My Best Friend, My Mixed Breed Dog
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- Barbara Nicholson Bell
- dlkompare
-
Joy Butler
- vickirideout
- kazbryan
- daniroux
- messi09
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» Barbara Nicholson Bell - What a sweet story!
I've owned many dogs in my life, almost all of them mixed-breed "mutts". I loved every one of them. The first was Susie, part beagle and part something else, maybe terrier. She was fat, sassy, patient and clever. As soon as my father would leave for work in the morning, she would climb into his bed and snuggle under the covers. When he came home in the evening and made a cocktail for my mother and himself, if he didn't put ice cubes in Susie's dish first, she would take her paw and flip the dish! In later years when my grandmother moved into my parents' home, Susie was devoted to her and never left her side. When my grandmother died, Susie pined away and died soon after. She was at least 15 years old at that time.I have other stories about other dogs. But Susie was so full of personality, and she was my first pet love.
-- posted by Barbara Nicholson Bell
» dlkompare - Re: What a sweet story!
In response to What a sweet story! posted by bici:Barbara,
Thank you so very much for sharing your story. Yes, all of the dogs that I have had have been "mutts". I have loved each and every one, but Aristotle was truly a "soulmate". I loved your story about Susie and I hope others will share their stories as well.
Debbie
-- posted by dlkompare
»
Joy Butler
- Re: Re: What a sweet story!
Well, if I shared ALL my stories it would be a book but I'll trim it down a bit. 
All my dogs have been mutts except for the Collie named Lassie that I grew up with and my German Shepherd, Major. My kids grew up with Flower, a Peke mix. She came from a local shelter and had the patience of Job. She lived past 17. Then there was Chip, a little terrier mix, who just wandered into our yard. I ran ads but no one claimed him. He became my constant companion and I later worried that we would be at a local convenience store or somewhere and someone would recognize him as the dog they lost long ago, but that never happened. He had had heartworms when he came to us and I had him treated but he still had lots of problems from the damage the heartworms had already caused and only lived a couple of more years.
After that we got Major, the GSD, and then adopted Susie, another terrier mix, and Sharla, a spitz mix from the shelter. Sharla loved kids and babies and we called her "Aunt Sharla". She passed away from liver cancer at the age of 13. I still have Susie, now 14, who thinks nothing would get done around the house if she didn't supervise. I also have Carly, another little shelter terrier who overcame abuse to become one of my sweetest. She's very loyal and my best little watchdog since Major died. I also have Candy, a very smart husky mix, and Katy, another little terrier mix, who is well mannered, dainty, and peace-loving.
-- posted by Joy Butler
» vickirideout - Re: Re: Re: What a sweet story!
In response to Re: Re: What a sweet story! posted by JButler:Aren't rescue dogs the best? My wonderful Max, a terrier spanialal mix, is from a rescue group called Bear Mountain Dog Rescue. We've been together six wonderful years, and he's my best buddy, meditation teacher, wilderness appreciation expert, watchdog, comedian and much, much more. He shows me how to stay in the moment and live life to the fullest.
What's the name of the book your story will be in? I think I read something like Chicken Soup for the Animal Soul a few years back.
-- posted by vickirideout
» kazbryan - My best friends
This is my first post, but I was so moved by the posts I've read that I had to share my experiences!I grew up with German Shepherds - the first was called Candy, but she died when I was very young. The second, who I really remember, was Tiffany. She was beautiful, but with my brother and I only being young I'm ashamed to say that I, at the tender age of 5, had managed to drive her mad. I remember sitting on my Dad's knee pleading with him not to have her put to sleep, but he insisted - rightly so - that it was for the best. She'd always been his dog, but the night before she'd attacked him quite badly. With two kids in the house he couldn't take the risk. Nearing 30 years on I still get really upset about that - and I still blame myself for what happened. We had a Dog-free house from that day on, as Dad hadn't got over the loss of Candy, his baby, let alone Tiffany.
