Heeler mix. JJ and I broke up and I got a place of my own for the very first time. I had Cheyanne but really wanted another dog. So I went to the pound and there was a litter of Aussie/Heeler mixes of all colors from solid white to the little ugly marked one. I took the little ugly marked one which I didnt know at the time was called a blue merle. Very smart puppy. I loved and love all my dogs but this one is the one I miss terribly. She started my love affair for Aussies. Shortly after getting her I moved back in with JJ. His brother and his GF lived with us at the time. Well the GF dumped the brother and moved out and mysteriously my dog went missing. I wasnt home and it was too late when I got home. I put up flyers,ads in papers, called every where but couldnt find my Zoey. I still look for her to this day.

Splash- My 1st Aussie. She was a red merle with one blue eye. That blue eye cost me an extra 50 bucks. Lol. Anyways I had planned on getting a blue merle. But when I got to farm the blues had way too much black than I wanted. Splash was marked up pretty just red. I took her home. Best dog ever with Samantha. Samantha learned to stand up and walk holding on to Splash. She would stay by Samantha's side if people were over. Someone stole her out of my yard one day. Things go missing around here your lucky if you get it back.

Lillie- I love Irish Setters. She's my 3rd one. I went 4 years without one and couldnt take it anymore. So I got on the net and found a lady that lived an hour away with 7 females for sale. I went and stayed for an hour trying to pick the right one. By the time I got there though I only had 5 to pick from. I took Samantha who was 1 at the time. We played with the pups and I picked Lillie because she showed the most interest in me and she was very good with Samantha. Lillie was 16 weeks old when I got her. She was already crate trained, potty trained, and had all her shots. I might have gotten her from a BYB but that lady did a great job with Lillie and her siblings. She's a great dog. She actually turned 3 this month.

Kujo- Im one of them nuts that thinks kids need a dog of their own even if they are just 2 years old. Fortunately for me it turned out well. I was originally gonna get a Shih Tzu but it turned out to be a false pregnancy. So I started looking in the paper and saw an ad for Chihuahuas and they were only 10 minutes away. Took Samantha and let her pick out her puppy. Except for the year it took to house break, head trauma accident, and the tonsillitis it's be a good decision.

Jayde- Oh gosh. Big mistake! Finally got my blue merle Aussie I wanted. Unfortunately took me a year to figure out I couldnt give her what she needed. Most of you guys know the story. At least now she is where she belongs doing what she was born to do.

So those were/are the dogs I had/have in my life before joining the forum and knowing what I know now.

Joker- I wanted a show dog. I found a conformation club 30 minutes away and Lillie just wasnt enjoying helping me learn the ropes. I originally was gonna get and Irish Red and White Setter but that didnt work out. Getting a show quality Irish Setter wasnt something I could do because of the grooming. Found out about 2 Vizsla pups and went to check them out. Rupert and Gunner had me researching the Vizsla before I even thought about getting a show dog. Well Joker's brother was huge lazy puppy. He came over said hi then went back to chewing a toy. Joker was all over Samantha. I stacked him and played with him a bit. Went home but a couple hours later I was headed back to get Joker. I love that dog! Never will I be without a Vizsla again.

Fynn- Always wanted a show quality Irish Setter just for looks. Breathtaking I think. I went to class with Lillie and Joker. I was still convinced Lillie would learn to love the show world. Well while I was getting Lillie ready in walks Fynn's breeder and her special Pilgrim. I just stood there drooling. Might have as well been. We get to talking and she starts helping me learn stuff about showing Irish Setters. Couple weeks into knowing each other she ask me if I'd like one of her pups she had planned on keeping for showing. Yeah like I was gonna turn that down! I met with Fynn who was Johnny at the time. I worked with him in class a few times and then around this time last year she brought him over to the house and checked everything out. So we co-own the boy. I enter him in shows and she gets him ready grooming wise. She's a real nice lady. I like having a breeder so close and having her for a friend is nice also.

aerial1313

Saturday morning (Groundhog Day 2008). 

OMG!  That was the same day we picked up Rocky!  It was a beautiful sunny Saturday drove all the way to OKLA to get our "Guy" also didnt fit.  He was supposed to be approx 10 weeks, think he was younger, also supposed to be a Newf/x lol he is pretty much Labx.

Our very first dog, Sir Boliver, was a Chinese Pug, I was 8 or 9.  A young man owned him and was in the service.  He got transferred to Germany, we were to take care of Boliver til he got back, I am guessing he got back but Boliver stayed with us. 

