Kasey,
and Kyla are sisters. They are Border Collie X Lab mixes, and most of the time act more like the classic lab...but sometimes that Border Collie definately shows in them! They are my parents' dogs. I like to call my stepmom the dog guru, even if she doesn't think so. One reason I call her this is because she drove (with my company!) to Detroit just to rescue these buggers from a shelter. I don't know why they ended up there, but when we picked them up they weren't much more than 8 weeks old (I can't remember the exact age, it was 4 years ago!). As we were walking out of the shelter, a pup in each hand, a family with a little girl about 4 or 5 years old asked, "Is that cuddles and cutie?" (I think those were they're "original" names...) and in the excitement I say "YEA!" The parents ensure the girl that there would be other dogs... :/
Maggie is also my parents' dogs. Her story is special. She's been with the family for just a couple years now, I think she's between 2-3 years old. She was found roaming around the neighborhood with a boy dog, and another lady where we live is involved in rescue. She took both of the dogs in, and my stepmom offered to be a foster mom for Maggie. It just wasn't that easy- Maggie was skin and bones. At first we thought she was probably just malnurished, but soon found that she wouldn't eat much, and threw up a lot. She also had what seemed like constant diahrrea. Because my parents already had several dogs sleeping in their room at the time, I offered to let Maggie sleep with me. Although my stepmom took on the battle of nursing her back to health (with Vet's assistance, of course!) I will say I have never cleaned up as much bloody diahrrea in my life. There were actually times where she would just poop blood until you could see more piles of it than the actual floor (wood floor!). Charming, right?
Seeing her in such bad shape, and so much blood, some nights I was worried she just wouldn't get better. Eventually my stepmom had to tell the vet to keep her until she would at least eat- there was nothing she could do to help Maggie at home. In the end, she had some kind of bad bacteria, they got her better, and she's as eccentric as ever today!!! Needless to say the foster dog became a permanant one...after being there with her through so much I don't think any of us wanted to see her go.
What's funny about Maggie is when she was sick I thought she was the "perfect" dog- mellow, never getting into anything, etc. When she was at 100% health, she enjoyed rummaging my purse at night for the syrup covered money I got waitressing at Bob Evans...grr.
And this is Smiley, from the last blog post. Everyone calls her that because the black around her mouth makes her seem like she always has a little grin on her face. Her real name is Belle, which I think is a beautiful name.
Honestly, I have no idea what her story is. She is my mom's neighbor's dog, and often comes by to visit. This picture was taken with an old point-and-shoot, which Belle didn't mind.
She hated the camera I have now and ran away from it. Literally. As soon as I took it away from my face she'd come back.
Spuds Mackenzie. He's 5 years old. This is my boyfriend's dog, but actually started out as his dad's dog. Chad's dad got Spuds as a birthday gift to himself, but it soon became apparent that Chad was the one Spuds stuck by. When Spuds first came to the family, I was less than thrilled. I was definately younger then and didn't know as much about dogs as I have learned in the 5 years since. I guess you could say Spuds was my inspiration. I didn't like Pitbulls, thought they were mean, and was convinced he would eat me in my sleep or something. Wow was I wrong. I am so glad Spuds came into our lives because he has taught me more than many people ever could. He was taught me to accept, love, and be open. He taught me to question things, wonder why, and never take the easy way out. He taught me that not only are Pitbulls NOT viscous, but are actually some of the smartest most amazing dogs I've ever been around. It goes with the whole "you just have to be around one to know" kind of thing. Because of being around him I have a passion for helping other people know just how great this breed is and just how Inaccurate or misleading the media is. He has a big spot in my heart, now and forever.
Kado is Chad's sister's dog, but they all live together. So he is technically Spud's and Shadow's cousin! I'm not sure where he came from, but he is keeyoooote! (As StellaStar would say!) He is one of the more high strung dogs I've been around, and actually reminds me a lot of a dopey adolescent lab. He turned 1 in February. Kado is inpirational too- He had parvo as a pup, and at the time his family couldn't afford to keep him admitted to an animal hospital. He had to be taken care of at home for the parvo. It was such a scary and sad time, seeing the once bountiful Tigger-like puppy not even wanting to move. Much to everyone's amazement, he bounced back within days- Thanks to the medicine from the vet, gatorade, baby food, and...a plate of ham that actually made him wag his tail!, he lives to see another day. It really was special seeing him pull through something so many dogs cannot.
And finally, SHADOOBBYY!!!!!! Or Shadow...
She is also my boyfriend's dog, technically "our dog" :) She just came to us in January of this year, and is one month older than Kado. A mutual friend of ours told us about Shadow's situation. She had a family, a home, a nice life. And for whatever reason they decided they had to "get rid of her." I'm not sure why, that's all they said. They also said they couldn't find a home for her. The only person who offered to take her was a questionable man who mentioned using her as a "bait dog" for dog fighting. Don't even get me started on that tangent.
So our mutual friend called Chad desperate for help. Shadow came to visit, just to "see how things worked" with her and the other dogs. I think it's easy to see she fit right in. Her and Kado are inseprable, and Spuds is kind of like the pervy old man who tries to get in between them, hehehe.
There are many funny things you come across when rescuing a dog who picked up habits before coming into your life. For example: Since the day she came to Chad's house she's been keen on helping people pick out footwear...it's really funny even though we probably shouldn't laugh at it. She even stole someone's slipper right off their foot and just sprinted away with it. It makes me wonder how much shoe gnawing her old owners let her do.
I hope this helps you understand a little better who I'm writing about and how I fit into all their lives.
