D is for Dogs and Drugs

I like dogs.

Duke left, Sosha right.

We've had dogs all my life and I couldn't imagine life without any of them!

My first dog, and first friend was Ruby.  She was around when I was born and was the first "friend" I ever had.  We ran around the yard and played all afternoon together all the time.  She was a great dog!  Ruby died of old age when I was 7.  I didn't quite get what had happened (she was my first experience with death), but I missed her a lot!

That's me and Ruby way back when!

A couple of years later, we got Otis.  When he was a little puppy, he had a scrunched nose and looked, to me anyway, like Otis from the movie Milo and Otis.  So, he became Otis.  I loved Otis when he was a tiny pup, but as he grew bigger and stronger, I became quite scared of him.  He was a great dog, just too strong for my 9 year old self.  Once he calmed down, I loved him.  He never liked coming in the house.  He was an outdoor kinda guy.  Unless something scary like fireworks, guns, or thunder could be heard...then he was in the house!  Otis died of old age when I was away at college.  It was sad.  I miss him!

My brother and Otis.

A few months after Otis died, we adopted Bear from the Blue Water Area Humane Society.  Bear was a Lab/Rottweiler mix.  He was all black, but you could see a bit of the Rottie brown in his face and body if the sun hit him just right.  His body was round like a barrel, and he had a little stub of a tail that wagged about 1,000 miles a minute.  He was fun and sweet and an all around great dog.  He never tried to run across the road (we live on a pretty busy, 2 lane road), but the first time he ever tried, he got hit and was killed.  He was still a young guy with a lot of life left to live...it was sad.

Wasn't he handsome?

A few months before Bear died, my grandma's dog gave birth to a litter of puppies.  Heidi's (grandma's dog) pregnancy was not planned, but it happened.  She carried 5 babies, gave birth to 4, had a C-Section for number 5 (and was spayed at the same time).  Only 2 puppies survived.  She rejected them both.  My mom and I took the itty-bitty puppies and bottle raised them.  We watched their eyes start to open, we saw the first time they heard a noise after their ears opened.  It was an amazing thing to be a part of!

Duke is the tiny ball of black fur.
Toby is the ball of white.

Look at how tiny!

They are now big, huge dogs!  Duke is still around.  He's my mom's "baby".  Toby went to live with a great family in our area!

Most recent picture update of Toby!  Still adorable!

Duke's pretty cute, too!

When I moved to Georgia, I was lonely for a dog, so I went to an adoption day event for an awesome animal rescue called Mostly Mutts.  That's where I found my precious Sosha!  She's a hyper, over-active, over-excited, over-everything almost 7 year old Lab mix.  She growls if you get too close to her food or treats (previous to being rescued by Mostly Mutts, I believe it was survival of the fittest for her and the other dog in her home), and she hates being told it's "time for night-night", but she's the sweetest southern belle around!

Duke and Sosha are great friends now that we've moved back to Michigan!

Sosha's adoption day!

I don't like drugs!

Drug are bad.  End of story!