Dogs, Dogs, Dogs...

In our house, we are all about animal rescue.  We have never paid a breeder for one of our dogs.  You may be asking, "how is it that you have a Boxer and a Golden Retriever?"  We got the Chili Dawg, our first Golden (and my heart dog), for free.  One of Ryan's co-workers had a friend who was getting a divorce, and their 2 year old was biting their Golden and they didn't want the dog anymore.  They gave us a dog that they paid almost one thousand dollars (they gave us his papers) for free.  We got Finchy, our Boxer, the same way, only it was a co-worker of mine who had a friend who didn't want their $800 dog anymore and gave him to us for free.

After being owned by both a Golden and a Boxer (notice I didn't say it the other way around), I have to say that there are no other dog breeds that I would rather be owned by.  Yes, I know that mutts are great too (I grew up with an awesome shepherd mix, and my parents and sister have great mixed breed dogs).  However, I will gladly go to a Boxer rescue or a Golden Retriever rescue to get our family another dog when the time arises again.

This year we rescued Buster, a 5 year old overweight Golden Retriever.  I am proud to say that he has lost 15 pounds (of course he isn't happy to be dieting, but really, who likes to diet?).  He has proven to be a good companion for Finchy, who has aged quite a bit since Chili Dawg's cancer (he will be 10 on Halloween).  Buster is a special Golden.  We have had him since March, and he still has not figured out the screen door to the patio.  Every single day he runs into it (seriously- doors are hard for him).  If he could talk, I think he would sound like Doug from the movie Up.  Here's a clip, in case you haven't seen the movie- it is Buster to a "T". 

What he lacks in brains, he makes up for with his heart.  He has the heart of a Golden for sure.  He can sense when I have had a bad day, and he climbs into bed with me and lets me pet him until I fall asleep.  Chili Dawg was able to do that too.

There are people out there that think I'm a "crazy dog person" and I'm okay with that.  I think that dogs are one of the nicest creatures that God created, and I have been blessed to have Him teach me a few lessons through them.  Have you thanked God for your dog today?