Your pets

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Rooster Ties' thread about his new cat made me think it was time for us to post some pics and talk about our pets, past and present.

So here's our pug, Toby. We got him in '79 and he died in '93.

He was nuts. Loved to chase trains and cars. Loved to have our daughter dress him up in her baby vests and pants. Loved to get her soft toys. Couldn't be punished effectively. You'd get mad at him - especially our daughter when he got her toys - and he'd apologise handsomely. Then do it again. And again.

He used to sleep in the kitchen. Every evening as it turned dusk, he'd sit there in his bed looking out of the window at the street light outside, barking for it to come on. Then, when it did, he'd leap out of bed, barking furiously for half a minute, then put himself to bed.

MG

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

We also had two cats in the seventies. One was called Golly and I bought her in a pet shop for my wife's birthday in 1972. The other attached herself to us later and was as thick as two short planks - so we called her Muff (racist joke - Muff is a small town in Ireland). She didn't last long - got run over in the quiet street where we lived before she was two.

Golly was wierd. She was people-oriented. We used to take her on holiday down to my in-laws and she'd walk nicely down to the village on a lead with us. At home, she was a terror to all the local dogs - except Toby. She was quite interested in him, especially when he'd rush around like a mad thing. She'd sit on the hall table as he careered through and give him a belt round the ear; never with her claws out, though.

After my mother-in-law's death, Golly started going off on her own holidays every summer. She'd take up residence in the garden of the house over the back.

She used to knock on the door to be let in - banging the letter-box cover several times, loudly. But if the lights were out and we were in bed, she'd leap onto the window-sill of the bedroom and scratch quietly, but loudly enough to wake us.

She died in 1990.

We don't have any pets now.

MG

[Dan Gould]

I think I've talked a bit about Coltrane and Gracie so here is the dog I grew up with, Chauncey.

A word about his name(s). I suggested Chauncey because he reminded us of a local newscaster named Chauncey Howell (a little goofy and a little weird). Folks in the NYC area should remember him. He also went by "Big Guy" because we got him when WKRP in Cincinnati was at its height of popularity. He was about as smart as Arthur Carlson, and he liked to spend his days playing.

We did not understand when he adopted him that Irish Setter puppies should come with a brick because one is needed in order to get their attention. Chauncey failed obedience school too many times to count, until finally we were asked not to bring him back because he was too much of a distraction to the other dogs. Yet he had plenty of brains when it mattered.

We used to share graham crackers - I'd hold one half in my mouth and half out, and he'd take half and I'd take half. I couldn't hug my Mom without him making it a group hug. And heaven forbid if you left for college. Upon your return, his joy was so overwhelming that his entire 80 pound body would tremble from nose to tail. You had to sit with him and love him up before you could greet any other member of the family. He would calm down at first but inevitably as soon as I stood up to go hug Mom, he'd go back into hysterics and you'd have to do it all over again.

And I loved how he let you know that he was ready to get into the bed with you (I slept in a single). He'd drag his paw across my leg once. If I didn't move, he'd drag it again, a little harder. If I still didn't move, then he'd just keep dragging his paw until I gave him room.

It was:

Move your leg.

Move your leg.

MOVE YOUR LEG

MOVE YOUR LEG

MOVE YOUR LEG

And it was the same every night.

I loved making him say

MOVE YOUR LEG.

Edited March 27, 2010 by Dan Gould

[Teasing the Korean]

Edited March 27, 2010 by Teasing the Korean

[TedR]

Here are our pups (cavalier spaniels Cleo and Rusty) after jumping all over our guests and rough housing with each other. They are truly best friends except for the occasional disagreement over a favorite toy.

[Brownian Motion]

This is Clover. She's a good dog.

[Peter Johnson]

See avatar...all you need to know!

(he's Luke, by the way!)

Ooops...wrong avatar!

