How much is that doggie in the window?

[Hosakawa Tito]

When our last beloved dog died 4 years ago, my wife and I were so emotionally upset that we agreed to never have another. Even as kids we both always had at least one dog in our lives, and suffered the pain of loss when they died or had to be put down. You would think the process would get easier and one would learn to handle/cope with it better through experience. For us anyway that was not the case. That big dumb lovable ox, Apollo was a huge 180lb. Rottweiler, just broke our hearts when we had to put him down because of a cancerous tumor in his nasal passage.

Anyway, my wife has been kind of hinting that she might, just maybe, like to have another dog. So I'm going to take the plunge, again, and get us a Rottweiler pup from a breeder I know, and give it to her on Valentines Day. Man, the cat ain't gonna like this.

[Mouzafphaerre]

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Give the cat a bird!
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[Devastatin Dave]

My dog, Mrs Hunny, died a few months back and I still haven't got over it. Its effected my life in a way I can't explain.
Tim, Mouzafphaerre actually brings up a good suggestion whether he meant to or not. Have you ever considered a Cockatoo? You might want to look into it. The Umbrella Cockatoo is extremely friendly, especially if you hand feed it as a chick. They are very long-lived, even over 70 years!!! When I worked in a Pet Store we hand raised one name Precious. It was the sweetest thing, very friendly and lovely. Now, they are not very cheap, but the fact that they live so long and give so much love is worth every penny. I love the two dog's I have, but I hate that most dog's live 10 to 12 years at the most. Just something to consider.

[Uesugi Kenshin]

One dog everyone might want to consider is a female Chesapeake Bay Retriever, they are very homey and never wander. We let ours roam free and it has never run off. The males are much more territorial though and you might not want them, they may wander as well I don't know I only know about the female ones. They are great swimmers and very nice, they are used as bird dogs and I think are somewhat more obedient than the average dog. Ours is great.....
Good luck with the new puppy!

[Beirut]

My love, my life, my dog. "Beirut"

I'll go through women like t-shits but I can only have one dog. And he is gone and that is it for me. I would feel like if I got another I would be... ungrateful, for having him in the first place.

I spent thirteen years with my good ol' Lab/Newfie mix in a cabin in the woods, had him when he was barely eight weeks old and he died in my arms a lifetime later. Replacing him is simply not an option.

But that's me. By all means get the puppy. If the dog makes he both of you happy then that is perfect.

I stand by my signature.

[Orda Khan]

Very moving Beirut.....and a testament to the unconditional love we get from our dogs. Not called 'man's best friend' for nothing.

Truly though, loving another dog does not make you less loyal or devoted to the one that has passed away and it is possible to love and to love again. We become so attached as humans and the heart break [ that is afterall innevitable ] tears us apart.

Tito, I think that's a wonderful idea and I'm sure she will be overjoyed. As a St Valentine's Day puppy would his prospective name be ROMEO by any chance?

.......Orda

[Kraellin]

as a kid, we always had a dog. we went through quite a few, from labs to pointers to blond cockers and of course, mutts. but the string ended after we got this mix of beagle and dauschand (sp?). we named the dog 'Socks' for his white paws. he was smallish and a mix of colors, browns and reds and whites and short haired. but his impact on our family was remarkable. this was the most intelligent dog we'd ever owned, though i shld prolly amend that to 'that owned us'. he was quite simply put, people. he knew more tricks than some of my brothers and sisters and had a way of getting anything he wanted.

at the dinner table he would go around the table and beg. he'd move to one person and 'sit up'. but he didnt do this in the conventional dog manner. he'd get up on his back legs and then 'sit' on his haunches with this front paws up in the traditional begging form. if and when that person wouldnt cough anything up, he'd move a few spaces over and try again. inevitably, he always got something, sometimes more than some of us at the table ;)

he was barred from the living room, which was carpetted and warm, but would lay down at the entryway in the kitchen, which was linoleum and colder, with just his front paws in the living room. he'd then inch his way forward onto the carpet bit by bit until he was all the way onto the carpet. invariably, my mother would catch him and say in a semi-scolding manner, 'Socks!?', and he'd slink back onto the linoleum....for a while. when my mother was no longer paying any attention, it would start all over again.

if he was outside and wanted in, he would 'knock' on the door. this usually involved simply jumping up on the screen door which would make an appropriately loud noise and be let in. to go out, he'd do the same thing on the inner wood door, or paw it with his toenails.

he was not a 'fighting' dog. he never picked a fight with other dogs, but he also never backed down if one started up with him. i've seen him chase full grown, pure bred german shepherds out of the yard when the shepherd was feeling a bit antagonistic.

as he grew, his territory expanded and he had several girl friends around the neighborhood. one in particularl he seemed quite fond of and would bring her home occaisionally to 'meet the family'. we were always duly impressed. and to this day we have no true idea of how many pups he sired.

