Do you love dogs? I know there are cat lovers out there too, but in my experience there’s really nothing that quite compares with the love of a dog!
As I was growing up, my family had several dogs. My parents got Goldie when I was a baby so she and I grew up together. She was a golden retriever/yellow lab mix and she was the absolutely perfect family dog. Fun, loving, protective. Later, my mom told me Goldie’d had her moments with housetraining and chewing and digging. But the whole time I knew her, Goldie was the perfect dog. When I was sixteen, we got Tessie, a Shetland Sheepdog. I took her to obedience training, and we even competed in competitive trials for a couple years. We had fun together.
When I got married and my own family was complete, two of us — my older son and I — were dog people, and two of us — my husband and younger son — were ambivalent about having a dog. Not that they didn’t want one. They just didn’t think too much about it. Unlike my oldest son and I who dreamed about it constantly. When he was six my son started asking for a dog. To hold him off, I told him he had to be ten in order to own a dog. However, his tenth birthday came and my husband thought we were too busy with the kids and work to give a dog a proper home.
However, when he was twelve, a dear friend of ours was in a bind and needed to adopt out her own dog Grace to a loving home. She felt terrible about it, but couldn’t possibly keep her. Knowing that we had two young boys, and what a great family member Gracie would be, she approached us. I was thrilled. Gracie was the perfect solution — she was two years old, she was already trained out of any bad puppy habits. And coming from our friend, we knew she’d had a kind and loving upbringing.
We went to visit her, immediately fell in love, and the rest is history! On the morning we were bringing her home, my son, the dog lover, woke up, excited beyond belief and said, “This is the day I’ve been waiting for half my life!” Gracie became a treasured member of our family. She was an absolutely perfect pet. Loving, playful, affectionate, low-maintenance. We had her for over thirteen years before we were forced to say a tearful good-bye two summers ago.
In the two “empty” years, my husband and I retired, sold our house and moved across the country. We did a lot of road trips, but recently, it dawned on us that we were ready for another dog. Two Sundays ago, we visited a local rescue shelter and picked out our newest daughter — cute, lovable, adorable Weezer! She’s half pointer, half beagle. We like her size (much smaller than Gracie) and her playfulness. But man oh man, we underestimated the immense impact her presence would have on our peaceful, quiet household. No more staying up late and sleeping till 9. No more lazy mornings drinking coffee, watching talk shows and wandering upstairs to my writing room about 10 AM. No, I’m exhausted by 9:30; she has me up at six to go “potty;” she didn’t arrive housetrained, so every hour (if not more frequently) one of us snaps the leash on her and takes her outside. She must go out fifteen times a day! My husband’s calling contractors to talk about pulling bushes out and putting up a fence. A fenced in yard can’t come soon enough!
But still, we love her regardless of the huge changes she’s brought to our lives. I’ll enjoy taking her through obedience, and she’s already made huge strides in housetraining so I have faith that she’ll master that soon. Oh, and guess what: both my adult boys have dogs in their lives now! It’s addictive!
My love of canines led me to write Path to Discovery, a story that features a dog. Duchess lives in a New York City apartment with her owner, Broadway actress Roxanne Frazier. During a date with
her co-star Tieg Miller, the unspeakable happens and Duchess is kidnapped right from under their noses. Together they are driven to follow the clues to locate Roxanne’s beloved pet, the pain and misery of not knowing where or how Duchess is, driving her. I could only imagine the angst Roxanne was going through, because I can’t imagine even being able to sleep if one of my own dogs disappeared.
For a chance to win a free ebook copy of Path to Discovery, please comment with the name of your pet and what you love about him/her. Or a story you’d like to share about your favorite pet!
**Heartwarming, life-changing Christian fiction.** An award-winning author, Laurie is living her dream life at the beach, writing novels. Laurie writes beachy inspirational romance that takes place in the South Carolina Low Country. She retired from the big day job and now focuses on writing full time. Strolls on the sand, soaking up the sun and riding the waves can be considered the best kind of research.
Hi Laurie! Thanks for sharing. While we have had a variety of pets: canary winged bee bee parrot Laurie; cats Mimi, Smokey, and Abbey; and a hermit crab Herbie; our Shetland sheep dogs are the dearest to our family’s heart.