Thunder, awesome Dobe, Dad flew to Iowa for him. He was out of a champion line and was to be a show dog.  He was gorgeous, got 1st place in all his puppy shows but not all his teeth came in so no more shows for him.  He was raised by Boliver and thought he was a pug :) Both Boliver and Thunder lived to be old men and stayed with my parents until they passed.  They didnt get anymore dogs, they have only had cats since then.

My first dog after them was byb (I know...sorry) He was Starsky,, he was supposed to be Irish setter X, they also raised Dashounds.  Poor Starsky he was awesome but....he was coal black, had a full Irish setter sized body with legs like a basset...lol he was so cute and his belly just barely cleared the ground.  He went with 1st hubby after divorce.

Catfish - Mastif X given to us by a friend - She went with 2nd hubby after divorce.

Bear - Keeshound boxer cross - byb opps litter, (I know...sorry)  New hubby (lol) see the pattern...:) Said to get an apartment sized dog, ha!  Bear was great, the kids loved him, he would walk them to the school bus everyday and would meet them every afternoon. 

Missy- Red and white Basset hound adopted from shelter as a baby!  She and Bear were great friends.  We moved to Arkansas and about a year later Missy was stolen from our yard while we were out Christmas shopping.  They busted a dog theft ring that same weekend (Christmas eve) she was not with them, they feared she had already been shipped out of state.  Bear was killed about 1 year later by a feed truck going too fast on our dirt road, he was waiting for the kids to come home :(

We adopted Lacey from our local shelter, she was about 2 years old Tri color Basset.  Then we took in Lady.  She was some kind of terrier, no idea of her age, she was spade and showed up on an elderly lady's door step.  The lady couldnt care for her.  Lady lived to be very old and blind and deaf and died of natural causes in her sleep.  Lacey died from tic fever....she was on Frontline at the time.....she got into a nest.  This is when we found our wonderful vet.  The vet we used was unavailable after 5 p.m.., one of my customers was a vet we called him and he said bring her in.   He worked with us, didnt charge us for the after hours call.  Called everyday for a week.  She bounced back a little but we ended up loosing her in the end.  We lost Lady about 2 weeks after Lacey, it was tough that year.

Lacey and Lady had a brother, Bear (#2).  He was the most gentle beautiful Rottie.  We had him until he was 8 yrs old.  He was for my hubby, but he did everything with our son.   We didnt know it but he had an enlarged heart, he passed one night after a very successful anal gland surgery.  The Dr was so upset he left him at midnight doing fine and came back a 6 am and he was gone.  He did an autopsy and found the heart problem.  After loosing Bear we were so upset...didnt see it coming.

Then came Shadow, our heart dog!  Shadow came from a family that was getting divorced.  Mom and children got the pregnant female Rottie, Dad got the male.  Shadow picked us.  We werent going to get another dog for a while, we lost Bear 2 days before Thanksgiving....6 years ago yesterday.   I had heard about this Mom and her kids trying to find a home and living with her Sister, with Momma dog and 6 pups.   I begged my Hubby (same one, lol, he decided to keep me,, ) to go look at the pups.  There they were all of them eating like it was their last meal....out of the same bowl.   I crouched down and was laughing at the sight when the biggest fluffiest cutest little boy in the bunch crawled all the way up my lap to my shoulder and nuzzled my neck....that is when hubby said  "Well it looks like we will be taking this little boy home!"  LOL and we did!  Shadow taught us how to be good parents, he changed our lives in many ways.  So many mistakes we made with our Bear we changed with our Shadow.   We took him to school, he was socialized very early.  He went to town with hubby all the time.  Everyone loved Shadow and he love everyone.   He loved to play ball, frisbee, he was a 125  lb. lap dog :).  We lost Shadow Jan. 21, 2008 to Lymphomia.  It was a snow storm that day, that was the night we found out later that Rocky was found in a snow storm whining to get in to a home out in the country in OKLA. 

Rocky - Newf X wannabe, lol!  Picked up on Ground hog day 2008.  Even tho hubby said he wasnt ready this time Rocky was put in his arms and crawled right up and snuggled his neck and in the car he went, lol!  Rocky never had to be in a shelter, his knight in shining armor was a Foster for both kids and pets....a retired school teacher that was called the night he was found by a friend with the flu.  The lady said this adorable fluffy black puppy was outside crying and she was too sick to go out to get him.   I fell in love with him at first sight on Petfinder, it wasnt until we went 150miles round trip to find out that he was rescued from the storm the same night we helped Shadow cross the bridge.

