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My two dogs are McKenzie..(a terrier mix....from a shelter in Escondido Ca) and Allie, a red and white beagle from the humane society in Picket county Tennessee. I believe both dogs were picked for us by the predecessor, whose death made room for them in our home.
I had a lovely rescue dog named Hannah......one of the sweetest gentlest lovable spaniel retriever cross imaginable. Her eyes full of love and trust could melt your heart. When I met my life partner he had an aging Westie, Cricket....who was a curmudgeon....cranky...a force to be reckoned with. Cricket was well on her way to disproving all the prognostic estimates of how long she could live with Addison's disease. She was moving on into her teen years....when we combined our households and pets.
Hannah and Cricket got along......Hannah could get along with anyone....and Cricket enjoyed being the boss and having company. We were a family.....and pretty much always together.
Hannah died suddenly and unexpectedly.....she woke one morning seemed ill and within hours had passed away. My partner and I were heartbroken.
As adults we decided that we still had Cricket who was going to need more and more of our time as the infirmities of her age were showing. So we didnt plan on getting a second dog.
However....Cricket had other needs and plans....she grieved....moped.....searched for her big sister Hannah. When this went on .... we decided that we might not need to get another dog....Cricket did. So off the three of us went to the humane society. Cricket stayed outside in the courtyard while first me and then my partner went in to look at dogs. We both settled on a dog named McKenzie, who had failed previous adoptions and fostering experiences......and brought her out to meet Cricket. (We didnt tell her that Cricket would be the decider....if she came home with us or back inside to the kennel. Cricket looked her over...sniffed with seeming disinterest but wagged her tail the way only a Westie can when we asked her if she wanted McKenzie to be her sister. So we adopted McKenzie.
Once home Cricket pretty much ignored McKenzie the same way she had Hannah....but she stopped grieving. But to me the extra-ordinary thing was that McKenzie started displaying many little characteristics that Hannah had......the way she held her head and tentatively extended her paw....becoming my shadow and following me anywhere.....lots of little traits that had me saying that Hannah was teaching her and telling her how to fill our home and heart. McKenzie looks nothing like Hannah.....but even my son commented...."Dad...how did you find a dog so much like Hannah....its unreal. They have the exact same personality."
So years past and eventually Cricket passed away.....she is waiting for us on the other side of the bridge.....I am sure she found Hannah and had a reunion....Cricket bossed but also looked out for hannah.
Again we thought that we wouldnt try to replace Cricket. My partner always had Westies....4 of them. He said he didnt think he wanted to start that all over and besides we had McKenzie. Then one day he come downstairs and said he had been looking at Petfinders on the computer and found our next dog. He asked me to go check out a little three legged beagle puppy (Special Needs Pink Heart). I looked her up and she was beautiful and appealing so I agreed to call and find out more and to try to assess how she would fit into our family. My partner confessed that his Cricket had always loved beagles....would touch noses if she met one on walks....and he felt Cricket wanted him to adopt Allie. We did and Allie had to make the truck trip up from Tennessee to Maine....she has absolutely won her way into our hearts.....and we thank Cricket for sending her our way.
We know that we are blessed and that we have friends on both sides of the bridge, and that one day there will be a joyful tail wagging sloppy kisses reunion, and that my lady Hannah will extend her paw, reach out and gently touch my face. Hallelujah, what a day thats gonna be.
Short story…
Chrissy (RIP,) mutt, from an Adopt-A-Pet center.
Ula and Mr. Whiskers, rescued cats, from the vet’s office.
Denali, purebred Australian Shepherd, from a breeder found online.
Spur, purebred Australian Shepherd, from a breeder found through dog show and agility connections.
Long story…
Oh, about November 1997, I decided to look at shelters and rescues for my son's first dog. I found a sweet little pup at an Adopt-A-Pet center; a little black thing in the middle of a litter of golden retriever pups. Evidently the mom was a Golden but the dad was unknown. Our pup must have looked like "dad." LOL! She looked like a black border collie (or, as I researched my next dog, she was VERY similar to a Belgian Shepherd.) We named her Christmas Dog and called her Chrissy. She was shy and timid, afraid of her own shadow (literally; she jumped back when she spotted it!) Over the years, she turned out to be a very loving, faithful friend. Before her 10th birthday, she was diagnosed with a mass at the base of her brain and we put her to sleep. Much too young, for sure.
