The DOG/GOD thread.

My wife made it clear when we met that pets were definitely NOT a part of our future. Her Dad had died suddenly at 38 when she was only 8 years old and her Mum just didn't have the money or the bandwidth to keep the family (three little kids plus one more born about 6 months after he passed away) going. So, she had grown up in a cash-poor home with no pets of any kind.

Well, 12 years later in 1997, we moved from Ottawa (near family and friends) to Windsor - where we knew nobody for at least 300 km. As a sop to the children, Cathie agreed to adopt an orange male tabby kitten named "MacDuff", who ruled the roost for about 10 years. Along the way, she felt that he should have a companion and so we got a female tabby - "Fiona" - and then after MacDuff died, we got a replacement friend - "Adelaide" - for Fiona. Adelaide is still with us (anyone want her? - she comes with a free litter box) - but the real celebrity is our 13-year old Golden Doodle "Millie" who arrived in 2009 as a new puppy.

Millie is an American (she was born at Schneider's Creek MI) but she has adapted to life in Canada pretty well. She has a remarkably friendly, calm and even temperament and is extremely patient with little kids. They try to ride her, they yank on her ears, pull her tail and she just looks up at us as if to say, "OK this is fine, but when are these people leaving?" Millie and Adelaide seem to have an understanding: Adelaide hisses and growls at her and Millie just looks-on and wags her tail in return.

I have to say that Doodles are great dogs - smart like poodles, friendly like Labs and Retrievers and big enough to be taken seriously by interlopers who value their nuts or hands. Basically, if we like someone, Millie likes them too - and vice-versa. While she is invariably friendly, she has a loud "big-dog" bark and she sure knows how to growl, bare her teeth and she went aggressively at a man who approached our daughter while out walking. She weighs a solid 45 lbs and is very strong and muscular - and fast - and so he scarpered at a rate of knots with Millie in hot pursuit.

All that, and she doesn't shed at all and there is no problem with allergies. Millie is now quite an elderly dog, but she is the picture of health and still runs around chasing her tail anytime we go out into the yard with her. The photo below shows Millie with our youngest daughter's Doodle "Lux" who is still a silly puppy.

These wonderful creatures really do enrich our lives and form bonds that transcend biology.

....and again I ask, would any like to have Adelaide the cat? I will pay for shipping in Canada and CONUS.....

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Good photo sequence of eye to full dog+. There was an adult rottie in a shelter I visited and he was super friendly to me. I 100% would have adopted him if I'd had the space. I often wonder what happened to him. Super friendly but then something flips his switch and he kills the neighbors
 
Something i learned about Rotties as a guard dog is, they will let people into the house but stop them from leaving. My dog had a trait. Sometimes when someone came into my house, (they could have come with someone else in a social situation, not a a thief), and he didn't like them Beau would follow them around, sit at their feet, if they sat on a chair or couch and let them pet him and they would ay to me how much he is a great dog and how nice he is.................but the whole time he would be looking at me with that look that said, "let me at him dad' just waiting for me to give him free rein. All i would have had to do, is quietly say..........sissss, get him, and he would have bit them.
 
We had dogs for years until Mrs. Downeaster's thyroid went bonkers and when they finally got it under control she was (is) allergic to a whole list of things including, unfortunately, pet dander/hair so we've been pet free for a very long time. Prior to that we always had a critter or two around. I'll stifle myself and limit the pix to three:

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Gatorbait, part Airedale, part Traveling Salesman, and BeeBop the Rottie. I got Gator when stationed in South Carolina. A co-worker brought a box of puppies to work and said that any that weren't gone by the end of day would be used to troll for gators in the Cooper River. He was kidding. I think. Calmest, most laid-back dog I ever had. If he bestirred himself enough to bark, you'd best check it out.

Beeb was a hand-me-down from my older daughter. She decided to open a daycare in her home, the inspectors breeched a porcupine when they saw Beeb. She knew I loved that dog and gave him to us. You've never met a gentler, more loving dog. Many times I'd visit their house and he'd be laying on the living room floor with a kitten asleep on his back or a parakeet pulling at his fur.

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Our last dog was Grumpy. Mixed mutt, some retriever I think. Got her as a pup and she laid in my lap and grumbled all the way home. Always happy to see me come through the door. Quick as a snake, I saw her grab a bluejay that was divebombing her and eat that feathered fuck beak, claws and all. We use to have a huge problem with starlings getting in the chicken coop and crapping all over everything. I'd let her in there, the chickens would come boiling out and she'd thrash around until she'd killed every one of the starlings that didn't find the exit quickly enough. She'd often come out with 4 or 5 of them in her mouth.

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And finally, we have Fernando Llama. Got him as a "birthday present" for my wife. Oddly, she didn't seem all that appreciative of my thoughtfulness... He was a great guardian for our sheep and lambs, pals with Grump and a neighborhood curiosity. During tourist season, I'd often see cars stopped in the road taking pictures of him.

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Okay, I lied. Can't leave out Baxter our Katahdin ram. He was a big sumbitch, about 300 pounds, but thought he was a dog. Loved to rub up against me until I gave him a good scratch in all the right places. His offspring would get up to about 10 or 15 pounds and get all full of themselves and get into head-butting contests with him. He basically just stood there and let them bounce off of him. I'd sit on a stump watching and laugh until I couldn't breathe.
 
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