Hot Shot - What a sweetie!  4 yr old Bernese Mtn Dog that was going to be shot.... the wife of the owner called his breeder and begged him to come get him before he husband shot him.   He called us and asked if we would give him a forever home.  He knew Hot would be loved and taken care of.   There is not a mean bone in this boys body.  He is the biggest scaredy dog ever.  He has been with us about 15 months now, he is so much better but we have had to be so careful and calm around this boy.   Now he knows he has a forever home and a forever brother.  And those that read the Hot Shot Breakthru thread know that he now can ride in the Van! Yea!

That is our happy family!  Hubby #3 who still loves me and is keeping me forever, lol ..... Hot Shot.....Rocky! 

Skipper:  a Beagle pup my parents gave me for Christmas when I was 8. He was with us till he died at age 12.

Tara: Alaskan Malamute - my husband bought her for me as a wedding present.  Died at age 15.

Thunder: Alaskan Malmute - bought him when Tara was a few years old. Died at age 14.

Ginger: Golden Retriever/Springer cross born at the pound. We got her at 7 wks of age.  She died at age 15.

Max:  Malamute/Lab cross from a BYB.  Wonderful dog.  Died last year at age 10.

Kelly:  Max's Malamute mom from a BYB, came with Max.  Hit by car at age 8.

Bo:  Boxer from a rescue. I got him for my daughter.  He now lives with her and her family.  He is 10.

Jazzy:  Pound puppy - German Shorthair/Boxer/Lab cross.  Got her at 8 weeks of age.  She's now 4.

Lacie:  Black Standard Poodle from a reputable breeder at 8 wks old.  She is now almost 3 yrs old.

Keisha:  Apricot Standard Poodle from a reputable breeder at 8 wks. She is now almost 3 yrs old.

Rex: Silver Beige Standard Poodle from a breeder at 5 months old.  He is now almost 3 yrs old.

Zoe: Black and White Standard Poodle from a breeder at 8 wks old.  She is almost 2 yrs old.

Taashi:  Golden Retriever - just got her yesterday from a neglectful situation.  About 3 years old.

When I was younger we had Champ (boxer mix), Fletcher (aussie mix), and Domino (spaniel mix)...all three came from the pound. Domino is still alive and lives with my ex husband.

My two shelties were purchased from show/sport breeders.

Penny we found stray, a muttly little yellow dog, probably dumped, at the lake where we run our dogs. We kept her for a while but eventually rehomed her...she had alot of issues with our busy house.

Shiner came from aussie rescue even though he's a bc...we first saw him at the pound and tried to adopt him, but he was unavailable for some reason that I didn't quite understand. Aussie rescue ended up pulling him and we adopted him from there.

Scarlett came from the pound, she was one of a litter of aussie pups I found on petfinder.

 My GSD Jora came from a member of our all breed club. I loved Jora's mom - she was very sound, well put together and very drivey so when they decided to breed her, I had to have a puppy. It was the only litter they ever bred and I got my pick of the girls. She has been an awesome dog, everything a GSD should be.

 My first Belgian who was really mine (I co-owned and showed one when I was in 4H) is Loki. She was returned to her breeder, who is a friend of mine at 8 months old and was offered to me. I loved her sire, so figured why not ;) She is a really nice girl and my first CH.

 Jagger Belgian #2 came next, I bought him after meeting his sire. At the time I was searching for a collie puppy but wasn't finding what I was looking for. I contacted his breeder when the litter was 5 weeks old and assumed I wouldn't be able to get a show quality male but just had to ask. Things were rearranged and I ended up getting my pick of the boys. He is an all around good dog - good house dog, good dog to take out and about and good at everything I ask of him. Jagger has agility, obedience and rally titles and just needs one more single to finish his CH.

 Miss Belle (Belgian #3) Jagger's half sister came next from the same breeder .She is a strange dog but very devoted. She has both her majors in AKC and one in UKC but really doesn't enjoy being around strange dogs, so I sort of stopped showing her. She has been having fun with agility this summer, so I may see if she'd enjoy competing in that more than the breed ring.

 Zette (Belgian #4) was from my first litter, an accidental breeding between Jagger and Loki (my dad was letting the dogs out while I was at a dog show...). She is a fun dog and wildly exuberant. I hadn't intended on keeping a puppy, since I had a litter planned for the spring but it was hard not to want one :) She is pointed in AKC conformation and started in rally and agility.

