Lucky, my first rescue dog, was a
Norwegian
Elkhound and the size of my dogs continued to grow from here, except for a couple
of small ones.
This picture and many others that follow are from the
American Kennel Club website.
He was my wheel dog for my dog sled. It was a small sled
hand built by an Alaskan Eskimo. It was stolen when I lived in Virginia. I had
a lot of fun traveling through the Alaskan wilderness behind our home in
Anchorage, Alaska during my teenage years.
He lived to a ripe old age of 14 years.
She was a loving, attentive, obedient dog. I took her
everywhere I could.
She died after a surgery to remove a painful tumor. She was
12 years old.
While attending Northern Virginia Community College, NOVA,
in their Veterinary Technician program, our veterinarian was asked to end a
brother/sister breeding. He decided we’d do well to participate and give the
puppies life.
I followed procedures and was able to help a
female Great Pyrenees
puppy breathe her first breaths. I
named her Nanook and later adopted her brother from a fellow student. His name
was Kazon. They were a lot of fun and I
loved running my hands through their thick coat. They lived to be about nine
years old.
While working at a pet shop we, my husband and I, purchased
a male and female
Schipperke.
Misty and Buddy was an interesting pair. They were loads of fun taking for
walks and watching their antics when we raised neonate kittens. They loved
helping us keep them clean and exercised. They lived to be about 12 years old.
Our next adoption was a merle
Great Dane. She was
named Millie, but since I had a friend named Millie, my husband changed her
name to Daisy. She developed a brain tumor and attacked our 1 ½ year old baby;
she ran across the floor and attacked her from behind. I was glad for that
since it didn’t instill a fear of dogs.
The emergency clinic and the veterinarian deemed her attack
not vicious and she was put on medications. When we moved from our apartment, it was very
large, to our home, it was decided she’d do fine without the medications, so we
stopped. She attacked our 5 year old son about eight months after stopping the
meds. It was difficult to convince the veterinarian to euthanize her, but they
did as we asked. We were on our way to the airport to pick up an exchange
student from Germany and I didn’t want her attacking any more family members or
the student. Thankfully clothing protected our son and he was not injured.
About a month later we adopted two merle
puppies. They were about three months old. We named the female, Sally, and the
male, Toby. Sally was the matriarch and kept Toby and Jake in line.
Jake is an English
Shepherd owned by our oldest daughter. We adopted him from Tampa after he
was found in a parking lot with burnt pads and was heartworm positive. He’s
about 14 years old.
Sally lived until she was 10. She died of cancer. She was
severely dysplastic, but did very well as her muscles did a really good job of
being the sockets she didn’t have.
Toby lived until he was a couple weeks away from being 12
years old. He and his sister’s birthday was Mother’s Day. He was one of the best
dogs we’ve had the pleasure to share our lives with.
I was extremely concerned they’d die early. Their mother
died when they were six months old and I feared they’d die early too. I’m so
thankful for their long lives with us.
My husband and I were so upset by their deaths;
we didn’t consider another dog for a few short months. Jake was our only canine
companion and he doesn’t like my husband.
Near the end of the danes lives, we rescued a black long-haired
cat, Kikyo,
and a white short-haired cat, Horchata. Due to allergies of several
family members, we haven’t adopted, nor rescued any others, but we still help
with neonates when we can.
"I need another dog," I
told my husband, Thom.
"I'm not ready," he
responded.
Toby, our 125 lb merle Great
Dane, died about 6 months earlier. I still missed him, but I was ready for
another dog. Until his death, I hadn't been without a dog in 32 years and I was
feeling the hole he left.
Our last 3 dogs had been rescued
Danes and I decided I needed a smaller dog. Trying to help Toby get around,
toward the end, was as taxing on me as it was on him. I decided to adopt a dog
in the 15-20 lb range.
I chose This is the Dog! because
I was familiar with many of their foster parents and volunteers and they had a
dog that caught my interest. I sent them an email and on August 3rd and
attended their adoption day at PETCO. There were many adoptable dogs available,
but I couldn't find the one I'd been watching on facebook.
When I saw Meeko (now Meiko), a 3
year old blue and white long-haired Chihuahua, I knew I'd found my next dog. I
had my picture taken with him and sent it to my husband and went to the This is
the Dog!'s representative and asked for an appointment to meet him in his
foster home. (He was too skittish and didn't show well in all the confusion at
the shop)
My husband’s remark at seeing the
picture was as expected. "No, I don't want a Chihuahua."
My response was expected as well.
"This is my dog and we'll get you your poodle when you're ready."
Meiko had been locked in a crate
and hidden among bushes on the side of the road. They couldn’t find him in the
dark despite his crying pleas. A thorough search was conducted when his crying
was heard again the next day in the same area. He went at least one night
without food and water.
His neck and upper body was
covered with scabs and his hair was matted about his neck. Fearful and unsure,
he met us barking as we entered his foster home. He remained in my husband’s arms,
his long neck stretched as far away as possible and he looked as if he'd leap
if he dared.
My husband continued to hold him
as we discussed his temperament with his foster mom. We wanted to know if he'd
fit in with “Jake,” and the two cats. It was decided he'd meet the rest of the
family, in our home, later in the week.
My husband handed me Meiko and
said, "Never mind the poodle. This is the dog I want."
It was difficult to wait for
Meiko to meet the rest of the clan. “Horchata” met us at the door. We set Meiko
down, they sniffed and Horchata, bored, walked away. I hadn't realized how
small Meiko was until he stood next to Horchata. Horchata towered over him.
Later we discovered he's 3 times Meiko's weight.
Meiko then walked over to Jake
sleeping in his usual place under the dinner table. Jake looked up, sniffed
Meiko, sighed and went back to his nap.
Kikyo refused to leave the high
ground and stared at him with her large gold eyes glowing against her black
coat. Meiko acknowledged her existence with a sniff and continued to explore.
Saturday, August 18th, Meiko
joined our family and, in less than 8 hours, broke the number one rule of our
home--no one, human or animal, sleeps with Daddy and Mommy. (He's been there
ever since)
About
two months after adopting Meiko, we rescued a brown and white, short-haired Chihuahua,
Bruiser. He had been hit by a car. After
several months trying to locate his family, we decided he was ours and he was
officially adopted into our family.
Bruiser is as loyal as any dog
can be. It’s easy for the family to find me when doors are closed. He and Lady
are usually sitting outside waiting for me to re-enter. He’s spends as much time
with me as he can. When I’m writing, he’s in my lap or sitting next to me.
A month later we adopted a white
senior miniature poodle,
Lady. She was an owner surrender at the Miami-Dade Animal
Services. She was 15 years old and I feared she’d be euthanized due to her
age. The veterinarian tried to discourage me from adopting her, but I refused
to follow his advice.
She loves to chase her tennis
ball, play with the Chihuahuas and her humans. She loves chewing on rawhide and
sleeping, yes, with mommy and daddy.
She’s been a great addition and, as my
husband says, we’re thankful for every day she remains alive.
Happy writing and playing with your little one.