What a parent won't do for their kids ... doesn't matter if you are talking about Mom and Dad or Dog Mom and Dog Dad.
That would include driving 318 miles, round-trip to meet our son and daughter-in-law and pick up the grand puppies, Abby and Spencer, so their Mom and Dad can enjoy four days of camping in the Boundary Waters. Yes ... they have some very nice kennels where our children live but I wouldn't be able to sleep thinking about Ab's and Spencer in a kennel - but I couldn't stand the mental picture of Abby and Spencer with their cute little noses pressed against the chain link fencing wondering when their time in crate-jail would be up. Even with gas approaching $4.00 a gallon, it was cheaper than baking a cake with a file and delivering it to the far reaches of the earth. And then there is that issue of the absence of opposing thumbs on dogs and their inability to use a file.
Spencer is one of 'our' puppies - the unabashedly alpha tri-colour whose personality and drive made us fall in love with her from the moment she arrived. The sentiment is not, however, shared by her sister, Lucy. Whenever Spencer arrives for a visit, Lucy - otherwise known as HRH The Queen of Everything and MeMe Von Lucy - would make sure Spencer knew who was the Queen - that is until their mother, Emma, was around - the alpha of the dog family.
Abby, a 4-year old Flat-Coat Retriever, is the newest member of our family. She was surrendered when her previous owners could no longer care of her due to a diagnosis of cancer in the family. Chris & Ashley located her and fell in love with her. A new forever home meant a name change from Sabrina - to Abby. She is smart, head-strong and such a joy of life and fits in with so well with our family you'd think she was one of 'ours.' In fact - I'm certain she thinks she's an English cocker.
The two 'extra' kennels have been added to what we refer to as the "Cocker Hotel" and to keep everyone on equal footing, I've arranged a full itinerary here at Camp Cocker where we are equal opportunity puppy providers - even if you look like a Flat Coat Retriever.
Copyright © 2008 by Cindy Scherwinski
1 comment:
Its eerie how much Abby looks like my dog Reilly. I got Reilly from the animal shelter about 9 years ago (has it been that long??), when he was 3 mos. old. He and his sister were found wandering in the desert. He's probably a mix of flat-coated retreiver and something else because his snout is a bit different from purebreds, but he's pretty close. He's a pill, and still has lots of energy, even in his advancing years (probably fueled by all the treats dropped by my daughter).
See Reilly at http://www.littlebytesoflife.com/2008/06/family-creatures-great-and-small-mostly.html for comparison!
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