Socks was family. no dog had ever infected or affected our entire family quite so much. when he passed it truly was like losing a family member, and to this day, 40 years later, if you talk about or show a picture of him to my mother, she'll well up in tears, get a bit choked, and start recounting all of his virtues. she's also never owned a dog since, except once when a brother had to get rid of his and left it with my folks.

pets can be amazing and affect us much more than we realize at times. Socks was one of those pets.

K.

[Devastatin Dave]

Amazing Kraellin, that was touching. It is such a shame that dogs don't live longer than whay they do. Hunny still visits me in my dreams. Sorry, I can't say much more, choked up....

[NagatsukaShumi]

Well, me not been a dog person I find the same to be true with cats. I guess they are jsut less effort to keep going and can go off and do their own things.

Never had a dog, but my dad used to, but they weren't exactally pleased whenever I was round at his house, I guess thats why I prefer cats to this day.

However, you do get re-attached, I had a cat who was there with me sine the day I was born til I was 15 called 'Smartie'. When she did my mum had already bought 'Poppy' who I am no extremely attached to, even though we have two other cats, I'm jsut very attached to that particular one as she always seems to keep me company when I'm sad which is scary because I don't how she knows I am.

Anyways, sounds like a nice idea to get a new dog

[Mouzafphaerre]

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Have you decided on a name yet? How about Kerberos?
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[KukriKhan]

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Have you decided on a name yet? How about Kerberos?
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And, of course, we'll need pictures of the li'l brownNblack tomorrow, Hosakawa Tito.

Our Lobo is 15 years old now, and goes up and downs stairs more slowly than before. He's in semi-retirement, which leads to a short, sad story.

We moved to our current house last Spring. We have Lobo, and 2 cats. As Lobo has gotten less enthusiastic about enforcing security around our perimeter (and the perimeter is much smaller), the boy cat kind of assumed the duty of patrolling. No kidding. He'd "head butt" Lobo (gently; paying respect, we thought), then go out into the yard and watch for intruders; typically other cats, or possums. He'd chase them off, like Lobo used to do.

Two weeks ago, 'Snag' (the boy cat) went missing, during the night. There was some kind of big ruckus out back (loud enough to wake me up). He hasn't turned up yet, despite flyers, visits, etc. Ms. Kukri is heart-broken. And I have heard the yelps and howlings of coyotes nearby for the past month. I conclude a coyote was poking around, and Snag confronted him/her with dire consequences.

I suspect we will ultimately get another cat - too soon to tell yet, as Ms. Kukri is just now coming to grips with his probable death. For awhile, she wanted me to load up the rifle and go coyote hunting. But she's softened on that lately (we're still technically in 'the city', where hunting is not allowed).

And at 15, and counting, I dread the day we lose Lobo.

[Uesugi Kenshin]

That hits really close to home Kukri, we have two cats and coyotes in the area. Every night we hear them yipping we dread that one of the cats is outside and got ambushed.

Sorry about your cat, sounds like he was a great cat....

[KukriKhan]

That hits really close to home Kukri, we have two cats and coyotes in the area. Every night we hear them yipping we dread that one of the cats is outside and got ambushed.

Sorry about your cat, sounds like he was a great cat....

Thanks, m8. True that: he was a good cat & will be missed. Lady called last evening, after having seen one of our posters, saying she found Snag's headless body behind her BBQ grill. It has been raining a lot here lately, so folks haven't been out in their backyards much to see things.

So now we know he's gone. RIP little buddy.

[King Edward]

The German Shepheard that Attacked me when I was 4 years old wasn't my best friend (no lasting physical damage thankfully), as you can imagine I never developed into a dog person.......

[Hosakawa Tito]

Here's a pic of our new family member, Zoe. 8 weeks old female rottweiler pup. She's taking a break after a hard afternoon of pestering the cat and chewing up my socks.

[KukriKhan]

What a cutie!

Hard to imagine that in no time, she'll be 150 lbs of muscle (and still chewing up your socks).

[Beirut]

Holy jumpin'! She's still wet behind the ears. Literaly.

I bid unto you my signature.

[Hosakawa Tito]

Yes, she weighs about 5-6 lbs now. She was the runt in the litter, so I am hoping she doesn't get much larger than 60-80 lbs. The hotwater bottle and ticking clock in her own bed trick didn't work, she whined so pitifully for company that she ended up in our bed last night. I got a feeling we will spoil her rotten.

[Uesugi Kenshin]

Cute puppy!

Do they really get that heavy?
Big dogs can be a lot of fun, our Chessy is 70-75 pounds depending on the seaon and it is all muscle. The funniest thing I have ever seen a dog do is her jumping off the dock chasing a toy, but to make it really funny you have to roll it just off the dock so she tries to follow it by shoving her face straight down and turning in mid air!


Sorry to hear about your cat......