In 2006, my SO and I took a cruise and when we dropped Chrissy at the kennel (at the vet's office) there was a large kitty-crate with three kittens. One of them, very vocal, called to me. Meow! Meow! Meow!!! I went to talk to him, "If you're still here when I come to pick up Chrissy after my trip, we'll talk." Meow! A week later, I came to pick Chrissy up and I heard, "Meow! Meow!, Meow!!!" I told him we'd talk, so we talked... A little grey tabby thing, not the most beautiful, but he was certainly vocal. Our last cat had been a "talker" and she'd sing with us when we whistled Disney tunes... LOL! So, we were charmed by his ability to talk. I inquired at the desk, "I'd like to get some more information on that kitty." He was in the crate with two other, tortoise-shell female kittens. "How many would you like?" asked the vet tech. "Uh, well, I really just wanted the gray one, but, I guess I could take two." To see if any of them would fit in with our family, we took all three, one at a time, into an exam room and, with Chrissy present, looked to see how they would interact with the dog. The gray tabby was fine. The other two females were iffy. They were young, and Chrissy was already cat-savvy, so it probably could have worked out. One week later when the kittens were checked out by the vet and ready to come home, we went to pick them up. Still undecided on which tortoise-shell female we wanted, they said they had one more in the back and would we like to see it? "Sure!" The tiniest black kitten, with huge gold eyes was brought out. The torties were not being friendly, the the black one... well, we held him, pet him and he fell asleep in our arms. Decision made. The gray tabby (now named Ula) and the black one (now named Mr. Whiskers) became a part of our family. Mr. Whiskers thought Chrissy was his momma! It was funny. And because Mr. W and Chrissy were the same color, if we ever "lost" Mr. W, all you had to do was search Chrissy's fur. LOL!
A few days after we had to put Chrissy to sleep, an online friend with a new camera posted a picture of his beloved, blue-eyed dog, Foster. My heart stopped and I was in love. I asked him what the breed was and he told me, “Australian Shepherd.” I was still in mourning for Chrissy; I knew I was not ready for another pup. But I had time to do research on the Australian Shepherd breed.
About 9 or 10 months later, I felt like I was about ready to add another dog. About 11 months (after Chrissy’s passing,) we were taking a family trip to Alaska and I would start my search when we returned. I was so excited about adding another pup to the family, I couldn’t wait to return from our trip! (Don’t get me wrong. Alaska was amazing!!!) I decided to name the dog after someplace in Alaska. “Denali” would be the dog’s name, even though I didn’t know what Denali looked like or where Denali was coming from.
After our return, the search for “Denali” began. I looked at Australian Shepherd Rescues. I looked at Craigslist for a 300 mile radius. I was looking for an older dog that wouldn’t need housebreaking. I was looking for a female. I was looking for a blue-merle with blue eyes. The rescues and shelters didn’t have what I was looking for. So, even though I didn’t want a puppy, I decided to take a fleeting look at some puppy pictures. That’s when I found a caramel colored ball of fluff; an 8-week old red-tri female with what looked like Blue eyes (turns out they were “puppy-blue” and turned to amber when she matured.) She was with a breeder in New Mexico who nearly scared me away from purchasing from her (she seemed a little over-the-top (now affectionately described as “exuberantly knowledgeable” LOL) and had a strict purchase contract I wasn’t ready to accept.) I wavered for 3 weeks, continuing to tell myself, “She’s not what you’re looking for. She’s NOT what you’re looking for.” But I kept getting drawn back to her online photo. When I felt like I could finally come to terms with the purchase contract, I decided to look at the pup’s parents (again, since they were across the country from me, I had to rely on the breeders’ presentation and online photos.) The Dam and Sire were working (herding) dogs; they worked a 25,000 acre cattle farm. Mom was a black-tri with dark brown eyes; dad was a gorgeous red-tri, with amber eyes and a shiny, flowing mane! His name was “Spur.” Once I saw the picture of him, I was done. I would just have to have TWO Aussies because this caramel pup (litter-name “Buttermilk”) would be mine; I would continue to search for the one I was looking for, but this girl, Buttermilk, soon-to-be Denali, would be my first! She was shipped to me via airplane within a week. And luckily for me, she was everything the breeder said she was! We still have a close relationship with the breeder and I would get another pup from her in a heartbeat!
At the time Denali came home to live with us, my son was preparing to head off to his first year in college, and his dad was working out of town. So, it was me, the two kitties and Denali for quite a while. We did obedience training and began agility training when Denali was around 2. My SO was jealous of our bond and wanted a pup to love him just as much. We talked about, when he got a job closer to home where he’d be home at night, we’d get him his own dog.
He got laid off in January 2011; he was home and had time to work with and bond with a puppy, so we began thinking about his dog. He couldn’t decide between another Aussie or a Border Collie. By that summer, he’d decided. An Aussie it would be! We found a local breeder and went to “talk” to him. Before we left his place, my SO decided to leave a deposit for a future litter AND that he wanted that puppy to be of Show Quality. The Dam that was chosen wasn’t of breeding age yet and we were willing to wait until she was two before this breeder would breed her. Until that time, we frequented dog conformation shows, met other Aussie owners, handlers, breeders. We learned that my SO’s breeder of choice may not have been a “reputable” breeder. We became guarded. When the breeder called in early December to let us know the Dam was in heat (she was two by this time) and he would breed her, we marked our calendars for 63 days. Approximately 2 weeks before the Dam’s due date, an ultrasound showed there were no puppies. The breeder mentioned they’d try again with the Dam’s next heat cycle. The next breeding did not take, either. In all that time, we’d become good friends with another Aussie owner; her gal was a show dog with championship titles. She told us that she would help us find a show quality pup from a reputable breeder if we wanted her help...
