Dogs I have known...

I had never had a dog of my own until I got Spooky. I think back to my childhood and I remember a few dogs. First there were Misty and King, both were American Eskimo's that my mom had. I don't remember much about them except that King seemed to stay outside most of the time and Misty was more of a family dog. At the time, my mom was married to my stepdad who was an alcoholic. He was a great guy when he was sober (that I remember) but once he got drunk he was not a fun person to be around. I remember that when he got drunk and abusive, Misty would put herself between him and whoever he was after. She was pretty ferocious. That's probably why he found a "new home for her in the country". Not long thereafter, King was found bleeding from the mouth, and had been poisoned. We always suspected the neighbors, but we never really knew who did it.

I also vaguely remember a german shepherd that my sister got. He didn't stay long though because he took a hunk out of my brothers cheek one day and he "found a home in the country" as a result. Sometime later, my stepdad died of a brain aneurism. Too bad we couldn't have gotten Misty back. I missed her.

My mom remarried sometime later and Harold, the guy she married, had a beagle named Cherry. Cherry wasn't a pet, she was a hunting dog. SHe was kept in an elevated cage about 3 feet tall and about 6 feet long. I can remember letting her out in the yard, but she wouldnt have much to do with me. She just ran around going nuts. Probably because she had to release the pent up energy of being locked in a kennel all the time. I remember back then thinking that if I ever have a dog of my own, it won't live that way. Then again, the one thing I do remember about Cherry was that she got out of the yard, a lot. I don't know how many times I got home from school and was sent looking for Cherry who had escaped the back yard. Apperently I was the only one who could catch her because it was always me who brought her back. That's all I remember about Cherry. I don't remember what happened to her.

Years later, my mother took a job working at a nursing home. That home had a Pomeranian that adopted my mom and she eventually kept it. Tina was her name. She was grossly overweight and waddled everywhere my mom went. She grew up in a nursing home though and had probably never had her own person. My mom loved that dog and was heartbroken when she died. Like most Pomeranians she had breathing problems and one day she succumbed to them. My mom got another Pomeranian named Amber a couple of months later. She developed similar problems sometime later and also died. I've never understood why people get dogs with known health issues.

Sometime later, we got her a Sheltie puppy that she named Taz. Taz was tiny for a sheltie, never getting over about 18 lbs. She was a funny little dog though and was fun to watch. She was smarter than most 5 year old kids and after my mom died, she lived with me. I liked Taz, but she was never "my" dog. I took care of her after mom died, but she belonged to someone else and I dont think she ever recovered from that. I nursed Taz through knee surgery, other joint issues and then finally a neuromuscular condition that eventually led her to be put down. I loved her and putting her down was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do, but she was never really my dog....