Mutts Rule | Guest Post by the Dog Daddy

Jeffie and the Dog Daddy

 Today we have another guest post by the Dog Daddy at our house.  He was inspired by National Mutt Day.

MUTTS RULE!

December 2nd is National Mutt Day, which has led me to think about the dogs I have loved. Almost all of them have been mutts. 

My definition of a mutt is a dog that is of mixed breeds.  Sometime you don’t know what breeds are involved.  Sometimes you can figure it out as the dog matures.

Whether it is true or not I have always felt that mixed breed dogs are better because they blend the attributes of two or more breeds and are generally more  interesting.  

When I was a child our family had a farm dog named Prince. I would guess he was part hound and part German Shepard and who knows what else. As an adult my first dog was a Cockapoo, part Cocker and part Poodle. Max was a great dog but I lost him when my first wife and I divorced. 

Since I met Sue we have had many dogs and they have become more and more an important part of my life. When we met, she had Benji.  He was part Doberman and part German Shepherd. 

Benji - Doberman Pinscher and German Shepherd

 Together we adopted Sherman, part Lab and part something else.  

Sherman - Labrador Retriever and who knows!

 After Benji's death, we adopted Spanky, part Lab and part something else with a curly tail!

Spanky - Labrador Retriever and ?

Then Lizzy, a pure breed Border Collie joined our family.  

Sherman, the Dog Daddy, and Lizzy - Border Collie

Tucker showed up at our farm and stayed. He was the biggest mystery. We think he was part Lab and part Chow and who knows what else.

Tucker - Labrador Retriever, Chow and ??

Lucy was a product of an "opps" litter.  Her daddy was a black Lab and mama was a Golden Retriever.  

Lucy - Labrador Retriever and Golden Retriever

When we adopted Jeffie all we knew was that his mother was a Golden Retriever. As he matured, we decided that his father had to have been a Border Collie.  He has some classic Border Collie markings and behavior, but he is golden and white.  If you look closely you will see that he has one ear that resembles a Golden Retriever and one ear looks more like a Border Collie.

Jeffie - Golden Retriever and Border Collie

Our most recent family member is Rudy, the product of another "oop" litter.  His mother was a Yellow Lab and his father was believed to be a neighboring chocolate Lab.

Rudy - Labrador Retriever

I love mutts. 

I also love dogs.  All dogs. 

Some of my favorite things are watching are dog shows and agility trials. Most of those dogs are pure breed and I love to see them.

But, when I come home ...

I want to see my mutts.

I celebrate DOG DAY every day!

Remembering an Old Friend: Guest Blog Post

Today we have a Talking Dogs guest post from the dog daddy at our house, known to some of you as the Chief Medical Examiner and my husband, Gary.

Remembering an old friend...

Having recently lost Tucker, my old friend of 14 years, I have been thinking a lot about him. 

A few weeks ago, while stringing lights on the Christmas tree, I was remembering one of the last walks we took together.   

We have a fenced back yard of about two acres which the dogs have access to.  However they all love to go for a walk outside of the yard with their daddy.

Nobody loved the walks more than Tucker. The last few years of his life he was suffering with arthritis and got to the point where he had trouble standing up, but once he was on his feet he was always ready to go for a walk.   

I regret terribly that we didn’t take more walks. Once we were out the front door Tucker was on the move. Slow and steady but moving ahead. Regardless of how long the walk lasted or how tired he was, he never once asked to go back to the house. When I would tire out and start back, he would always want to go for more.   

On one of those last walks together Tucker scared up a rabbit. I saw it lying in the grass long before Tucker did so I steered him toward it.

Now, to help you get the image, it helps to visualize a 98 year old man who needs a walker to get around. Although Tucker didn’t have a walker (he could have used one) he walked very slow and deliberate as he made sure each step was secure. 

When Tucker got about 6 feet from the rabbit it bolted and ran. Tucker came alive and gave chase. Well at least until he got to the end of the leash and I stopped him. He watched as the rabbit hopped off and into the high grass and was gone.   

In hindsight I wish I would have let him go. One last good chase.  It’s not as if he would have caught the rabbit or even got close but he would have loved to try, and I know he would not have gone too far in his condition.

But it’s too late now and it makes me sad that my basic instinct to keep control of him deprived him of that good chase. I should add that we were about in the middle of our 46 acres so he would have had plenty of room to safely chase the rabbit. 

You see, for years one of Tuckers jobs around here was to keep the yard clear of all invading critters, rabbits, armadillos, squirrels.  He had retired from that job and had turned it over to the young and swift.

But when Tucker saw that rabbit he was young again.  Age nor ability was not a thought.

I wish I had let him go.