Edited March 28, 2010 by Peter Johnson

[Jim R]

Back in 1983, my wife and I chose Ebony and Ivory (both females) from a litter of German Shepherd mix pups. Their mother was a white German Shepherd, the father unknown. They were great dogs, and great companions. They shared the same doghouse, which was big enough for me to get in there with them! They loved to chase tennis balls (and sniffing them out when I'd fooled them as to where I'd thrown or hid them); and frisbees (Ebony would always be the one to catch it or pick it up, and Ivory would always try to steal it from her as they brought it back). Ebony seemed to be dominant most of the time, but when actual trouble arose (like a possum falling out of our pine tree), Ivory was the enforcer. We lost Ivory in 1994, and Ebony in 1997. This candid photo shows them at about 6 months of age, I think.

We had another German Shepherd named Duchess, a pure-bred, from 1997 to 2008. I'll do a separate post on her when I find the right photo...

[Free For All]

My dog Clancey who lives with my ex. I really miss him. I've visited him a couple times and he has these behavioral things he does only with me, so he hasn't forgotten me.

He's a mix of Border Collie/Belgian Shepherd.

Edited March 28, 2010 by Free For All

[Jim R]

I'm enjoying these photos and stories. Thanks to everybody who has shared. I love dogs, and appreciate cats.

Well, I'm having trouble locating a good quality photo of our beloved German Shepherd, Duchess. Maybe I'll share a better one later, but I did find a decent one to post. I've always loved German Shepherds. Had one as a kid (1960-1973), a mix actually, named Princess.

In 1997, after Ebony died, we decided to get ourselves a pure-bred GS pup, and named her Duchess (that was also the name of Princess' mother, who I remember visiting our house when Princess was a puppy). Our Duchess was an alpha- nay, an ALPHA dog. She was a real handful for the first several months, but we gradually reeled her in. She was never the most affectionate dog, but if I spent enough time giving, she would eventually let down her "guard" and give back. She liked to have someone throw a fetch toy of some kind, but she would never bring it back, and if she did she wouldn't relenquish it. At least not without a struggle or some deception. Her favorite game, though, was to attack the water from a hose. Any time I tried to water the lawn or plants, Duchess would go after the stream of water as if it were some kind of menace to our safety. At times she would seem to relax, and then she would be right back at it. If I moved the stream away from her, she would chase it relentlessly, so that became a great game. She was just a beautiful creature... for me, the epitome of what a beautiful dog looks like.

Around 2007, when she was about 10 years old, we entered an old photo of her (as a very young pup) in a calendar photo contest. Months went by as we waited for the results. Duchess suddenly got very sick (probaby leptospirosis, as we learned later), and we were afraid she was going to die. Just when we were waiting to see if she would pull through, we received in the mail a congratulatory letter that her puppy photo had been approved for the calendar. And she did survive. That was a wonderful time, but unfortunately her body had been weakened significantly, and she declined gradually and died about a year later. I miss her a lot, especially when I'm working out in the back yard.

It's hard to decide whether to get another dog, but for now we've pretty much decided that we're done. It's not so much that we don't want to take care of one, don't have enough time to devote, or even the difficulty related to the emotional loss when they pass. It's mostly the increasing EXPENSE (!) of having a dog these days. I used to chuckle at the idea of dog health insurance, but not any longer.

Edited March 28, 2010 by Jim R

[GregK]

We got a Shepherd/Lab/Retriever mix puppy 2 weeks ago. He is about 12 weeks old and could pass for a shark or alligator as he seems to be all teeth. Do these things ever stop biting? Kids love him though. They named him Tuna, because he came here from a shelter in Louisiana so we picked the best sounding name from a list of Cajun dog names.

[Dave Garrett]

Our 8-year-old GSD, Gretchen, taken this afternoon. She is small for the breed, about 60 pounds, and people frequently assume she is still a puppy.

[papsrus]

OK, first time using this photobucket thingy, so who knows what will happen, but here goes:

First picture is of three papillions, from left to right, Sam, Butter and Taylor. Sam and Taylor are sister and brother from a breeder. Perfect representatives of the breed, who remain with my ex. They're great dogs. Smart, attentive, affectionate, good-natured. Butter is a rescue who is nestled next to me now. She is about 14 years old and was used for breeding in a puppy mill. I drove to Tennessee to get her about four and a half years ago now. You can't really tell from this pictures but she is missing most of her lower jaw from some injury she suffered before I got her. Don't know the details. She's in a good place now.

