My new family

Noters Beware!! This is a “mean-note” free diary.

It seems like forever since I’ve been here. I used to post all the time. Lately, it just seems I struggle to find anything worth writing about. When I used to write regularly here, many of my posts were about my dogs, Rooby and Sable. Sadly, I lost both of them in the past year. Rooby was 17 and toward the end, just lost his ability to walk. Sable was 13 and got very sick one weekend and when I took him to the vet it was determined that he had a ruptured intestine. I didn’t have enough money for what would have been a fairly expensive surgery…so I had no choice but to say goodbye.

Picking up the pieces is never easy, but I am a dog person, and I can’t imagine life without them. Before long, I bumbled across an ad for a dog needing a home. He was a 6 month old doberman-lab cross. I went the very next day and met the puppy and also the father of the puppy, a purebred Doberman named Harley. It was love at first sight…long and short of the story is that Slater came to live with me that very day.

This is Slater the day after I got him:

Now…fast forward 6 months….Slater and I are out for a drive and I stopped in at a gas station near where I live to pick up a gallon of milk before heading home. This gas station is also near where I work, and one of the employees there is also a regular customer of mine at my work. She saw Slater in my car and asked me what kind of dog he is. I told her that he is Doberman and Lab and her response was, “Really? My daughter has a Doberman/Lab mix!” I was like, “Wow! How old is your daughter’s dog?” Come to find out…her daughter had Slater’s brother. The birthdates were the same. I got her daughter’s facebook info and we exchanged pictures of our dogs, and then one thing led to another which led to me taking Slater’s brother for an afternoon playdate.

Keep in mind that at this point, these two haven’t seen each other in probably at least 8 months. My neighbor has an enclosed pen for her horses and we decided to introduce the two dogs there…on neutral ground. At first they weren’t sure of each other…and I was scared. They both had their hackles up…and there was some growling. I thought I was going to have a dog fight on my hands for sure. And with 2 dogs of this size…it wouldn’t have been pretty. But…out of the blue they started running…and then playing…which then led to this:

And this:

And this:

Before the afternoon was over, they were best buds. Slater did not want to see his brother leave. However, he didn’t leave for long. A week later and we scheduled a 3-day-long playdate…and because Slater’s brother’s owner had just had a baby, and also has a very active 4-year-old daughter, they decided that a big hyper dog didn’t fit well into their lives. So…now I have Slater…AND his brother Scout!

(By the way, in the pictures, Slater has the blue collar and Scout has the tan one.)

At times it’s like having twins. It can be difficult to tell the two apart, especially when they have their back to me. Or when they are wrestling, which is something they do like…oh…24/7. (I’m amazed my house is still standing. Actually I’m amazed I’M still standing. When these two get to playing they don’t always pay attention and having 2 85 -lb. brutes coming at you is kind of on the intimidating side!)

Face on, though they actually do look different. Slater has more of the Lab build…squarer head…he’s shorter (not by much, though) and has a thicker body. Scout has a long, pointy snout. He’s also much daintier. He’s very “pretty” when he lays down. He’s graceful-looking. Slater on the other hand…just flops. Literally. He just collapses his legs, and flops. Slater, true to Lab form, loves the water. Scout is learning to, but it doesn’t come to him as naturally as it does Slater. However they both love to play fetch. They have this toy, called a Funchux. It has 2 blue balls attached by a strap. This is their favorite toy. After I throw it, the dogs will each grab a ball and then BOTH of them will carry it back to me…when they don’t get distracted by a quick round of tug-of-war, that is. Here is Scout, wearing the Funchux for your viewing pleasure:

I still miss Rooby and Sable…every day. But I have learned that I won’t forget them…and it’s okay to cry sometimes when I miss them. I wish I could still have them here. But I have a new family now who needs me like Rooby and Sable did. And I love them very much. 🙂

(This is Scout.)

(And Slater. Yes, he has ears…he just chose to wear them inside-out for this shot…lol!)

And a parting shot of the both of them: