Loving dogs in times of madness.

[Dawggie]

I love my dog.

I'm divorced. Have been for a while.

I have a yellow lab.

Or maybe she has me.

She brings happiness to me when no one else can.

She's sweet
and forever a puppy.

It doesn't matter what kind of day
or moods I've had.

She loves me.

Unconditionally.

And these days,

That's more than I can ask.

God love you.


*break*


Puppies and kittens.

For all the comfort you bring

to all of us

who need it most.

and I love you as well.


thanks.

[villager]

1. can't believe I'm the first to K&R this, but I'm happy to do it!

thanks for the deeply felt post!

[radiclib]

2. I'm hearin' ya

I adopted a year-old shepherd/lab about a month after MoronBoy took office, and I can't imagine how awful the last seven years might have been without the joy my dog has given me. They sure beat humans, don't they?

[Arugula Latte]

3. I was just thinking about what joy my pets bring me.

The kitties ... well ... I don't want a life without lots of kitties in it. :loveya:

The bunny is pretty sweet, too.

The fish and frogs -- well, not so cuddly, but I enjoy watching them in their aquatic worlds.

[Andrea]

4. And I'll be the second.

Where I'd be without my sweet beagle hound, I shudder to think.

[hlthe2b]

5. K&R.... I'd have been first, but had to stop to hug my big pup

And yes, my big girlie dog is still my pup and a blessing beyond blessings on the hard days

[undeterred]

6. Best friend.

[peacebuzzard]

7. I know what you mean. I have a happy pack myself

They never let me down.

[bonito]

8. Your right they nudge you when your light grows dim

Reminding you of the normal times, lets go out, come with me, hey I'm ready to play, where's my food?
My wife's "holly" a short haired black lab seems another chore normally, but when Marie is in the hospital the emptiness here abounds no noise from the 02 machine I could go on but Holly is nudging my arm and talking to me in her way, I think she wants me to walk with her outside again. tks.

[tandot]

9. There I was ... thinking this is just another story about the big dawg ...

:hi:

[EFerrari]

10. Yellow labs are NOT dogs.

They are hairy angels.


Kid


Kid's baby picture

[tularetom]

11. Love them labs

I have two of them - one yellow and one black.

Also a Siberian Husky, five cats two horses and a very large bull.

There's nothing better than my labs when I'm having a shitty day.

[Lorien]

12. Indeed we do! My giant snugglepuss Oberon keeps me sane in Maddening

times. He's always got a big warm purr ready and gives me headbutts when I walk in the door. He loves to be hugged, too-I think he does his best to hug back!

[Arugula Latte]

14. OMG, I am a huge Oberon fan!

That wavy mane ... :loveya:

And that regal crossed-paws photo ... to die for! :rofl: That needs to be an LOL cat with a caption something like: "Your insolence and impudence has been duly noted."

[Lorien]

18. Awww thanks! I am too ;-) That crossed paw thing is his

standard pose. Such a ham!








He looks regal when everyone else is being goofy, and gets goofy when everyone else is serious, silly cat! He's far from aloof, though. He's the Omega cat in my clan and lets just about anyone push him around. Such a big baby! But that's a Maine Coon for ya. :-)






Kitten pix:

[Greylyn58]

23. Your Oberon is the most beautiful

I LOVE your cat!!!

[Lorien]

29. And I love your Golden!

I can't tell from the photo if it's a he or a she...kinda looks female. But that expression! I had a collie growing up who gave me that same big brown eyed lovey face. How can it not make you melt? I swear sometimes that Oberon is the reincarnation of my collie because he gives me that same look and makes the same little hopeful sound when he does. Just toooo sweet!

[Greylyn58]

30. It's a he...my boy Sheridan

He's been with me for 12 years now, through thick and thin!

I've always wanted a Maine Coon cat. They are beautiful cats. Plus I love the idea of having a cat that can beat up a dog! :evilgrin:

[Hekate]

45. Ooo, those golden eyes. Our Othello's eyes are gold too. He & Betsy-dog curl up together...

... in the same bed. They look like a yin-yang -- one black and the other white.

Othello doesn't photograph well, alas. He's a gorgeous cat but there's not enough contrast in his coloration. He used to get on the roof and observe the world -- we came home one foggy night and there he was in noble profile, ghostly... He was a champion mouser, which I really appreciated the year we had an invasion of field mice.

At 17 he doesn't get on the roof any more, but he's still bigger than Betsy, who's a cockapoo. He used to tease her by hiding behind the hall door and pouncing as she went by. He's very slow now, fairly demented, and his mousing days are long over.

