My dogs love me. Sometimes I have to tell them, “guys, you’ve all go tot back off - I’m drowning here” when all 5 decide they need me right now. They all have their individual backgrounds and personalities:
Maggie is my curly poodley girl. When I come home at night and they’ve all been in for twelve hours, she’d rather follow me back in the house than stop and go to the bathroom. When I go out to feed the horses, the other dogs are running in the fields, hunting up bunnies they never catch, but Maggie is always with me, thrilled to be anywhere I am. I first saw her as at the breeder’s as a 4 month old puppy when a co-worker decided she just had to have a dog. I knew it wouldn’t last and tried to get her to get a doberman, since I’d end up with it. But our CFO had a standard poodle, so she had to have one too. Sure enough, she ended up mine.
Paddy the English Setter was a trip to the pound when I should’ve known better. He appeared to have been a field dog that someone either lost or abandoned. He’d never been in a house before I got him. Now I have a hard time keeping him from trying to climb in my lap all night long. He’s sweet and gentle, as befits a setter.
Wolf was owned by the guy that managed the barn where I used to keep my horse. He’d been dumped there as a puppy, and was just a “barn dog”. He’d get fed when the manager thought of it, or more likely he’d just bust open a 20 lb bag of the cheapest food around and leave it on the tackroom floor for the dog to eat. The manager ended up getting into drugs and leaving with the board money, leaving behind 6 horses and the dog. By that time I had my own farm. The horses all found homes okay, but no one wanted a middle-aged barn dog, so I took him in. It took a couple months before he ever came in the house. He acted like he expected to get hit if he went in the door, and maybe he did. Now he loves the house and his dog bed. He’s not a dog that demands love, but he stands back and looks at you and slowly wags his tail. If you gesture to him, he’ll come and put his head in your lap and grin.
Jake is my newest dog. Someone on Craiglist was getting rid of him because they were moving. They wanted a $200 “adoption fee”, saying they’d paid $2K for him as a pup. I told them I didn’t need another dog that badly, but that I loved dobes and hoped he got a good home. They called me back a couple weeks later, asking me to take him for free. He wasn’t allowed in their house, and when I went to pick him up they’d given him a bath and stuck him in a crate. He growled at me a little, not sure what was going on. I put him in the car and gave him a few milkbones. By the time he got home he was fine. But he showed some food aggression, apparently having had to guard his food against a dominant female at his old home. He still likes to lie beside one of the food bowls, but he doesn’t have too many issues now. He wants to be side be, especially at night, just touching me. He’s the only dog that notices dogs barking on TV, and that gets him all wound up. He loves to play with Maggie.
Grace was dumped near my farm about 2 1/5 years ago. About 9 at the time. Who would break their dog’s trust like that? 9 years of faith and love and she’s thrown out in the country like some fast food wrapper. I took her in, had her spayed and found out she had a heart murmur. She came to me just days before my old doberman Simon died in his sleep at 14, hence her name. She’s an old lady, but she thinks she’s a mighty hunter and stalwart rat killer (she got lucky once in the barn - the rat must’ve had a broken leg). She’s demands her creature comforts. The first night I got her I tried to put her in the outdoor kennel with food and water and she barked until I brought her in. If her preferred dog bad is occupied, she’ll come over to me to be petted. When the other dogs see her getting attention they come over, too. Then she goes and grabs the newly-unoccupied bed. Sneak.
For all the dogs, present and past (Mike, Kate, Ruffi, Simon, Siddhartha) who’ve so generously loved me, no matter what, I thank God. I’ve always liked the bible passage “God is Love. Whoever abides in love abides in God, and God in him”. I think the love of pets brings us closer to God.
StG
Not only that, but we have plans for me to get a puppy of my own late next year (after baseball season): I’ve always preferred big dogs, but his place is a 2BR townhouse so we’re going for another Beagle. I’d never known a Beagle before Tara, and they’re just the right size: not too big for a townhouse, but not so small that they’re one of those little yappy dogs. Ideally I’d love a Beagle-Lab mix, but she’d have to be more Beagle than Lab and I imagine it’s hard to tell that in a puppy. grin
