Perrys Loss got me thinking once again about the loyal friends of the canine variety that have shared our house with us over the years.
When I met my wife, she had a young Doberman/Shepard cross that she named Jobie. She grew up to be about 110 lbs and was never fat. She sent that dog to police obedience and attack training, and turned out to be the most amazing dog I have ever had the pleasure of sharing my house with. When our twins were in walkers, we lived in an upstairs apartment. My wifes brother who was killed in the special forces lived with us back then. He lived in the back apartment, and there was a long narrow and steep flight of wooden steps beside his door, so we always kept the door shut. We were eating breakfast one morning, and heard Jobie yelp strangely. A few moments later she yelped again. The wife and I got up and went to see what was going on.. The door had been left open, and that dog was laying across the top of the steps, and BOTH kids were rammed up against her in their walkers. How can a dog KNOW the danger, and take action to prevent it?
We had a double stroller, and we often took the dog and kids for walks, being young and broke, it was something to pass the time enjoyably.. We would stop at the store, leave the walker parked outside, and tell Jobie to GUARD.. anyone approaching that stroller would get a hair standing on end teeth bared growl.. Those kids belonged to HER and she made sure everyone knew it.
I had to put that dog down myself, and it was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do, and it STILL hurts 20 years later.
We raised English Springer Spaniels. Those dogs resulted in us meeting George and Barbara Bush. The best of the lot was Dutchess. She LOOKED like a show springer. Blanket back and long silky ears, but smarter than your average clueless show springer. She had field lines in her background as well, and it showed. She was a hunting fanatic. She hunted partridge and grouse in Maine, and Pheasant in Iowa. I took her to a local field trial, and was told by the lady taking the registrations that I just needed to go home so I wouldn't embarrass myself.. well, that kind of ticked me off..
The dogs these guys were hunting were field springers. Ugly, short eared mostly white dogs with Half tails... Dutchess looked VERY out of place among them. When our turn came, walked to the line. NO LEASH and told her to sit.. which brought a lot of laughter.. the command to a hunting dog is HUP.
These guys used whistles to guide their dogs. Dutchess knew how to respond to the whistle, but I took it off while everyone watched and put it in my pocket. They laughed some more... The guy running the stopwatch nodded, I said Hunt em up! Dutchess took off like a rocket, zigzaging back and forth.. she zeroed in on this planted bird, and snagged it still on the ground and ran back to me and sat, waiting for me to take it.. She did this to three birds, retrieving all three alive and unharmed... then they called a halt, and reset the birds on "launchers" just a spring loaded affair that popped the bird into the air so it would fly, and turned us loose again. This time the birds launched, and the gunner shot them. Dutchess was on them as fast as they hit the ground and retrieved to hand. The last two birds were still alive, she ran them down and brought them to me.. We beat the best time by 1.43 minutes, won the trial hands down, and I was asked NOT to come back again. I was told that i was ruining the breed....
Dutchess got cancer. This picture was the day before I took her to be put down. She was in pain, panting, her eyes sagging, and we just couldn't see her be in pain any more.
While we have shared our lives with several dogs, those were two of the best. Today, we have two dobermans. My wifes Dobie is the black one. In this picture she is quite round. She is the mother of the red one which is mine. She has Diabetes, and is now also blind. She remains happy and playful despite her blindness. So will remain with us until the time comes she is no longer happy and pain free.
The red one.... I delivered her with my own hands. I delivered all of them, but somehow, this little red female decided she liked me.. I had my eye on her black and tan brother, but it was not to be.. at about 4 weeks, i started letting them out to play while I did yard work... on that day, this pup started trying to follow me around.. ALL the other pups were running and playing, and as doberman pups do, trying to kill one another.. Each day, she followed me around, each day I picked her up and carried her about to keep her out from under my feet... Sometimes I set up a lawn chair to watch them and read.. She HAD to be in the chair with me...
By the time they were 8 weeks old, and people came to start buying them... I had fallen in love, and nothing on this earth would have persuaded me to sell her...
She STILL sits in my chair with me.. she jumps up, and rolls over to the side, sliding down between my leg and the arm of the chair upside down so I can rub her tummy with my free hand.. Often, I fall asleep watching TV, and the wife wakes me the next morning with my dog still firmly wedged in beside me..
She tore her hip up trying to turn with a rabbit in the field behind our house, so she cant do the things she used to, but still loves riding in my truck, and god forbid a dog, rabbit, or squirrel tries to get anywhere near my truck..
When she was almost a year, I was flipping a house out in the country.. she was laying in the yard while I worked on the shed.. I saw a buzzard come in and land on the porch roof.. I thought it kind of odd, but didn't worry much about it, until i saw the buzzard glide down to within about ten feet of the sleeping dog, and start walking toward her... I yelled at her, and she lifted her head to see why... She attacked that buzzard instantly.. her incessant war bark eching from the walls as she charged... the buzzard tried to take off, and she grabbed a wing, the buzzard crashed, and reared back lifting its talons.. fortunately she was smart enough to back off... still barking angrily.. the buzzard tried to take flight again, and was again brought crashing down as the doberman grabbed a wing... this happened twice more.. at which time, I managed to close my mouth and run to help... Together we dispatched the buzzard... and to this day, if she sees one flying nearby she gives chase, insuring they don't mistake her for food.
This look like an abused and unhappy Diabetic blind dog?
Eyes are closed but ears are on alert!
yes, they have their own chairs complete with chair covers (old sheets) while my wife and I usually have to sit in a wooden kitchen chair....
I know this is a wall of text, but I tried to keep it short.. I have a LOT of stories... Lets hear your best loyal friend story!!!!
