A Boy and His Dog

I should have known. It seems almost every time we go to my friend, B's house to help her with her horses, we wind up dragging something home in exchange. Often, that something is alive.

A long time ago (well, a bit over eight years ago), we got our wonderful ball-fetching, frisbee-catching, chicken-herding dog Bella for Tex's fifth-birthday. Then, a few years ago, just after moving here, we drug home a sad little stray kitten we found in the woods by her barn. He had been chucked out alone when the renters in the house next door vacated, and was probably less than six weeks old. We HAD to take him in and give him a safe haven.

Unfortunately, little Jack is no longer with us. One day (I think sometime around when his hormones kicked in), he escaped off of the front porch and decided to find another home. The boys are pretty sure they saw him down the road mooching off of someone else, so I think he's okay. Our search efforts were to no avail, but we tell ourselves that he is fine. I don't think he ever quite got over the few nights he spent in those woods alone being barked at by B's dogs (he was always skittish), but he was nice and we were glad we were a temporary home for him.

A few months ago, we went to check on B. just before she had surgery, and she had kittens she was trying to get rid of before she was out of commission and unable to care for her pets for a time (her daughter helped out during that time). Well, I'm a pushover for helping AND for small animals, especially adorable ones that sat on my daughter's lap quietly all day and let themselves be loved on, so that is when Molly joined our family. She has turned out to be a perfect addition to our family...patient, sweet, and smart enough to run when she sees Boo coming after her! I was informed by one of my kids recently, that the old picture of Molly makes her look mad, so if you look in the sidebar, you may notice that there is an updated picture where she hopefully looks as pretty as she really is.

One good thing about getting animals from B, is that we've never gotten a bad one (well, except for Jack running off, but he technically was not from one of B.'s pets). I don't know if that is due to the quality of her animals, or due to the raising we do on our end, but I am grateful that in choosing an animal from her house, there is a very high chance of it turning out to be a GREAT one. I am particularly grateful about that fact today, because guess where we went yesterday? Yup. B's house. She had surgery again and was laid up and needed a few of her horses' feet tended to. Bubba went over to do the honors, and I went along to hold the horses and visit with her for a bit.

You can figure out what is coming, can't you? B's Australian Shepherd, Chrissy, had a litter of four puppies and BOY were they adorable. Like our Bella, who is half Dalmatian, these puppies are not purebreds either. They are Boxer-Shepherd crosses, and we LOVE Boxers. Bubba's first dog was a Boxer named Gabby, and she was a sweet companion to him through many military transfers, helped him adjust to several new houses, and was his constant friend. Boxers are dogs that are well-known to be family-friendly, and I imagine a cross with a Shepherd, known to be livestock-friendly, would be ideal for a horse-oriented individual who is around people a lot.

You will be proud to know (and my hubby is relieved) that I am not the one who carted a puppy home last night. I resisted the urge (there was a girl one I really liked a lot...;-), but I will admit to you that when Bubba fell in love with the one boy puppy, I didn't exactly discourage him from the decision to take him home to raise as a farrier dog. Bubba said he'd just been commenting to his friend, A., that he needed to get a dog to keep him company on his often long drives in the countryside. Then, voila, he shows up at B's house, and the puppies are part Boxer, and one takes to following him all over the barn, and...the rest is history. I did, however, tell him that he needed to make the decision whether he was willing to commit to the care and costs involved in having a dog. He considered it (for about thirty seconds) and decided he was ready to jump in.

 

I hope my folks aren't too mad...Bubba is living at their house for the time being, and they are not exactly dog people. We never had dogs growing up, though we always had cats. Bubba says that my dad laughed when he called and told him the news.  He and my mom are good sports about things like that. We stayed with them for quite a while after moving from Florida with six kids, three horses, one pony, two potbellied pigs, two cats, and three dogs...Then they just get rid of us and my brother and his wife relocated and moved in with their son, cat, and chihuahua (at least all of our pets were outdoor ones...I tell myself that so I don't feel bad...lol). We are all very grateful that they were so nice about helping out...that is what family is for, right? We are blessed.

My hubby laughed, too, when I showed him a picture, and said, "Well, you can never say that your son doesn't take after you..." I guess there are worse things to pass onto your kids. I wish for Bubba and his new pal many years of happy companionship (he really is a sweet puppy...) and love. I am sure they will grow to be best friends.

By the way, the puppy doesn't have a name yet. We jokingly called him, "Alfred" at the barn because I said he looked like a dignified British butler rather than a barn dog. Perhaps if you have a suggestion, you can post it here. I told Bubba that he needs to let the puppy "try on" names for a week before he decides on one that really fits, so get those suggestions in right away.

Blessings to you and yours,

Heather