Lord MacBeth (1985 – 1997) herded our two young sons while living in a busy neighborhood in Chicago. He was an excellent judge of character. Then in 2002 tri-color Sheltie Penny joined our family. She was good with kids – our youngest son and our four grandkids. She passed in August 2018 and I just dedicated a book I wrote for my granddaughters (ages 2 & 6) to Penny and her Sheltie cousin Mocha (2003 – 2019). Our youngest granddaughter when ever she sees a picture of Penny says “Penny in heaven.” Our oldest granddaughter cried when she I read the dedication to her beloved Mocha. In June her family added a female Blue Merlot Sheltie Ivy to their family. We puppy sit Ivy three mornings a week. Now that the kids are back to school not fair for Ivy to be home alone for 8 hours . For these retirees it is a win win. Hubby and I get our doggie fix but still have our weekend freedom to travel. Ivy is a very smart dog – easy to potty train and already knows our house, but as you stated Ivy has boundless energy. Enjoy your new doggie. Best wishes and happy writing.
I have to say I am a cat lover. I am actually scared of dogs. Given time some dogs I can handle like a couple of dogs where I did some work but it took time. If I see a dog out walking (and don’t know it or where it lives) I will turn quickly and go a different way.
Oh on the no longer sleeping in. Welcome to my world. I have 2 rescue cats who like to getup around 6 or earlier due to it getting lighter. (they do have a litter box). I have Henry who is adorable but has his moments. My other baby is Liberty (Libby for short) her nickname is Bratski due to being a real brat at times. Henry’s nickname is buster. I had a cat door installed and the first day I googled how to get my cats to use a cat door. Then the next day I had it locked and I was googling how do I stop a cat getting out a locked cat door. Hence the name Buster.
Hi Laurie, dogs are great. One of my senior students pet dogs had 4 puppies recently (toy poodles). Each week his parents bring one puppy in for a brief visit- cutest puppies ever, and the students just love them. Big tough senior boys get all gooey and open up when they pet a puppy and the stress of study seems more manageable. I think dogs make for great therapy/companion pets.
Blessings:)
I love Shelties! Such beautiful dogs and a perfect size. Enjoy your time with your grandpuppy Mocha. I agree, having is the perfect arrangement for all.
I’m so sorry to hear about your fear of dogs! My mother in law was bit as a child and is afraid as an adult. But cats are special pets too, and it’s so kind of you to rescue your kitty babies!
Oh you’re so right! Dogs are so naturally lovable that they bring joy and happiness to those around them.
I love cats and dogs but I knew going into my marriage that my hubby is CRAZY allergic to cats, so no cats for us. But dogs…I started asking for a dog when he finished his Army training and we got to our first post. He relented after a year(ish) and I got the dad speech on the way out to the breeder (“This is YOUR dog. I am not doing anything with it. It’s your responsibility…”) And so we brought home our lovely trip color Sheltie puppy, Cassiopeia (Cassie) and wouldn’t you know it, she loved him more than me! (She still loved me, but man, she was crazy for him.) He couldn’t hold out against that and before long we were off to the breeder again because he was convinced Cassie got lonely during the day and needed a friend. Another tri Sheltie, Megabyte (Meggie) joined us. Meggie was all mine. She was my baby.
They’ve both moved on to herd sheep for Jesus now and we spent a few years dog free, but between me and our boys clamoring, I finally got hubby to agree to try again and Dobby the miniature schnauzer puppy joined our house in December. He’s such a joy and I love having a dog again.
Oh how wonderful! Did you find having 2 dogs twice as much work as one? Or did you find they entertained each other, making it easier on you? So funny that the hubbies who were resistent to getting dogs in the first place are the ones whose hearts get so attached! Enjoy your new baby!
I grew up on a farm. So I love both dogs and cats. My husband grew up in the city and most of his family were allergic to cats, so they had a dog. After we got married we had assorted animals.. We always visited my parents, my sister and friends who had both dogs an cats. So the children learned to love both. It wasnt until our oldest was 3 and our youngest 1 that we decided we needed to get a dog. For what ever reason our son became deathly afraid of dogs and this started to transfer to his sister. Oh no, we are nipping this in the bud now. We went and got a 4 month old puppy. A Keeshond. We had her for 13 years. Oh but the wonderful memories we have of her. And she loved those two children and helped them overcome their fear. Now our daughter is like a dog whisperer and our son just adores his cat and dog.
Honestly I feel like two was easier. Especially with dogs that have the herding instinct and really enjoy the chase for exercise. They would play and save us from lots of walkies. :)
I’m actually trying to decide if Dobby needs a friend, too. The kids might be enough, they do love to play with him. And he loves to play fetch, which was never anything our shelties would do.
