DocAndersen
Start back in Cincinnati, Ohio (our Aussie Shepard Gwen) we’ve had a dog in the house. Before Gwen, we had blackie. Blackie was a welsh corgi terrier mix, and he ended up nipping our daughter when she was small. Blackie went off to live on a farm. I suspect he was a lot happier there. Gwen joined us shortly after Blackie left. Gwen was always an interesting dog. She was very athletic and could pluck popcorn out of the air. She was also very territorial and made sure nobody ran in her back yard. She was also terrified of thunderstorms. Gwen was also the first and last dog that I wasn’t involved in the selection of and finding. Dogs are family members.
You must take the time to find the right dog, not for one person but the family. Yes, dogs often find one person in the house that is their special person. But they interact, talk to, and play with everyone in the family. Gwen didn’t do well with everyone. When we left, Cincinnati Gwen came with us. She lived in our first and our 2nd house in Cincinnati, as well as our house in Greenwood, Indiana. Gwen was a very independent dog. She wasn’t happy when we decided to add Fran to our family. Fran was the outcome of my daughter, and I did a lot of research. We got so much input from people that weren’t going to be involved with taking care of the dog.
We feel in love with a Great Dane (a really hard breed of dog). But, talking to some people online, it had a perfect personality, but they only lived eight or fewer years at best. That felt too short to my daughter and I. We decided on a Lab. After that decision, my daughter decided that it had to be a yellow lab. I started looking for Lab puppies, but yellow labs go quick. I finally found a breeder, and she emailed me a picture of the five-week-old litter. I sent her a check as a deposit, and we waited what seemed like the longest time ever. Or we waited for five weeks, but we finally went and picked up Fran.
Fran moved with us from Indiana to Maryland and, like Gwen, lived with us in 3 different houses.
After a year or so, we added Dylan. Fran had a bad leg and couldn’t walk. I needed someone to walk with me.
After Fran passed, Dylan was lonely, so we added Raven.
The dogs of our lives!
