- Jack
Sam
Some days, just getting up to feed them is exhausting. Four dogs and one cat; my babies. They all came to be part of the family through unplanned circumstances. Two had been strays that wandered into the neighborhood. After running a seven-day found ad, nobody stepped up to claim them. The idea of relinquishing these loving little balls of fur to the local kill shelter was abhorrent, so they stayed. Sam, the oldest and largest dog, was my parent’s faithful companion’; he outlived both of them. Jack, the Min-Pin, came from a family that was a bad match for him. He was still intact and wasn’t being trained, thus, he was becoming far too alpha for the children. He was also afraid of teenage boys and men because of teasing. At the time, we had an old Basenji that was very close to the end of her projected life span. We had just inherited old Sam and felt that bringing Jack on board would be a good choice at a good time. I had no concerns about his behavior problems because I’d been successful in re-socializing the Basenji after she’d been through a string of non-dominant owners. Jack has a pretty reddish-brown coat which is similar in color to that of Gus, our ornery dachshund.
Gus
Missy
Missy was a stray tabby that had wandered into the neighborhood and was hanging out at any house where she could get a bite to eat. Initially, I thought Missy belonged to my neighbor’s daughter. During a conversation that I was having with my husband, I mentioned Missy and described how sweet she had been at our first meeting. My husband explained to me that Missy was a declawed stray that had been around for two weeks. I was horrified because coyotes, raccoons, dogs and tom cats roam our semi-rural neighborhood. Out of concern for Missy’s safety, she was invited into our home. When I first encountered Missy, I hadn’t had a cat for over thirty years and I had no interest in adding one to the herd. When there was no response to my found ad after it had run for a week, it was decided that Missy would join the critter crew. Sam and Gus were pretty much uninterested in Missy and, after a little posturing , even Jack tolerated her. Missy’s patience with “vulgar” dogs (her words, not mine) was tested when Oso arrived on the scene.
Oso
One July afternoon, my nephew was washing his truck in the backyard. As he finished up, he stepped back to do a scan for missed spots. Out from under the truck appeared a fuzzy little puppy with a spitz-like tail. He was walking with a puppy stumble and didn’t appear to be much over eight weeks old. My nephew immediately fell head-over-heals for the little guy. He looked like a cub bear so he was christened with the name Oso (Spanish for bear). We ran a found ad which, surprisingly, had no responses. My nephew wanted so bad to have his own dog, so, with much trepidation, I agreed. The trepidation stemmed from the fact that the puppy looked like it had Akita or German Shepherd in its DNA. My nephew would be living with us for the next year and I was afraid that we’d be tripping over ourselves as well as the four dogs. My dogs have always been indoor dogs and are considered family members so they are underfoot most of the time. The thought of adding another big dog to the mix was a bit daunting. To our amazement, Oso reached full size at about forty pounds. Like I previously mentioned, he was supposed to be my nephew’s dog, however, after my nephew finished school and moved away, Oso stayed. Oso is a happy little goof who gets along with just about everybody, although, he doesn’t really know to react to Missy. Missy will sit at the top of the stairs hissing and growling with the safety of the baby gate between her and Oso. In response, Oso gets all wound up and barks at her. He’d never intentionally harm Missy, he’s just curious about what kind of critter she is and wants to get her to play with him.
Sometimes it takes everything out of me just to keep the babies fed and to clean up after them. I always feel relieved on weekends when my husband is home and able to take care of the dog-kids in the morning so that I can get a little extra sleep. I must admit, more days than not, it’s my babies that keep me going. Even though at times it’s exhausting to care for them, they are a constant source of entertainment. Best of all, they’re each very attached to their people and want nothing more than to feel loved. Even on my worst days, loving them is an easy thing to do.