Great post! This story sounds wonderful! We are definitely dog lovers ( and cat lovers, but since this post is about dogs…lol). We have five dogs, a pit bull/boxer named Jayde who will knock you down with her wagging tail, a pit bull/lab named Russ who is very fun-loving and friendly, a blue heeler named Maggie who is the youngest of the family of dogs but acts like queen dog (and can’t understand why no one will listen to her lol), a 14 year old Jack Russel named Pumpkin who has the fastest tongue in the west, and a 13 year old Chihuahua named Milo who is my constant companion. I couldn’t imagine our life without these guys in it. Each of them adds something special. The day I fell down 9 steps in our house and sat at the bottom waiting to see if I had broken anything, Maggie was the one who came to check on my. I think I scared the others lol.
Something to consider! Haha
Oh how sweet! I’m so glad that puppy did his/her job and won over the kiddos! <3
Oh my gosh, your household sounds so fun and active! How wonderful that you’ve welcomed so many dogs into your home!
Hubby’s a dog lover and I’m a cat lover. We’ve had a parade of each over the years with occasional gaps. Currently we are owned by an 11yo black Lab cross, Brody, and two 9yo cats, Coonie and Moxie, who are turtoiseshell littermates. They get along like sisters around the world: best friends and then nasty scrapping! They seem to consider Brody their big brother and he enjoys the attention of his little sisters.
I love dogs. I know I would be a cat lover too if I wasn’t super allergic. I love animals in general.
We had a German Shepherd growing up. As an adult I’ve had an American Eskimo and a Labrador Retriever.
Love the dog stories! We have had four Shelties, then about 6 years ago adopted Lily, a shepherd mix. Two years ago, a friend was frantically trying to find a home for a mistreated black lab. So now we have Allen, who is the sweetest dog ever. We discovered he had heart worms, but we are having the expensive treatment. Allen is just not replaceable!
I love dogs! When my son was 6 he begged for dog, said he already had one picked out. Turned out a neighbor down the street was a breeder of Shih Tzu’s and she had a brand new litter that my son was visiting, lol. He picked out the runt of litter and told me he had to have him, he named him Charlie and he came “with papers”! He kept on and on about “the papers” so I finally asked if he knew what that meant, of course he said “no, but he’s got them!” LOL. I went to see this little runt and he literally fit in the palm of my hand….sigh….love at first sight. Charlie was the best dog ever, sadly he’s been gone for a while and hubs and I can’t agree on getting another yet….
Awwww! So glad that the cross-breed siblings can find happiness together! :)
Sounds like you’re a large dog lover. So am I. I love playful, sturdy dogs who can run along without me worrying about stepping on them. Weezer is lightweight (32 lbs) but tall and very scrappy!
Oh Betty what a perfect home Allen has found and what perfect parents you are for him!!
I like most animals, but I absolutely love dogs! We got my first dog when I was 7, and Copper was my dog. I know he was the entire family’s, but he slept with me, played most with me, and comforted me when my best friend moved. He was my best friend for 13 years! I was in college when my parents decided to put him down, and I was so upset that they didn’t wait for me to come home for Christmas to say goodbye to him. :(
My oldest son pestered us for years about getting a dog of his own, but we wanted to wait until my youngest son was old enough. So when he turned 2 and my oldest was 6, we adopted a light brown half Collie/half lab mutt. His mom was a full-bred Collie, but his dad must have been a mutt. ;) My son took turns holding on the dogs in the pen, and when it came to this one, he knew immediately that this was the one. :) When we started thinking about names, I suggested several over-used names for dogs, like Butch or Pooch or Fido. But then I thought aloud, “He’s almost the same copper-color as my old Copper, except he’s even more coppery.” And my son just had to name him Copper, too. :) Even though he is technically my oldest son’s Christmas present, he sleeps with me and follows me around. He’s really mostly my dog, just like my first Copper. But don’t tell my son that. ;)
Awww Charlie will live forever in the hearts and memories of your whole family, just like our Gracie does for us. Dogs are just such precious creatures capable of love and loyalty. Can’t beat ’em!
Copper the 2nd! What a beautiful way to pay homage to Copper #1! Before we got Grace, my older son dreamed of having a dog named Max. When we got Grace, she was already named. So we gave her “Maxine” as a middle name. Now, in her memory, all the female dogs in the family take on Maxine as a middle name, including Weezer Maxine! LOL
Aww, how sweet! I love the tradition of similar names!
