Smokers was a rescue dog. His owners had a baby girl and at the age of 2 they put her out on the grass to walk. He kept knocking her down because he wanted her to throw his ball. We each drove 60 miles to meet up. The man was in tears having had him for 6 years and was giving away his other 9 year old dog too. Another Craigslist success story….a Hallmark miracle.
It was love at first sight, not so for Hayseed my Australian Cattle dog. She tried to convince him I loved her best. She also was a rescue dog. Her face was posted at a bank lobby in Edgerton. A pedigree dog but not the breed quality they were looking for. One could say she had an attitude. She was 9 months old and lived to be 14 1/2. In the single years of my life I was sad to leave her at home during my long working hours, yet she did well, always keeping her eye on the horses and cattle.
Into my life comes Lady, a 6 year old border collie. Her owner had to keep her in a kennel run all of her life and when he’d let her out to run with the grandkids, she would nip them on the back of their legs, herding them. They were selling their home and moving and he put the word out that if he couldn’t find her a home, he would shoot her. I made him a deal that if he would be willing to dig some post holes and string fence I would take her.
My Hayseed was an avid ball chaser. Lady was faster. It was not the best relationship and eventually she let Lady go after all the balls. How can you compete with greased lightning? I learned you cannot take these herding breeds for a walk. Hayseed would zig zag in front of me and Lady would run around behind me…both nipping me in the back of my ankles. They took ME for a walk. We were a motley bunch. All of us, rescue dogs and owner, unwanted, yet perfect together. So they had each other and I worked and Lady died at 12.
Enter the German Shorthair. He let me know immediately, my only purpose in life was to throw the ball ALL day and to hell with Hayseed. Smokers was my 1st dog to cuss….He worked overtime to let Hayseed know he was #1. She was always faithful to bite his nose off with the ball in his mouth. That ball was ONLY laid down when he ate. If I wouldn’t play with him, he would throw it himself and catch it. Eventually he had quite a collection of toys and moved all of them around the yard constantly. He was the only dog my Vet knew who had worn down his incisors from holding his rubber toys every waking hour. He lay by his gate waiting for people to take the toy out of his mouth and toss it.
Hayseed, my most precious went to heaven at 14 1/2. I don’t think Smokers even noticed……he went about counting all his balls, a great mathematician also…..
So Russ invites me to this wedding party (he never actually asked me to marry him……) and I told him that I was a different kind of person. My love life is such……God is #1 in my life, the German is 2nd and the only position available is 3rd place….
Last night he became 2nd.
Thank you Ken for trimming his nails Saturday. Thank you Dr. Wesley Darnell for being the best Vet. Thank you Sharla and Megan and all the staff at Green Hills Animal Hospital for taking such good care of him. He loved being boarded there. Thank you to my children and friends for helping me with all my dogs. Thank you to my husband who was always so kind and caring to his step dogs! Who always fed them and threw the ball when I was away.
Someday, I’ll have to tell him he shares top billing with God.