 Cherry (Belgian #4.5) is Belle's daughter and was from the planned litter mentioned above, so is pretty close in age to Zette. She is my mother's dog really, as I couldn't keep another puppy so close in age to Zette for myself. I show her in conformation though so I thought I'd include her as well. She is an AKC CH, needs just one more major for her UKC CH, has Rally and multiple agility titles. This litter is extremely well accomplished, with five out of eight being nice performance and/or show dogs.

 Whimsy (Belgian #5) I bought from a breeder who I have always admired. Her sire's dam is Jagger's littermate and a dog I have always liked. I seem to have good luck picking dogs based on liking their sires ;) Whimsy is everything I had hoped she'd be and I am so happy I got her :)

 And of course, there is Ziggy my husband's wild Cardigan Corgi. We found him on Petfinder at a shelter about an hour and a half away, when my husband decided that he wanted a rescue Cardi.

Pretzel - a little doxie that I bought from an ad in the newspaper when I was 18. Poor dog was a total head case as a result of years of inbreeding but I loved him anyway and he lived to be 14. He was the bane of my mother's life.

Ruffy - cocker/poodle/terrier mix.  She was free from a friend of a friend and the result of an "oops" litter. She lived to be 14.

Bud - lab/cocker mix.  Owners were the parents of one of DS #1's friends.  They had tried to breed the cocker with no luck, but he found the lab more to his liking. Supposedly he would have gone to the pound if nobody wanted him, so DS #1 brought him home. He lived to be amost 16.

Max - "maybe" some kind of shepherd, lab and most likely something else. I got him at the shelter about a month after I lost Bud. He's 5 years old.

Joyce

Previous dogs include:

Peg - a gsd/akita mix I was really little and she came from one of my dads coworkers we didn't have her too long before she died

Shadow- Norweign Elkhound we got her from the pound when I was two and we were told she was also two although the vet said she was closer to 10 my dad eventually got tired of her and so he gave her to my grandma where she lived (definatly not the best life tied up to a dog house til she was eventually pts) until she was somewhere between the ages of 18 and 23.

Buddy- Yellow lab my dad found in the paper at 2 years old he was rehomed cause he was too rough with us kids and then the person we rehomed him to rehomed him again

Tedbear- Bassethound/Black lab mix he was a puppy found in the paper for free he was given to my dads then wife during the divorce

Shaylene- Mix breed we got her because the pound refused to adopt the dog we wanted to us because they didnt like tedbear cause he barked alot and we got her from a family whose parents are dog trainers we kept her in the divorce but my dad got tired of her too and so shes at my grandmas (atleast shes given free roam of the yard and brought in at night and during the rain and snow).

Current Dogs include

Bianica- Golden retriever and the first dog that is truely mine we got her from a BYB i know its not the best idea but hey I was only 15 at the time I got her 3 days after my birthday I still have her and she'll be 5 in may

Blisteift- GSD she's actually my dads dog but he's not the one who takes care of her and probably my least favorite dog ever she is highly agressive towards my two dogs and basically any human or animal she comes across she wants to attack and of course my dad thinks its just funny oh and he got her from another BYB and the only reason my dad still has her is cause he wants to breed her and won't listen to me when I tell him she's not a good dog to breed she's not healthy and not friendly.

and last was Abby- Golden retriever the second dog that is truely mine I got her at a pound while I was looking at a different dog (great dane/gsd mix) when I saw her owner bring her up and I couldn't stand to think about her owner dropping her off there so after the dog I was looking at compleatly ignored me and I just didn't click with him like I did with bianica. Well I ended up talking to the lady and she was going to drop Abby off there because she had previously had a 14 year old golden retrieve and couldn't understand why a 10 month old golden retriever was so hyper. So I brought her home and her and Bianica were instantly friends.My dad wants me to rehome her because she is fixed but I refuse to.

We got Shadow from the girlfriend of the son of a friend of ours. She had bought him from a pet store Labor Day Weekend 2003. He was listed as and does appear to be a mix of Siberian Husky and Lab. Anyway, after a while, she (the girlfriend) could no longer keep him and her adoptive family was going to surrender him to the local shelter (a kill shelter.) So, we got him Labor Day Weekend 2004.

I had an old cat at the time, Misty. My first wife and I got her from her mother's sister, as this kitty was wandering around her condo. Anyway, Misty had to go to sleep 2-17-05.

Jade, our white turkish Angora, was hanging around a friend's house. After introducing Shadow (favorably), I took him back home. By the time I got back, Jade was in a tree and I had to put on my heavy work gloves to get her plucked out of the tree.