We also did that with our son’s names. My husband’s dad is Brian Paul, Paul being his father’s first name. My husband’s name is Christopher Brian, my oldest son’s is Lucas Christopher, and my youngest son’s is Marcus Christopher. We hope at least one of them continues the tradition and hands their first name down to their son as a middle name. :)
While I grew up in a house with at least three cats at any given time, I always kind of wanted a dog. I loved having cats, but after I adopted a particularly destructive kitty early in my marriage, my husband pretty refused to get another animal for a while!
A few years ago we decided to get a dog, knowing our kids were finally old enough to assume much of the responsibility for walking, feeding etc. We adopted Roscoe, a corgi-cattle dog mix – from a rescue organization. He was already house-broken and fit right into our family. He’s scared of loud noises (raised voices, thunder, etc.) and HATES riding in vehicles, so we wonder what he experienced before he came to live with us. Otherwise, he’s so sweet and chill – actually pretty lazy most of the time, which is contrary to what you’d expect of his breeds. We love our Roscoe and can’t imagine why we waited so long to get a dog!
Oooohhh, I remember your sheltie! Did we do obedience together at Miller Park? I would have had the Dachshund (of course).
I don’t have any dogs at this time, but do have cats & horses.
Mom still raises and shows Dachshunds, so I can get my “doggie” fix anytime….
Elizabeth love that our Sheltie are herders for the Good Shepherd. Would make a great painting. Thanks for sharing. And I agree that two Sheltie are easier than one . Penny and her cousin Mocha spent lots of time playing together as pups when they were not herding children.
At this season, I can’t have a pet. If I could, it would be a cat. I love cats!!! My favorite story is of our cat, Smokey. Smokey was at least half Persian, we think full but can’t prove it, which is why we had him. His owner couldn’t prove he was full, as she was out of town when his mom was in heat. When we got Smokey, he was only 6 weeks, if that. My Daddy hated cats. Smokey didn’t know that. Daddy got up at 4:30 every weekday for work. Smokey was ready to play. He got Daddy to play with him, and he really became Daddy’s cat, as he would wait at the door every day for Daddy to get home from work. He knew when he was supposed to be there!!
Our beloved Ray Dog was 15 when he crossed the rainbow Bridge. He had brain cancer and when the seizures got horrific we let him go but we stayed with him as he said goodbye. So far we haven’t gotten a new fur baby but here lately have at least been talking about getting one. He was a toy fox terrier and we would like to get another toy fox terrier but need to find a reputable breeder and not a puppy mill.
We’ve had our share of dogs through the years. We had one for nearly eighteen years. His name was Pepper. We are currently petless because we travel too much.
Awww! Roscoe found a great home! All we know about Weezer’s background is that she’d been at the rescue for three weeks, and had been picked up by Animal Control before that because she was wandering the streets. That accounts for about a month of her life but I have no idea what her life was like before that. I do know she’s terrified of garbage trucks, and for some reason, grooming brushes! But in our home she has nothing to worry about. When she freaks about something I just speak to her gently and show it to her slowly and she usually gets over it quickly.
Hi Marianne! Of course I remember your dachsunds! I don’t think “Tessie” and I did obedience at Miller Park — we went to Town and Country Kennel Club. We loved their program. With all your land you HAVE to get a dog again! Do it!! :)
Ohhh Smokey. More than dogs, I think cats have a sense when a human is NOT a cat person, and then they work diligently to transform that uninformed person! How cute. What would be funny is if your dad got another cat after Smokey was gone. Then we’d know he was truly transformed!
It sounds like you loved your Ray Dog with every ounce of your being, as we loved Gracie. We also stayed at her side as she crossed over. Our vet made house calls for euthanasia and since Gracie was terrified of going into the office, we felt that would be the best, most peaceful way for her to go. Yes, it sounds like your healing has reached the point where you’re at least considering getting another little one, just like we were before we got Weezer. :)
Yes, this is the biggest issue. I retired from my big day job and I want the ability to travel as we want to. However, my hubby prefers roadtrips while I prefer air travel. So when we’re in the car, I guess technically she could come with us! And when I fly, he ain’t comin’ with me anyhow! So he can stay home with her! ha ha.
Yep, Town & Country Kennel Club. They had an Obedience training class at Miller Park that I took one of Mom’s dogs through. If memory serves, one of the club member/trainer’s name was Steve. Can’t remember the other one, tho (I’m surprised I can remember that much! it’s only been a bazillion years ago)!! I remember it being in the pavilion.