11 years ago my mother in law was given a puppy by a friend of hers and was so enchanted that she told me she would buy one of the litter for my birthday. That was the best present ever. My MIL didn't know that I was deeply depressed at the time -- that 3 and a half pound ball of fluff was a lifesaver. Betsy grew to be almost 10 pounds big, and is all love -- although a lot of that love is for my husband, so much so that we call her Freudian Puppy. When he holds her she will sometimes lean her head back at me with a look that very clearly says, "I love you Mom, but Daddy is MINE." She makes me laugh. Her other name is Fuzz-for-Brains.

The dog census has gone up and down over the years. At one point my daughter moved back in with her dog, and then was given another; at the same time my son's boarding situation for his dog fell through, so we took his dog in. My daughter's dogs are both tiny, around 5 pounds, but my son's dog Zima is an enormous Lab-Dobie mix who topped out at 90 pounds. That was a very interesting year; it was a good thing I actually raised Zima when my son was in high school, because she has a screw loose. Othello was not impressed with Zima -- he remembered when she was smaller than him and he was pretty sure he was in charge of all dogs in any case....

Hekate

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

55. Stock market advice:

Helluva picture!

[Lorien]

56. Lol! True.

my other two cats are Turkish Angoras. They have no under coat so they don't shed. Can't tell by the house, though-there are TUMBLEWEEDS of Oberon hair drifting down the hall in the spring. I could practically make another cat out of what comes off of him!

[Mythsaje]

13. In descending order of size

my pack thanks you for this post.

From Bejjing, our Jindo house mother

and Kitsune, the free-thinking Shiba Inu,

Kharma, the fiercely protective Pomeranian Devil,

And Bella Boo, the baby of the family.


Kitties Damien and Bastion send their regards.

[BeHereNow]

24. No WAY!!! You're the first DUer I've met who has a jindo too!

Incredible dogs, eh?
I LOVE my Jindo Gae.

BHN

[Mythsaje]

32. She's a wonder. A rescue and a re-home.

They say Jindos can't be re-homed, but after three and a half years, she's a dedicated member of our family and my wife's fierce protector. We're sold on the breed. We have every intention of replacing her with another Jindo once she's gone.

[BeHereNow]

33. No need for a home security system with a Jindo in the house.

I'm on my second Jindo, and like you, will never be without
one again.
They are the most amazing dogs on the planet.

BHN

[Mythsaje]

34. Oh, yeah. Smart, loving, and very protective.

Just about the perfect dog, even considering her abuse-related neurosis. She doesn't like uniforms because she was abused at the shelter by one of the employees.

[BeHereNow]

35. Unfortunately, many Jindo dogs are abused by shelter workers

FAR too many Jindos end up in shelters because they
are turned in by people who have NO idea how to handle a Jindo.
They are NOT for everyone. They are not your typical domestic dog.
Shelter workers often have NO knowledge of the breed and their
unique behaviors. I have seen far too many sad situations
in our local shelter.
I have volunteered to educate shelters about how to work with
Jindos- you might consider it.

I LOVE the breed and HATE to see any of them in a shelter.
Not a good situation and far too common these days.

BHN

[Mythsaje]

38. They're too smart and independent for most folks...

They don't "jump to" when given a command--they like to consider it first. If you want instant obedience, a Jindo isn't for you. They want to make sure what you're telling them makes sense. They're still fairly rare in rescue, thankfully.

[BeHereNow]

52. SO TRUE- I trained mine from 4 months and it wasn't easy!

She is now very obedient, but only to me.
Strangers? FORGET it!

I still don't trust her 100% on recall, but over all
she is fairly safe- by that I mean training a Jindo
is best under taken when the trainer has keeping the
dog safe as the motivation. Like you say, Jindos
don't "do tricks," they have to have a reason for
following a command. The prey drive is so high in them
that they often end up getting hit by cars.
That has always been my number one concern for her.
So "stay" has been my number one training objective.

I live in SoCal and unfortunately we DO have a high
rate of rescue for Jindos.

Too many Korean breeders here who routinely
cart pups off to the pound if they do not meet the Korean
standard for the dog. Also high numbers of abandoned Jindos
by people who don't know about the breed and
have no idea how to handle one.

I'm glad your Jindo has a good home- so many don't
where I live.

Have you seen Kang's web site on the Jindo?
It's wonderful.
http://www.kang.org/Jindo.html
BHN

[Neecy]

15. beautifully stated.

Dogs are simply unconditional love.

Here are two of mine, Guido and Luigi eyeing the neighbor's cat with suspicion:

[DemoTex]

16. I have a B/P problem ..

My dog Nick-Nick is much better for my B/P than the atenolol I take. He is instant soothing.

[Catshrink]

17. A book for dog lovers

It's called "Merle's Door" by Ted Kerasote. He's an outdoor writer and this book is about a dog who adopted him and their life together. He weaves in interesting facts -- history, behavior, pyschology, and biology -- about dogs and humans.

I gave it to three people for Christmas gifts and they all loved it. You will fall in love with the dog, or should I say, four legged furry person.