Next up is Prince. Also a rescue. Also a papillion (as are all these dogs). Prince was found emaciated, wandering the streets somewhere in South Florida. Adopted him from a foster home shortly after getting Butter. He had pretty severe kidney failure and needed regular medical care, special diet, to maintain reasonable health. He came with me and Butter after my divorce and died in his sleep about a year ago. He was happy and comfortable while I had him. A good guy.

Next up is Pixie.

I adopted Pixie about seven or eight years ago from a rescue group. Also an old girl who was used for breeding. Pixie was 100% deaf and incontinent. Quiet as a mouse until feeding time, then great excitement! If you look closely you can see the tiny diaper she sometimes wore. We gave Pixie a good final few years. She, too, had failing kidneys and a weak ticker. I regret to this day that she died away from us in an emergency vet center (after the attending vet said her prognosis was good). Don't blame him, cause I realize there's a little bit of guess work involved with vets and older animals. I just regret not having a proper farewell with old Pix.

This is Elvis:

He was rescued from a home in Pennsylvania with 72 dogs. No teeth (as with Pixie and Butter) and was pretty rough when we first got him. But he learned to trust humans and return affection with affection. He loved running in the dog park with Sam and Taylor, chasing squirrels and all the rest. Great dog. We fostered Elvis for about a year and a half, taught him how to behave and adopted him out to a very nice widow on Sanibel Island. Elvis landed in the lap of luxury and is living the high life now.

One last shot of Butterball for y'all:

Yep, about 4 pounds soaking wet. Cutest thing in the world.

[Chuck Nessa]

This is Maggie. She was our last pet. When she died we decided no more for a while. She was a German shepherd basset mix. Her front legs were short and crooked. She could stand her ears up. She's now under our front lawn.

[marcello]

Here's our Bichon, Remy.

He's hurting today after a operation to pull two teeth and another operation at the same time.

He's a great dog.

[Kevin Bresnahan]

Yesterday, my wife & I were given the sad news that our beloved Golden Retriever, Jasmine, has an inoperable tumor on her heart. She isn't going to be around much longer. She is such a great dog. We're going to miss her.

[papsrus]

Yesterday, my wife & I were given the sad news that our beloved Golden Retriever, Jasmine, has an inoperable tumor on her heart. She isn't going to be around much longer. She is such a great dog. We're going to miss her.

Beautiful dog.

I'm sure she's enjoyed a wonderful life.

A little filet mignon for Jasmine's dinner maybe?

[Dan Gould]

Thought I'd share some pretty cool news: We found out just what Coltrane is ... a Karelian Bear Dog.

That's right - Bear Dog. Bred and trained in northern Europe to hunt freaking bears, wild boar and other large game. We knew Coltrane was fearless so hearing that the breed will go after Grizzly Bears sounded about right.

We got the first inkling about it when we noticed the picture on the cover of a pet supply catalog looked quite a bit like him. Then we saw the caption and went, "What?" So Sue did some research and started communicating with a breeder (there are very few in the U.S.) and his official opinion was that Coltrane was bred to hunt bear.

Check out the photos. I think you can see the resemblance.

This one looks so much like him it could be his litter-mate:

[Man with the Golden Arm]

[Dan Gould]

[Kevin Bresnahan]

We had to put Jasmine down last Wednesday, the day my wife was coming home from the hospital after major surgery. I left in the morning and she was fine but by late morning, I had to have my brother come and take her to the vet. The hits just keep coming here at Casa Bresnahan.

[papsrus]

Sorry for your loss.

Remember all the good times, the good life she had.

[AllenLowe]

I hate losing pets, it's one of the hardest things in life - that's why I found a couple that can outlive me (unless the army gets to them first):

[Dan Gould]

Very sorry to hear this, Kevin. Like James, I hope you remember the good times and the good life you made sure she had.

[Brad]

Hopefully all the bad news is out of the way Kevin and things will be getting a whole lot better starting today.