WOW – haven’t thought about that in YEARS! Thanks for the memory :>)
Laurie, what a beautiful story…I can totally relate to (our four kids are begging for a dog…). I don’t know if I can handle the dog in addition to kiddos lol
I had St. Bernard Ralph when growing up, which seems like a lifetime ago.
Lol!! True!! However, Smokey was the last cat we ever had. Mom and I said we’d get one later, but now, she can’t see well, so I’d be too worried that she’d step on the cat or the cat would trip her. I just can’t take the chance now.
Wow! St Bernards are huge! They must be a lot of work. :)
Oh I know that best of friends to scrapping. Henry is a large Tabby and Libby is a tortoiseshell. When they were at the vets (Henry was there 122 days and Libby about 3 months) They bonded. They shared a cat bed and loved each over. Libby would cry if she couldn’t find Henry. They wanted them to go to a new home together. Libby washes Henry (till hes had enough then he swats him). they will be so sweet then they are play fighting and like the annoying little sister when Henry has had enough he lets her know and she keeps going back to annoy him.
Stacey, When I first got my two rescue cats I could tell Henry had been abused. They were both abandoned and he is slightly cross eyed. If I would go to pet him at the wrong angle he would flinch, If I raised my voice he would cower and often go in the submissive position like a dog. It took over 6 weeks for him to be really trust me. Now he’s a cuddle bunny but on his terms. He doesn’t sit on my lap. Libby hates loud noises, other people, and at times is almost scared of her own shadow . Its gotten worse I think mainly because I live alone. If someone comes she has a place she hides. These two have broken a few things and ruined some curtains. but they seemed to have gotten better. Just wish they would let me sleep in to at least 6am.
I’m not really a dog lover…I like them. I prefer my cat and chickens. Right now I have two baby silkies.
Cats and chickens! That’s quite a combo! Describe for me what makes chickens your favorite pet. :)
My cat used to cry his heart out if I did not get up early to feed him breakfast. I am a teacher and he did not appreciate my trying to sleep in during vacations. My parents have a standard poodle who unfortunately likes to eat books.
They are! But they are so tender and lovable :)
Ha ha! Yes Lori, my days of leisurely sleeping in till whenever I felt like waking are sadly, OVER. In fact, that was my favorite part about retirement! But I guess it’s replaced by a cute, snuggly puppy and that cute face I can’t resist. Oh well. :)
My husband and I have been married for 44 years, had an Australian Shepherd given to us for Wedding present. He is not the one I will tell about, although he was a great dog.
We had 3 children and I had previously read a book about a girl with CP and her Newfoundland dog that was such a help to her daily life. from then on I wanted a Newfoundland. We had just moved from Oregon to Fresno California and I saw an ad in the paper for a Newfoundland/lab mix. I called and we were accepted to be the ones to adopt if all went well with meeting. it went great and so we had Bear for 7 years. I could write a book about him and all his wonderful traits, great babysitter when children were out playing in fenced yard, great to keep eye on them if we turned our backs when moving cross country. We had him 3 years and moved back to home country of Alabama. I was driving a small station wagon with 2 children and the dog, my husband had 1 child and was driving the moving truck. We had CB radio’s to keep in touch, 1985 no cell phones, and truckers would talk about the lady in the car with the black bear. We stopped at rest area to get out cooler to make our lunch and as I went to restroom my husband and kids unloaded and the kids walked Bear. I got to the restroom and dreaded it as the line was out the door, not because of that many inside but they were all standing watching the small children walk “a black bear” and were amazed. He was a wonderful dog and we had him till his body started shutting down and had to make the hard decision to let him go rather than suffer.
We have had several dogs since then and right now have 4 seniors 1- 14year old and 3 – 15 year olds and a 10 year old. then out in a large fenced yard we have a very active 1 year old we are fostering and trying to work on some basic training.
We love dogs and have had at least 1 all the years we have been married. I cannot imagine life without one.
Right now we have 5 senior dogs, from 1- 10 year old and 4 -15 year olds. 3 of the older dogs are dealing with age related health problems. My 2 are Tiffany, 15 year old dauchand mix , and I took 10 year old Benjamin Franklin “Bennie” Booboo Fudge from my daughter, when she married and housing does not allow pets, he is a Shitz Zue (never remember the spelling). They are my shadows and Tiffany is my cuddle bug. I could go on about these as well as Bear our Newfoundland mix we rescued and Pretty Boy our Australian Shepherd given to us as a wedding present.