And that’s how we got our second Aussie. “Spur” (yes, named after Denali’s dad) is a blue merle male who is now currently 9.5 months old.
My first four dogs came from shelters or rescues. Dazzle came from a breeder as Silken Windhounds are rare and rarely will you find one in the breed rescue that needs rehoming so he is my only dog that I have ever bought. I will not go into the whole process to get him as it is long but he is well worth it.
After getting Dazzle I lost Dash to cancer, the next year I lost Jazz to a tumor and then Phoenix developed kidney issues ( yes they were all old dogs). I knew Dazzle would not be happy alone if something suddenly happened to Phoenix as the vet warned me she could live for a long time or suddenly go into renal failure and die. So I decided to start looking. A friend sent me a photo of a beautiful red merle aussie with blue eyes...beautiful pup taken in by a rescue and I was looking for a new agility partner... problem was it was a puppy and after the horrible puppyhood of Jazz I had decided never again will I get a puppy. So as beautiful as that pup was and as much as I do love the breed I passed on it.
Some time later a friend that rescues homozygous merle aussies cross posted a photo on face book from a high kill shelter in Texas ( I am in Calif.) It was a mixed breed puppy and the minute I saw that photo I knew that was my dog..did not matter that she was a young puppy something screamed " I am your dog!" I called the shelter and found out they did do out of state adoptions but she had to be pulled by a certain date or she would be put to sleep. I contacted a volunteer group that works with that shelter but that was taking a long time so I also reached out to a woman I had met here on CD when Dash and her dog Guy had nasal cancer, we had met on a thread I had started and we had stayed internet friends. She lived in that part of Texas so I asked her if she could pull the puppy for me . She was happy to help and ended up boarding it at her vets as her new dog would not like it at her house. So a week later when I had several days off I flew to Texas to pick up a puppy I had never met but that some how had captured my soul by way of a photo. I met my friend for lunch which was really cool to meet her and she remains the dogs God mother. ( this was such a fantastic bonus to the trip!)Together we went to her vets to pick up the puppy. And that evening the puppy flew home as checked baggage with me. That is my Chaos and it has been almost 1.5 yrs now and I have not doubted for a day that she was meant to be my dog. She has fit into my life with such ease and is the perfect compliment to Dazzle. Sadly about 6 months after Chaos arrived home Phoenix developed a pneumonia and the drugs involved in getting her well took out her kidneys and she went into renal failure and we could not save her. Life is a series of dogs and now I am enjoying it with Daz and Chaos. I do believe that they were both meant to get me through this next chapter of my life.
Our Pomeranian/Russell Terrier mix was born in Indiana (puppy mill ) and transported to a wonderful humane society here in Maine, where we adopted him. He is a very intelligent and affectionate little guy. And incredibly cute!
Previously, we had a little Whippet mix rescued from a shelter in Mississippi after a hurricane. She lived to be 18 years old. We also had a Norwegian Elkhound/Shepherd mix I adopted from a newspaper ad. It was the longest classified ad for a pet I have ever seen. He had an incredible, calm personality. He was 17 years old when we finally had to have him put down.
Last edited by Fern435; 01-16-2013 at 04:08 PM..
Reason: added a line
Maine and its kind hearted citizens are to be congratulated......there are no kill shelters in the state of Maine and they continue to bring in dogs from the south and mid west to forever homes in Maine. Lets hear it for Maine.....the way life should be (for people and dogs)
Macie from a breeder since we'd had a Golden we'd had to PTS due to health issues more than likely based on poor breeding and we wanted another Golden. She's now 6 or 7 (can never remember - but then I sometimes have difficulty remembering my own age as well LOL) and the kids are grown and (mostly) gone. We decided she needed company since DH and I are at work during the day. Our latest addition Molly is a lab-shar pei mix (at least) who came from a rescue. They are best buds after 3 weeks but I have to vacuum ALL THE TIME. It's worth it when they run around the house playing "keep away" with a toy though.
First, I repped everyone it would allow, I don't have full rep powers currently but two thumbs up for everyone!