8 years ago I moved with my husband, and we rented a house. About 6 months later we decided to get a small dog. Rather than buy a breed, we decided to go to the local animal rescue and pick an unwanted dog. I wasn't sure about getting one, so told my hubby we could only have a little one. He'd grown up with Jack Russell's so that was fine with him. The first dog we saw won my heart. She was a beautiful, perfect, Lassie - a Rough Collie. But she was too beautiful... everyone wanted her, and she had already been homed. I was heartbroken, and felt sure that we wouldn't find a dog that day. After looking in half the kennels, hubby had a short-list of two old dogs who looked like they'd never find a home. I still hadn't found the one I wanted. Half way down the last row of kennels I stopped at one. The sign on the door that grabbed my attention said "Gina-x-Collie". As I glanced up I saw an inquisitive nose and eyes peek round, then disappear with a 'Ruff'. Hubby, who had gone on ahead, heard the bark and headed straight back. From that moment on we were both hooked. The kennel staff got a lead, and brought her out - and we saw this cute black and white collie. Hubby took the lead, and she ran off - nearly pulling him off his feet. As he jogged her back to me, and handed me her lead, he said that she was the one. There was no way on earth either of us could send her back into that kennel. She came home with us about 15 mins later, once we'd filled out the paperwork. Even though she was bought to keep me company while my hubby worked nights, she's his dog really - and shdefinatelytely his doggy soul-mate. She knows when we're upset, or ill, and has gained the nickname 'nurse geenie-dog'! Although she was supposed to be about 1 when we got her, our vet now thinks she's about 10 or 11. She's always been full of life, but she's also a cantankerous beggar - she tends to do what she wants when she wants! We were told that she's a Collie-x-Lurcher, and we've fine-tuned that down to a Lab-x-Greyhound Lurcher! So you can imagine how wiry her fur is, and what sort of temprament she has!
You can see her pic at http://img.photobucket.com/albumsduranie...
Whilst staying with friends a few years later, we met my soulmate dog - Gem. She was bought by some neighbours as a puppy, and we saw her grow up. We moved on, and about 6 months later - when she was 2 - her 'parents' split up. Her 'mum' couldn't cope with her, the 3 kids, the cat and her job... so she asked us if we wanted to have her. She knew that Gina and Gina got on really well, and knew that Gem had bonded with me when were neighbours. I couldn't turn her down. She's a funny girl Dobie-x-Whippet, she's a placid little girl who likes nothing better than to play with her ball, or hide under the bedcovers. We've had to put a blanket on the chair so she can stay in the lounge with us, but still have the comfort of her covers! She's quite like me in many ways - sociable when she feels like it, but also a loner, she's as happy in her own company as in the company of others. She likes cuddles, but gets easily bored and overheated. As placid as she is, she has a heck of a temper when riled - although this only tends to be when she thinks that she, or I, are in danger. She's now 5, and I feel very lucky to still have her as she had Pyometra last summer. Fortunately her body had been handling it really well, and we got her to the vet's quickly enough. I'm also fortunate that she's my Dad's favourite, and he kindly paid the bill (which we paid back). I don't know how I would have coped with losing her.
Gem can be seen here:http://img.photobucket.com/alduraniekazz...
As you can see from the photos, our house is run purely for the comfort and convenience of our dogs!
This weekend, we had an addition to the house. Another Collie-x. She belongs to the son of a neighbour. He split with his partner about a month ago, and she's not been looking after Judy (the dog). So we said that, as long as she got on with our dogs, she could stay until he gets himself a new place to live. I don't know how long she'll be with us, but she's beautiful. She's fun, and full of love. And she's bonded with me. She's always there, and always follows me around. Sometimes Gem gets a little jealous, but we've had a chat, and I make sure that Gem knows that she's still my dog. My hubby and I are both dog lovers, and there's more than enough love for the three of them in our house!
I'll be posting a photo of Judy tomorrow - as I'd love to know what she's crossed with. She looks like she has big 1980s black eyeliner on, and has ears and feathering that make me think of 80s back-combed hair - and she really reminds me of Toyah! I think she's crossed with GSD or a Spaniel, or maybe a Setter...
-- posted by kazbryan
» daniroux - My Mixed Breeds
I adopted a young puppy from the local animal shelter and he turned out to be a Rottweiler & Catahoula Leopard mix. This is the absolute prettiest mix breed I have ever found. Unfortunately, he was stolen from my backyard.My husband took it terribly. So I searched for the same mix breed everywhere and could not locate one. Finally I found another local shelter that had a female mix Catahoula & Lab. She is precious and has very similar features to our previous pup. We would still love to find an actual Rottweiler & Catahoula mix pup to maybe breed with our female. They are definitely the best I have seen.
-- posted by daniroux
» messi09 - My Mixed Breeds
In response to My Mixed Breeds posted by daniroux:Hi! I found your post because I am about to adopt a catahoula/rotti mixed pup and I did a search on them. He's almost 5 months now and he has 3 siblings left if you're still interested. I'm in Austin, TX and I'm not sure if you're anywhere close by. If so, you should check out www.rottilove.com. They have pics and stuff up so you can check them out. Good luck!
-- posted by messi09
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