 My first pup, Lindsey was originally my parent's dog as my sister and I(we're twins) were not born yet. They got him at Kent Animal Shelter. He was a lab/shepherd mix.

My second pup, Toby, we rescued from a vets office. I'll try to keep this story short and to the point. After Lindsey passed away, I was only 10 and of course needed another dog in the house as that was what I had grown used to. My parents grieved for a little bit before looking for another dog. At first, my dad went to look at this cockapoo named Minnie. However, when he got the shelter the dog was already adopted. Honestly, I'm glad she was because then Toby came into our life. Our vet got a call from another vet about a dog who had come in and was now homeless. His owner came rushing in with 'Leddy'(Toby) after he had gotten hit by a car. He kept saying it was his dog, it was his. Until he saw the vet bill and basically abandoned him there. I'm glad the jerk face did, he didn't deserve him. We believe he was neglected and abused because he was very skinny and terrified of everyone. When I first met him, he literally peed himself. However, we all saw the loving dog underneath the surface and we adopted him. :) He was a shepherd/hound mix.

Simba, my newest dog was not the dog we were originally going to adopt. Soon after Toby passed away, I started looking on Petfinder and saw this GORGEOUS Malinois mix. With a bit of convincing I got my parents to drive myself and sister down to almost the other county to go see her. After our second visit, we decided to adopt her and they put her on hold for us. However, we got a call later that day that the person in charge did not want us to get her because of the whole condo situation. Which they knew about since the beginning. Needless to say I was upset, however I went back on petfinder.com and looked for other dogs. This is when I saw Simba, I had seen his profile before, but didn't really look too much into it. He was in a picture with two other dogs.

This picture to be exact(Simba is the one all the way to the left):

Needless to say I was in love with all of them. We called up the rescue and asked about them, they said they'd be at petco Saturday the 12th with them. We were originally going to go another shelter, but my mom wanted to go check them out. So we did. When we got there we saw him and his brother(the one to the right). Their sister was already adopted(though it seems she's been returned since. <_<;) so it was just him and his brother. We observed them for a bit, and noticed that Simba seemed more stable and calm compared to his brother. My sister was the first to hold him and was immediately in love. With a bit of convincing of my mom, we went ahead and went through the motions of filling out the application. Surprisingly, after one of the workers called our references we were allowed to take him home that day, if we wanted. Of course we did and Simba became ours at exactly 1 pm. :) Needless to say I couldn't stop thanking the girl.

the way i got my to me was a gift sent from god

the reason i say that is because a few years ago my dad died and i was not taking it

very well and she was a get well present from my brother but here the good part about

this story one night i was messen my dad something bad so that night i prayed to

god and told him what was on mymind and i needed his help i needed something to

take my mind off mydad's beath i didn't want to for gethim but wanted something that

would help me and i just said i need an angle so i asked god for an angle and then he

sent me TESS my brother got her for me he said it was get well present to help me get

overt my dad's death just something that would make me not so sad and ithought about it

and he sent me my angle so that is why icall her mygift from god. and i thank him everyday

for letter her being born and givien to me

jbson, that's a beautiful story and it really touched my heart.  

 well beastie aka Bugsy is from our SPCA.  We had been debating on getting a dog and spur of the moment decided on our way downtown with my mom to stop and and see the dogs.  I saw Bugsy (Boscoe back then) and my heart went all aflutter.  I went into the room to check him out and that was that for me he was amazing.  I urged DH to come in and apparently knowing that he'd be the harder sell Bugsy grabbed a rope toy and sat at DH's feet.

Then we got chewed out by the workers - we weren't supposed to be in the room.  They brought Bugsy to us in a viewing room and I can still hear my mom saying wow I think he's going to be really big.  Anyway when DH heard another couple say they wanted to see him too he told me to go sign the paperwork LOL

If I only knew then that the super confident, clearly bright, energetic pup at my feet would be such a challenge! Ah I do it again!

BTW we had visited many times together and separately and were pre-approved for adoption. 

My dog as a kid was brought home by my dad.  A friend of his ran a pet store (late 1960's) and one of the supposed lab pups was clearly a dalmation/lab cross so it was to be euthanized.  She was so small she fit in my dad's suit pocket.  Fearing my mother not letting him in he threw rocks at the upstairs window waking all three of us kids and telling us to go downstairs and let him in he had a surprise.  Once the pup was in and with us three my mom couldn't say no!  She was name Lucky and had been lucky twice over.  She was an awesome, dog lived to 16 and was the best family dog an active family could have.  We all have the most wonderful memories and I still tear up when i recall accompanying my mom to help her cross the rainbow bridge.