[Atman]

19. Channeling Rick Santorum!

:hi:

.

[KillCapitalism]

20. I love my little boy.

[Arugula Latte]

22. As a cat person, this kills me to admit, but:

Damn! That thing is CUTE! :)

[karlrschneider]

25. Some of us loves our doggies AND our kitties too.

:D

[Arugula Latte]

40. Hey, pick a side, Mister!

Which side are ya on?
Which side are ya on?

;)

[Oldtimeralso]

43. I would rather be DOGmatic

then CATatonic!

[KillCapitalism]

39. Thanks!

That was taken after his first grooming when he was a baby, he looks pretty different now, but still cute.

[Greylyn58]

21. Like you, I've been divorced for some time, since 2000

and my boy Sheridan has been my joy and comfort in times when I had no one else to talk to. He's always there and never judges me.

He's been with me for 12 years now, my constant companion through good times and bad.

I love him dearly.

[frogmarch]

26. The Animal Rescue Site is having trouble

getting enough people to click on it daily to meet their quota of getting free food donated every day to abused and neglected animals.

Want to help by clicking?

http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/home.faces?siteId=3

[Arugula Latte]

41. I click on this almost every day. I wish more people would.

[zanne]

46. Thank you for that, frogmarch.

I click every day, though I'm sure it's easy to forget.

[Andrea]

51. thanks

I didn't know about that, but have now bookmarked it so I can click every day.

[ruiner4u]

27. we dont own dogs...

dogs own us...



Nice thread man..

[Oilwellian]

28. Awww, what a sweet thread

I just played with my wolfies in the snow the other day and made a video of it. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mP19y8Eg45o

[RevolutionStartsNow]

31. Aww....I was just cuddling my dog Zuma...(pic)

He's so wonderful...he knows when I'm sad, when I need comforting...

And I know, too, when he is sad. The other morning he clearly wasn't feeling well, he came up and laid his head on my leg, with such a distressed look. I was concerned for a bit, but he took a nap and was fine afterward.

I don't know what I would do without my dog. He's the best.

[Bluerthanblue]

36. Ahhh.... a beautiful post

something I can fully agree with.

The dogs who I have been lucky to share this life with have been incredible.

"God" is an elderly liver spotted Dalmation who came to live with us 2yrs ago.

He is a love.

I treasure these days we have left together.


thank you for this beautiful break from all the discord and arguing.

And for reminding me of how lucky we all are to share our lives with these creatures.

peace~

[kineneb]

37. I love my pet chicken, Henrietta.

She cuddles in my lap and begs at the table. Her latest trick is attacking shoes. I think she was a dog in a previous life.

[Tinksrival]

42. I have a yellow lab......

She waits for me......everyday.

[OneBlueSky]

44. my best friends have always been my dogs . . .

they have also been my spiritual advisors, teaching me much about living in the moment, forgiveness, unconditional love, and loyalty, among other things . . . for the most part, I'd rather spend time with my canine companions than with most people I know . . . k/r . . .

[bklyncowgirl]

47. Animals can bring you back to earth, that's for sure. Mine ground me all the time.

After a rough day at work, there's nothing like having my dog greet me at the door, tail wagging, just glad to see me.

Or having my cat settle on my lap while I'm watching TV and muttering curses at the politcians and the stupid people who elected them.

Or after a week of high pressure, high annoyance work in which I haven't been able to get out to the barn, having my horse call to me as I walk down the hill to his paddock and gallop to meet me at the gate even though he knows I'm going throw a saddle on him and make him do something to earn his high priced lifestyle.

Their needs are simple. Food, affection and entertainment in the form of physical excercise. We can learn from them.

[xchrom]

48. you can never love your dog - as much as your dog loves you. nt

[Suziq]

49. What a Beautiful Post

Here are my furbabies:

This is Molly. She is almost 10 years old. She has been paralyzed almost 5 years now. I am super crazy about this sweet little dog . . . Who can resist those big, brown, expressive eyes!





This is Emily. She joined our household this past November after losing my two Abys within 3 months of each other. No words can describe how I feel about this cute, little furball.

[MotorCityMan]

50. It's no surprise that there are health benefits to having pets

I never minded living alone, as long as my puppies were thrilled to see me when I got home after work.

I don't know how I would have gotten thru the loss of my partner without my girl Candace. She was the first female puppy (I literally saw her being born) that Mike and I bred. She was spoiled from day one, and is the sweetest dog I have ever owned. She is very possesive of me; she doesn't mind the cat, Lana, at all until I start giving Lana attention. Then she let's me know how wrong that is.

[femrap]

53. The older I get and as the world becomes meaner....

the more I love animals.

[Scout]

54. here's my lap dogs

well, they think they are






edit: goddess help me be the person my dog thinks i am