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The Canines in My Life |
last revision 01/15/2008
CURRENTLY A PART OF OUR HOUSEHOLD:
Izabel Ann (Izzy), CGC – black & tan German Shepherd/Rottweiler/Doberman Pinscher/? mix, born 09/04/1998
Turner’s D’Artagnan Valiant Dumas (the “Runt”) – solid black Border Collie mix, born 08/12/2005
Roadblock’s Tatli Harika – Anatolian Shepherd Dog, born 09/14/2007
LOST BELOVEDS – Gone but Never Forgotten:
Irish – ~10 mo red merle Australian Shepherd mix, died 05/24/1988, parvovirus vaccine (MLV) reaction (developed the disease from the vaccine)
Ashlee Renee (“Bug”) – black & tan German Shepherd, 09/12/1996 - 09/21/1998
Anibel Jane (Annie) – black & white Border Collie/German Shepherd cross, 12/15/1997 – 03/10/2006
Prince John (“PJ”) – gray male Cockatiel, 04/15/1995 – 08/23/2007
Wallflower (“Wally”) – cinnamon female Cockatiel, 10/03/2003 – 08/23/2007
Scales AZ Xander, CGC (the “Boy”) – black & tan German-bloodline German Shepherd, 06/07/2001-09/15/2007
WE ALSO SHARE OUR HOME WITH GUINEA PIGS, A RABBIT NAMED HENRY, AND A COCKATIEL NAMED PETEY.
Moving so often when I was growing up, we were not permitted to have a dog. Combining that with a complete love of the species, I spent most of my spare time in school libraries reading all the dog books I could get my hands on and playing with neighbors’ dogs and neighborhood strays (fleas and all). I finally got my very first dog in May of 1988 right before I graduated from high school.
Irish was a wonderful red merle Australian shepherd mix a friend’s father saw literally thrown out of a truck outside town. (The person actually opened the door and threw the dog out without stopping.) He stayed with my friend and her family until we could get the fence around the backyard completed. Meanwhile I spent a great deal of time visiting my friend and spending time with him. That went on for a couple of months or so. We estimated he was probably about 10 months old at the time he finally came home with me.
When Irish came home, the first thing we did was get him vaccinated. (That was back in the day when I believed routine vaccinations were the “responsible” thing to do.) He grew gravely ill within a few days of being vaccinated. It started with lethargy. My dad took him to the vet because I knew something was wrong. The vet said he had worms and wormed him, which should NEVER be done with a sick dog. Within 24 hours, he had severe diarrhea and vomiting. He couldn’t even keep water down. When he started convulsing, we made the decision to put him to sleep. Saying goodbye to him was so incredibly difficult. He was only home with us for 10 days.
My father felt so bad about me losing Irish that he wanted me to have another dog. Thus came Jake. He was 6 weeks old. Mother was a sweet black lab. Father was a German shepherd. The wound to my heart was still so fresh from losing Irish that I wasn’t ready for another dog yet. I never bonded to Jake. Don’t get me wrong. He was an absolutely wonderful, loving companion. He learned quickly, too. But I wasn’t ready. When he was about 18 months old, he found a new home about 20 miles away on a ranchette that had kids and other dogs for him to play with. As loveable as he was, I never missed him. I was glad he was in a new home where he would get the interaction and love he truly deserved, because I didn’t feel I could give him that.
It was a good long while (several years in fact) before I felt the desire to have another dog. That blindsided me when I was working for an animal shelter. Hubby and I lived in an apartment that didn’t allow pets, so I couldn’t have a dog. But there were a couple I so wanted to bring home, particularly one mixed breed we dubbed Anderson. Sadly, Anderson was euthanized after two months of attempts to adopt him out. He was very fearful of people, so no one wanted him. No one had the patience to work with him the way I did. For that two months, though, he knew he was loved, and he loved me in return. He was very effusive showing me that once he learned to trust me.
I finally got another dog in fall of 1996, during the same week hubby and I moved into our own home. No more renting. No more landlords. No more restrictions on the pets we could have. Thus the current string of canines coming through our lives began….
Other pages that may be of interest:
Stories – Life with Dogs
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