As you might have guessed, this is a blog about dogs. More specifically, our dogs - there are four - and their daily exploits and shenanigans. I think you'll enjoy reading about these girls...they're pretty entertaining.
So how did we come to have four dogs, you ask?
In the spring of 2011, my husband (fiance at the time) had just gotten laid off from the publication he wrote for. I had wanted a dog for a while, and so we thought it might be the right time. Enter a beautiful four-month-old Aussie pup whose owner was moving to Texas and couldn't take her along...
We picked her up at a Bruegger's Bagels in Asheville and renamed her - Sydney Grace. This picture was taken on her first night home. :)
Instantly this kid became our world. Weekends that would have usually been spent at the movies were spent at the dog park. And forget snuggling - from that day forward, Sydney's place was right beside me. Or between me and whoever was on the other side. Strange that, although Adam was her primary caretaker, it became clear very soon that Sydney was my dog.
At some point during this time, our friend Rhonda said "you know, you can't have just one..."
Early fall, we were at the dog park with Sydney when Adam mentioned wanting his next dog to be a beagle. Feeling optimistic as we were, that very minute we pulled up listings for adoptable beagles in our area. That's how we found our next furkid.
Shelby Paige came to us from an owner who had only had her for less than a week. She'd bought the dog for her son and said that her landlord wouldn't let her keep a pet. She was six months old at the time.
We had really lucked out with Sydney - she came to us housebroken and basically crate trained, and excelled in obedience training. With Shelby, things were not so easy. First, we discovered that our "rare brindle beagle" was actually a beagle / Pit Bull mix. No big deal there - none of our dogs have papers, so who cares? More devastating was Shelby's health. She was eaten up with ringworms and hookworms, was thin and severely food-obsessed. Training was a constant struggle. It took us months to crate train Shelby, and her constant accidents in our apartment were nerve-wracking. Furthermore, we soon discovered that Shelby was (and still is) a thief. As in, she steals anything.
Gradually our girl put on weight, got rid of worms through treatment, and began to respond to her training. By the time we moved across town to a bigger townhouse, she was starting to behave very well. And now - you'd never know it - Shelby is a great dog. She's still food obsessed, and she still steals, but those are our only two issues. Mostly, she sleeps. She is the only dog who sleeps with us in the bed, and she's a wonderful little cuddle bug. :)
Late summer 2012 came and we began to - omg! - entertain the idea of a third dog. It had been a year since Shelby, and we felt like she was settled enough to be ready. After raising Shelby, however, I was hellbent that we were not getting another puppy. While combing Craigslist one day, I came across an ad for someone wanting to give away a seven year old Golden Retriever. His wife had allergies and "could not deal with the fur". Also, the dog had lost interest in the kids or vice versa. So, out of curiosity, we decided to go and have a look...
And came home with Annie Hope. :)
Upon looking at her vet records on the way home, we noticed that Annie was not seven, as the previous owners had said. Her birthday was 10/29/02, which made her nine, almost ten. She was shy at first, very skittish, and moved quite slowly.
This is where I'm going to go into what a blessing our senior dog has been. Within a month of good food, constant affection, and a vitamin regimen, Annie livened up. She has been, without a doubt, the joy of our lives. Everywhere I go that I can, I take her with me. At the dog park, Annie is definitely more interested in socializing with people than dogs, and she collects scratches and snuggles from everyone. From day one, she has slept beside our bed on my side - a constant, joyful presence. And oh, this girl loves the water!
Even though she is older, Annie has not had any health problems save a small benign tumor that we had removed. In contrast, Shelby visited the vet numerous times during her first year of life - so NO, owning a senior dog is not generally more expensive! Annie also came to us completely housebroken, already spayed, and with a well-established good temperament. We love our senior girl and adopting her was the best decision we made as a family. Period.
After Annie came to live with us, we fell in love with the Golden breed, but of course, we were opposed to buying a puppy. As fate would allow, we found a couple who were looking to rehome their young Golden because they were moving. Last but definitely not least, we adopted our Abbie Rose.
This girl was well-loved before her owners' relocation, which made her transition into our family the easiest thus far. Already housebroken, Abbie is a joy to train and responds well to commands. She turned one in February (we adopted her the previous fall) and is our sweet little princess.
The one word to describe Abbie is "goofy". She's hilarious - constantly happy and full of energy. She tries to keep up with her Aussie sister, who is the fastest runner of the group...however, unlike the agile Sydney, Abbie is...clumsy. More than once she's sprinted out the door to find that the door is made of glass (ouch), and she has a habit of losing her footing when chasing Sydney around sharp turns. Abbie is a true retriever and loves the water more than any animal I've ever seen! She's also obsessed - and I do mean OBSESSED - with sticks. As you can see...
She's completely in her element when she can run and play, but her eagerness to learn makes me think she has a future as a therapy or service dog. We shall see. :)
We hope you enjoy following our blog and reading about our girls! Please spread the word that adopting a dog, rather than buying a puppy from a breeder, is the best choice. See you again shortly!
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