WALKING-WITH-DOGS
I have had a dog or dogs in my life for about 40 of the 50 years I’ve been living on this earth. Most have been family mutts, found or dropped off at our home of lots of “animals”. For some reason, it was my parents’ home that was known to be okay to drop off a stranded or “in desperate situation” dog that we would take care of for the rest of the dog’s life. Dogs like Georgie Girl, Sandy, Snoopy, Bourbon, or Rex—all different sizes, colors, ages and types of mixed breeds. This was a home that also included cats like Jacque (he may get his own story later) and Aggie, roaming chickens and an attacking Rooster, snakes and lizards, quail and pheasants, desert turtles with multiple lives, goldfish, hamsters, and the fawn my sister brought home from the university to be taken care of during the holiday break. That was one week we were the most popular kids on the block with a fawn in a harness and leash on our front lawn!
After living through my early 20’s, getting married, buying a home and starting a career, I finally got a puppy for my birthday–a full breed tri-color Australian Shepherd named Wyle. Two years later, he was joined by his half sister Winnie, a blue merle Aussie. I took obedience classes from beginner to advanced to obstacle course training with each of them. (We dog owners think these classes are for the dogs to learn but really they are for us to learn how to be their caretakers and to create the best, or not a dull life for them.) Wyle took the winning blue ribbon home one year in the obstacle course at a Bay Area competition. Winnie was the awesome frisbee catcher–she was small but could fly high in the air to make the catch and then drop it at my feet ready for the next run. They both enjoyed their training and were very good at it. They were the best first dogs for me and they showed me how to walk with them.
The Firsts: Wyle & Winnie
I have 3 dogs now that I walk with–Bear (15+ years, red merle Australian Shepherd), Nicoya (12+ years red and white Siberian Husky) and Winnie #2 (silver Siberian Husky adopted 2 years ago–today’s estimated age 5).
Today’s Pack: Winnie #2, Bear, and Nicoya
This blog (really my tribute to Bear) will be about the different ways these dogs have enhanced my life, what I have learned from being their caretaker, what great products or pieces of information I have found and some fun and silly observations of other people interacting with their dogs that have left me laughing out loud or had me thinking, “what is that person thinking or doing with their dog?”
