Other pets (pics and discussions)

[guidofatherof5]

Bassets are great dogs. Always wanted one. Love to see yours.

[jitami]

Bassets are great dogs. Always wanted one. Love to see yours.

Ask and ye shall receive...









(bad cell phone pic, but Charlie playing mama dog to baby Hades)




The smaller/darker hound is Gizmo, we adopted him from the SPCA after he had been adopted once and brought back after a month... he's a bit of trouble, but certainly worth it. The larger/lighter hound is Charlie. I saw him posted on craigslist with a very cute little female puppy. They were trying to rehome both together. I'm not crazy about girl dogs & didn't want to ad two at that time, so didn't think much more about the ad... until a couple weeks later when he showed back up on craigslist w/ no mention of his 'sister'. Seems they had found the cute little puppy a home, but not Charlie Bear. So we went to meet him and his owner at local dog park. The former owner was completely unemotional and obviously not attached to this dog. I happily handed her 25 bucks and put our boy in the car. He came with the leash and collar he had on and nothing else. No bed, toys, food, nothing. Just given away like you'd give away an old tire or something. Sigh. He's a fabulous boy and completely raised Hades. He was obsessed with mothering the dane puppy and they're still the best of buds. Charlie is a tank and has no problems running with and at Hades!

And one of Chance so he doesn't feel left out:

Man, the picture of old man, Chance, above was less than two years ago. It's sad to realize how much he's aged since then.... he's much more grey and much less active. He's also lost most of his hearing & vision and has a bit of senility. He's 14, so not young, but it's still sad...

[snakehill]

Too cute!!!

[RedSidedSPR]

They're all awesome! I like Chance, he's a good lookin' dog.

[jitami]

They're all awesome! I like Chance, he's a good lookin' dog.

Thanks. He was a pound puppy and our best guess is Border Collie/pomeranian mix, maybe long haired chihuahua mixed in there? He's 25-30 pounds and about the size of a large sheltie/small border collie. Whatever he is, he's been a great dog. We've had him since my oldest, now starting his second year of college, was in kindergarten. Chance was the perfect kid dog. He followed the boys everywhere, herded them away from things he thought were dangerous, etc. We don't have much time with him and we're trying to cherish every moment

[guidofatherof5]

You made my day with your photos and explanation.
Made me think of my old girl Alexis(Ally dog) God rest her soul.
The 28th of Sept. will be 3 years since she passed. Kids and I still miss her and talk of her often.
I guess it's a testament to her great impact on us.
Give Chance a good belly rub from me.
Thanks again.

[jitami]

Awww, will do, Steve. I remember when you lost Ally... I swear, every one of them takes a piece of my heart with them. Ha, maybe that's how we become old curmudgeons. By the time I reach 80 I'll have no heart left

[guidofatherof5]

A garter snake forum and my avatar is a dog(Ally girl).
I can never repay her for all she did for my kids and I.
My kids will still be talk about her when they're old. That's a great dog.
Each of my kids will take a framed poster size print of Ally and them when they get their own place.
She(Ally) still has one wall in the living room.
Miss the old girl.
I remember her last couple of months. We spent a lot of time just sitting together in the back yard enjoying the cool air. She sat next to me and watched the kids play.
I know she considered them her puppies.
We both knew her time was short. She had been on borrowed time for a few years according to her Vet.

[snakehill]

My Avatar is a dog! But then again I don't have any garters right now! So sorry for your loss Steve! Dogs are the best! (then garters! lol)

[jitami]

Each of my kids will take a framed poster size print of Ally and them when they get their own place.

That is a great idea, Steve, and one I might steal.

In the time that we've had Chance we've also had 4 great danes and the two basset hounds. The kids love them all, but Chance was their first dog and definitely made just for them. You may have heard this story before. It's my favorite Chance story, so not sure who I've told it to, but here goes. We had taken the kids and Chance for a drive and stopped off at this small lake/large pond for the kids to play in for a little bit. Chance did not think this was a good idea at all! Chance ran up and down the shore barking and whining at the kids, trying to convince them to get out of the water. When that didn't work he took all of their toys, one by one, from the shore up to the truck and left them there. It was quite obvious he was saying, 'Enough of this nonsense! We're going home!' LOL

Ugh, these stories are making it more obvious at how much he's changed in the last year or so. We've been on borrowed time for a while, too. When my son left for school last summer we made sure he understood that Chance may not make it until the next break. Here we are a year later still issuing the same warnings. Sadly, we're getting very close to having to make that awful decision... well, it's already been made really, just watching for the right time