No More Pets!

A couple of years ago I was thrilled to begin working for a local kennel. My love for animals is like most other animal lovers...Obnoxious! I used to think I knew pretty much all there was to know about dogs and different breeds and temperaments, after starting there, I realized I had much more to learn and with every stray or rescue we took in, like the rest of the staff, I wanted to bring them all home, but with two dogs and two cats, our Vet bill and my husbands patience was already a bit stretched. Each new dog that came in, I would take pictures and show them to my husband (just in case.) He would always be polite and ask about their story, but I knew the rule... (No New Pets!) I fell in love with a Red Pit Bull who had been abused, I couldn't resist the temptation to bring him home and foster him (as a total surprise for my husband of course) let's just say my other two canines, a male Rottie mix and a female Terrier mix wanted nothing to do with him unless it was a fight and he, being an intact male, decided to mark his territory, lots of territory! So the next morning with tears in my eyes, the Pittie went back to the kennel and I pretty much gave up the idea of bringing any more dogs home from work. Imagine my surprise when I brought home pictures of Boxer puppies born in our care, and my husband began to inquire about them! To me they looked like little Hamsters, as much as I have an affinity for dogs, I never had much interest in Boxers, but if it had a tail and my husband said I could bring it into the fold, then I surely would. We started the adoptive process (yes, there is one for pups too) there were many people interested and only 3 had survived out of a very large litter, working in the kennel with other dog enthusiasts to give us good recommendations sealed the deal and the weekend of our 24th Wedding Anniversary, I brought home our beautiful Brindle Boxer with the soulful brown eyes and pointy head! My husband named her "Aubie" after his favorite college team mascot who is an Tiger and her coloring does resemble that of a Tiger with it's orange an black striping.

Aubie is a love, she is affectionate, patient, darling, did well in her first training class (with a few time outs here and there) and the most mischievous puppy you will ever meet, she gives Marmaduke, Marley and Beethoven a run for the money! We are not entirely sure she is full Boxer, but we know Mama Dog was, and her long legs, doofiness (is that a word?) and love for snacks earned her the nickname "Scooby Don't!" We have a Crate for Aubie, otherwise, I think we would go insane, and she would not know what to do with herself. I highly recommend Crate training for any and all dogs, I truly believe if more people Crate trained their dogs, there would be less dogs in shelters. Some people think it is cruel to crate an animal, you tell me what is worse, a safe place to put your dog in your home, or giving them away to perhaps be Euthanized because of the already many homeless pets! It saves you, your dog and puppy damage to your home and furniture. Can I get a witness? Sorry, I believe that paragraph is what some would call a (Soapbox.)

Let me just give you a rundown on a few of Aubies favorite things...

1. Chasing leaves, Butterflies, Birds = Cute

2. Ripping my shoulder, wrist, fingers out of socket while chasing = Not so cute

3. Making loud slurping noises while she drinks her water = Adorable

4. Slobbery water running down her face onto my floor = Uh, gross

5. Going potty the minute you take her outside = Awesome

6. Going potty on my floor the minute you bring her in = I am sure you can guess

7. Loving the smell of coffee = so endearing

8. Knocking over my Starbucks so she can try to drink it = Arghhh (Coffee is bad for dogs FYI)

9. Loving our Fat Kitty = so sweet

10. Trying to turn Kitty into her chew toy = Run Kitty, run!

The best thing about your spouse picking a pet? YOUR pets no longer get blamed for everything and all of a sudden they don't seem so bad. Whenever my other pets misbehaved, somehow I always felt solely responsible but not so much now! Another great perk is I learned something...I love Boxers!