Happy (Am Staff) was my $25 truck stop dog, Amarillo, TX. I heard the owner (over the CB) trying to sell two dogs. One Aussie (huge fur ball) and a pit bull. I told my husband at the time, I do not want a pit bull. He still wanted to see the dogs. The fur ball would be too much in "big truck" (semi) and when I saw Happy, she was leaning as close as she could get to the gal in the front seat. She had such sad eyes...but when I saw her, she melted my heart. The pit bull ban had ended. She was mine. After getting to know her, although I paid for her, she was a rescue. (R.I.P.) (She was from Happy, TX)
We had gotten off the road and had been thinking about getting her a play buddy. We were on the fence and would go back and forth. We took a road trip from Colorado to Florida. On the way back, at the motel (Amarillo, TX) I was going to take Happy out, when I opened the door, there was a puppy, no collar, dirty white and she had gum in her hair. Housekeeping called out, "is that your puppy?" I said, "No, but could be..." I took her into our room and gave her water, that little girl drank like a camel. Hubby (at the time was in the shower) so I opened the door and said, "Have I got a surprise for you!" He pulled back the shower curtain and there she was...
We decided to keep her. I walked Happy, didn't see any signs up for "lost puppy" and with her being so dirty, malnourished and gum in her hair with no collar...I figured she walked into our life for a reason.
We took her to PetsMart, had her checked over by the vet and had her groomed. She cleaned up well! She kind of looked like a white shepherd mix or maybe a cattle dog mix? Smart as a whip and loving! While at PetsMart, we got her a collar and the local TV station was doing interviews. Yes, we talked with them. Tara was broadcasted on the evening news.
I had Happy for 12 years before she passed. A year and a half later, I get a text from my sister, "Would you be willing to "foster" a pit bull?" She found an ad on Craig's List.
Spanky (Am Bulldog) not a pit, needed a temp., home until his owner could get back on her feet. I knew deep down, it could become an adoption. So, she (the gal that posted the ad) got him from a rescue. She never came back for him (long story). <---She was NOT suppose to give or sell him, it was a part of her contract from the rescue. This was five and a half years ago.
My Tara passed away (R.I.P.) a year ago last June.
I went to the shelter to get Spanky's dog license and decided to walk through the kennels. I had NO INTENTIONS if getting another dog. I had just lost Tara a month ago and I didn't think I was ready. ((I cried for months after she passed.))
As I was walking through the kennels, I came upon Diesel. This beautiful (what they had listed as) a red nose pit bull. His eyes the color of honey. I put my hand down so he could scent me...he sniffed and then licked my hand. He had me at "Hello..."
I adopted Diesel that day. I can't imagine life w/out my boys. Spanky and Diesel are close in age. They LOVE playing and rough-housing together.
The more I looked at him, the more I knew he wasn't a pit bull. He's too big. The vet suggested a doggy DNA test. We did and found he has three different hounds in him (basset, plot and Irish deer hound) his most prominent was Am Bulldog. Basically, he's a mut-puppy.
I will always look at rescues and shelters first. I would consider a reputable breeder. I would NEVER buy from a pet store.
My current dog is a breeder buy back re-home. Odie is a Swedish Vallhund, still considered fairly rare. His mother was the first to win her AKC CH after they were recognized his sire was the second (both also have lots of letters after their names too). All of his litter mates are CH's and have lots of initials after their names too. His papers read like the history of famous breeders of SV's around the world. Yet he came with lots of issues because of his early lack of socialization that we are slowly working on. This breeder had heard about Odie and his litter mate being for sale and called the owner, yet the owner denied it. She had a friend pose as a buyer and bought both back on the spot and the breeder paid the whole thing. After her friend evaled both dogs it was decided to neuter Odie, but his sister was in much better shape so the rescuer wanted to keep her for her lines. Anyway, Odie came nearly across the united states through a network of responsible breeders. So I got a BIG discount because I was willing to take him on. You can see by all of the photos of Odie that he is stunning and had he been handled right he would have been a CH for sure along with lots of other things.
This photo was taken earlier today, he didn't want to get off the deck because it was wet.
Our beautiful Coco was found with her litter mates in a paper sack on the side of the road. Someone had thrown them out. She came to us dirty and full of worms. We bathed her, fed her, wormed her, and loved her. She has given us 12 years of love and joy.
We were chosed by Carl's mother. One Sunday when we arrived home from church, there was a beautiful speckled dog outside our garage. We had left the garage door open and when we pulled in we closed the door. We assumed the dog belonged to one of our neighbors. When we left late that afternoon to go back to church, the dog was still there. She was also still there the next morning. That afternoon when we returned from work she was gone. As the garage door went up, I saw something run across the garage. It was puppy Carl. All legs and tail.
He is 10 years old and our fierce protector. He hogs the bed, is scared of Coco, and always stands between me and whomever comes to the door.
My life would have a huge void without them.
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Life is a series of dogs and now I am enjoying it with Daz and Chaos. I do believe that they were both meant to get me through this next chapter of my life.
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