I do know that when Bugsy's day comes he and Lucky will find each other and have much fun - he looks like a giant version of her

My lovely Cherokee was originally my sister Suzi's dog.. She was living in North Carolina and some "friend of a friend" asked her and her roommate/boyfriend/I'm not sure what if they wanted a puppy..so they went to take a look. The puppies' mother was tied up in their yard, super skinny, sunburned coat, and super scared (her name was Dizzy because she always ran circles around her tree ). They asked about her, and the people said "Oh, you don't want her, she's a really bad dog. She pees in the house, barks at people, and jumps on us." They left without a puppy, but went back in the middle of the night and stole/rescued the mother. She was 10 months old, and they didn't bother to train her or socialize her, and possibly abused her, plus they allowed her to get pregnant at, what, 6 months old? Wonder why she misbehaved??

Suzi moved back home (Maryland at that point) a few months later WITH the dog, who she'd renamed Shenandoah (which she shortened to Doah...which I changed to DoDo..and soon enough her name was changed to Cherokee.)...and she and I bonded quickly. Suzi started working full time and living her 21-year-old's life, and Cherokee hung out with me. She was still technically Suzi's dog, but she slept with me most nights and hung out with me during the day.

A year or so later Suzi was planning on moving to Florida, and we decided Cherokee would be better off staying with me. She didn't end up moving then, but Cherokee was mine forevermore, lol. She tried a few times to take her from me, and I was like, are you JOKING?? How bout we go to a field, and I'll call her, and you call her, and we'll see who she goes to... Not really, but that would've been fun.

 I have only read the first page of replies so far.  I plan to read the rest tonight.  Its nice to hear the background stories of the people and dogs I usually feel I know so well here. 

Let's see.  The first dog I ever had was Bandit.  He was a cockapoo I'm told.  I liked him, and he did tricks, but in retrospect I feel bad for that poor dog.  He was taken away from my dad's cousin, who kept him in the garage by himself because he hated the other dogs.  He had no basic commands, and his tricks were to dance for treats and jump around like a madman when you said,"Wannagooutside?!"  When I was a kid, that was entertaining.  He had no leash manners so he never got walked.  He had no recall, and if he got loose he bolted.   That was eventually the death of him.  He drown in someone's backyard pool after bolting.

After that I got Cinders.  She was a Black Lab and my first puppy of my own.  I was I think 9.  I had no idea what to do with a pup, and after she got strong enough to pull me around I quit walking her.  My parents never bothered with her, and she ran away.  I looked, but as a kid my resources were limited and my folks didn't help.  She was likely better off anyway, as I'm sure she was adopted by someone else. 

My second Cinders was different.  She was technically my sister's dog, and I hated that she was named Cinders.  I never once called her that.  She was my Pint Sized Princess, and her story was sad.  She was born to a lab that shouldn't have had pups.  Her owners were mad that she had the nerve to do it and they shot her.  She died and left 6 one week old puppies on thier own in the bush.  When someone found them, there were but 2 left.  Pint and her sister.  They were tiny and close to death.  But they managed to pull through.  Neither grew to their full potential.  At least we don't think so.  Pint was about 25 pounds and looked like a mini lab.  She was skittish and afraid of her own shadow, literally.  Clayton recommended letting her have a litter to calm her down.  ***sighs***  Anyway it worked and she got braver at least.  Arial was born from that litter.

She was mine too.  I picked her from the litter because she was the smartest pup.  First out of the basket, first out of the addition, first over the xpen.  First up the steps, first down.  She was smart.  Her one fault was her choice of sleeping places.  She liked to sleep under the car, and my sister backed over her one day while leaving for work.   She had to be put down.  I wasn't there, and when I heard the phone ring, I KNEW she was gone.  When I picked up, all I said was, what happened, and my sister told me.  I cried for weeks.

Trooper was rescued from a friends family that beat him.  He was a lab shepherd cross.

Durc was my little rottie mix.  He came from my BIL's brother's dogs litter.  My ex got him in the break up.  

Crusher came from a BYB.  Onyx, the same breeder.   I didn't know better then.  In my defense, they do come from a line of sled dogs, but no health tests were ever done.  and I don't approve of how she kept her dogs.  Their mother Nikita was bred over and over and over.  She has now been rescued by my friend Jen, and spayed.  Though Jen technically bought her, I feel she was rescued from a life sentence of whelping litter after litter.