Dogs

[NewToy]

My crew is snappin' and crackin' on pig ears for breakfast. Rusty, the leader of the pack, nudges his snack can when he feels like an ear. It is delightful to watch their eyes light up when they hear the lid coming off. It also amazes me how obedient they become when I am doling out the treats.
John

 

[alchemysa]

im so sorry for your loss.. did you replace your dog?

Brian

Yep. We went dog-less for three weeks but couldnt stand it anymore. So we went to the local animal shelter and found Beau. An Australian Coolie. (That's coolie not collie). I like to tell him he was the best of a pretty bad bunch.
He was about 12 weeks old, thin, and not real pretty but he had nice smile and really wanted a friend. He's turned into another great dog. Very smart, loyal, and lots of character. And very easy care! No prickles and knotted hair to worry about! As long as he gets a good walk every day he's happy.

 

[GaryM]

That's a strikingly colored dog you've got there. I'm certain he's glad to have made your acquantaince!

This is my girl Smiley. She's about 13 or so and starting to give in to old age. But she's a joy to have around.

 

[czechsonofagun]

Yep. We went dog-less for three weeks but couldnt stand it anymore. So we went to the local animal shelter and found Beau. An Australian Coolie. (That's coolie not collie). I like to tell him he was the best of a pretty bad bunch.
He was about 12 weeks old, thin, and not real pretty but he had nice smile and really wanted a friend. He's turned into another great dog. Very smart, loyal, and lots of character. And very easy care! No prickles and knotted hair to worry about! As long as he gets a good walk every day he's happy.

Thats a nice looking aussie

we had one from a breeder, but he got killed by a car when he was 6 weeks old .

 

[VABlue]

What's all this nonsense about non-shedding dogs? I'm so used to sharing my dinner plate with the occasional stray hair, I don't even remove it anymore. Just something else to add flavor... What's a house full of dogs good for if you don't have to clean up the doggy hairballs along the baseboards?

I believe the one of the saddest days of my life will be when I finally accept that I'm no longer physically able to care for a dog. As of today, I simply cannot imagine that...

 

[GaryM]

In general, I agree. A few dog hairs here and there, and there, and there, and there, aren't going to hurt anything.

If I find one on my dinner plate I usually just blow it off. The color my current dog is, she blends well with Mac & Cheese, so sometimes they are a little hard to spot.

 

[Bird]

An Australian Coolie.

Yessir, that's a most unusual color for a dog, to me at least, and it's certainly a beautiful one.

 

[alchemysa]

Yessir, that's a most unusual color for a dog, to me at least, and it's certainly a beautiful one.

I'll let him know you said that. No-one ever says he beautiful - least of all me - he's spoiled enough as it is!

On the subject of shedding. This one sheds a bit, but I think its lessening as he gets older. It was a real 'hair storm' when we first got him as a young dog. Probably has something to do with diet too, or maybe we are just getting used to it.

 

[johnk]

Here is a pic of whom was my best friend. I had to put him down recently at the age of 10 and 195 pounds. Super smart, Loyal, and loved little kids.....I really miss him...........

 

[RoyJackson]

This has been a great thread...but I really hate looking at pics of dogs, then reading they had to be put down...so sad.

 

[MississippiMan]

aint it sad how dogs lives are so short. they deserve to live a lot longer than many people.

 

[Shimon]

We have two dogs. Syd is a Beagle mix who is larger (45lbs) and fluffier than a real Beagle and Bruno who is a random mix (80lbs). Both sleep about 18 hours a day. They wake up to move from the couch to the bed to the other bed then back to couch. Their few waking hours are spent eating, pooping, sniffing, chasing cats and passing gas. They are not very smart dogs but that just makes it easier for me.

I used to run the web page for the local Humane Society so me and the wife would be there once a week taking photos of all the new animals. They used to euthanize dogs when the shelter became overcrowded and it was very hard for me and the wife so we decided to start fostering some of the harder to adopt dogs.

We would take them home, give them a bath and some attention and they would miraculously become different dogs. We put out aggressive advertising on the web and with flyers to help them find a new home. The shelter was older and all the dogs would be crammed into concrete runs facing each other and it was deafening walking through there with all the barking. Most of the dogs would be very stressed and go somewhat crazy. They would be filthy and on edge. It wasn't the fault of the facility...it just couldn't handle the volume and the facility itself was too small (luckily a new one is being built).

Below are photos of our dogs plus some of the foster dogs we had over the years. Hope was a young, goofy Dane/Shepherd mix who had legs which were too long for her.

Hunter was a very old Elkhound who was deaf but was very playful and impish. Unfortunately, he was put down shortly after he was adopted because he had cancer and stopped eating. The couple that adopted him were wonderful and made his last few months very much worth living. We sure miss him.

Jake was my favorite and a day doesn't go by that I regret letting him go. He was easy going and a great companion. We fostered him because he was walking on three legs and was holding one of his hind legs up. Vet said he tore his ACL and surgery would be about $1000. We didn't have that kind of money and neither did the Humane Society so he was going to be put down so we took him and after about a week he was fine. Turned out he just had a sprain. A nice family drove all the way from Portland, OR (we are in NW Washington) to adopt him. I sure wish I kept him.

Romeo was our first. He was a mean and gruff and dirty looking Rottweiller. Most people were afraid of him but he was actually very well trained and was a lover boy. He was extremely well behaved and smart. His new owners spoil him and feed him steak and last I saw him he was way too fat (but happy).

We had Molly the longest. She was a Rott/Lab mix and one of the smartest dogs I ever met. That meant trouble. She would open the dishwasher to lick all the plates clean. She would clean our cast iron skillets and when we hid them in the oven she would open the oven, pull out the shelf and lick the skillets clean. Her new owner had to get a lock for the fridge because she would open the fridge and remove the roast beef...but she would at least close the fridge when she was done!

Anyway, we miss them all. I sure do like dogs. I have a bumper sticker on my truck that says: The more people I meet, the more I like my dog.

 

[Jimbrown]

Anyway, we miss them all. I sure do like dogs. I have a bumper sticker on my truck that says: The more people I meet, the more I like my dog.

AMen on that. If i had to choose between my dogs and all of the people I know in the county it would be the dogs. Except for the wife anddddd somtimes!!!

 

[RoyJackson]

Shimon, a great post and great pics! You're doing a fine fine thing.
I especially liked the story about Molly. Our Rottie/Pit Bull mix, Jule, looks a lot like her....Jule acts a lot like Molly too!!! Here's a pic of Jule

 

[shaley]

Sometimes he even lets us sleep in the bed.

 

[Cottonhawk]

Shaley,
Nice pic for a relaxed boy.

 

[Cottonhawk]

Gizmo is a great looking dog.

 

[sweeter]

Here are my meat heads.

 

[ToddW]

Here are my meat heads.

Great picture, I have 2 yellow boys myself

/Todd

 

[RonMar]

Here are my meat heads.

One ears up, one ears down, that is great