Lets Go Back To The Begining

[Janba]

Mishka I bought sight unseen from the recomendatrions of a breeder whose lines I really like. She was by one of his dogs and she is special girl and probably the last Dally I will own after over 25 years of spotty dogs. She had reasonably success in the breed ring before I got sick of showing, 2 passes at CD under the old rules rules before we both decided obedience trialing was for the birds. Did a bit of tracking and agilty but now just enjoy life together. She helped bring up both my current BC boys and rules them with an iron paw. I don't have pictures of her as a pup on this PC or in photobucket

Moss I selected on a modified pupy test and conformation. He is everything his puppy test said he would be - medium - low drive, laid back and a BC of little brain and unfortunately little working instinct which is what I thought I wanted after loosing a very high drive dog aggressive BC . Moss is just a really nice dog who lazes around and hunts possums unsuccessfully and is a dork. I really love him but he isn't really the dog I wanted. Moss is my cuddle on the lounge dog. He's the perfect pet.

I saw video and pictures of Cole before I bought him. He was meant to be a bitch pup from a different litter but some how I ended up with him and he was the best pup for me. I adore this dog and have a very special working relationship with him.

Moss the first day I saw him.

and a typical Moss expression now

Cole when I picked him up at the airport

and doing what he does best

This one because I love it and it is typical of her. Mishka's idea of article indication when tracking (I really thought the rules said sit, drop or stand ?

[furballs]

I don't have any great stories about meeting my dogs, but I just wanted to say that you have beautiful, happy dogs and this is a nice positive thread

Thank you thats a lovely thing to say ! You might not think you have a wonderful story but im sure it is. Id love to hear how you met your dogs or cats or whatever creatures are in your life.

Ok, my German Shephard was a shy, scared, skinny little girl who was 5 weeks old, she was the only pup, backyard breeder, but I fell in love with her. She ended up living to nearly 16 years old and was a really wonderful dog and I still miss her a lot....I'll never forget the day I met her

[Snout Girl]

When my OH and I bought our own house it was decided we would each get to pick a breed of dog.

I chose pug, he border collie.

We werent actually meant to get a puppy from Sally's litter. The breeder had another litter due 4 weeks after Sally's, perfect timing as that allowed us a month in our new place to prepare.

The breeder rang me all excitied when the litter was born and said 'there is one little merle girl, and she is yours!'. we were beside ourselves with excitement.

A few days later she rang again and said 'sorry, but your little merle girl turned out to be a little merle boy!' she said however that there were 3 merle girls born in the earlier litter and 2 were still available. the only down side was they were due to be picked up 2 weeks before we moved into our house!

we went and spoke to the breeder who agreed to keep the pup 2 weeks longer if we decided to take one. she opened a door and out tumbled 6 of the furriest, fluffiest things ever. she pointed out the 2 that were available. one was the largest in the litter with promeninet merle markings and quite boisterous, the other smaller, only slightly marked and more timid. OH immediately felt drawn to the smaller 'cuter' one but my eyes were only for big fluff bum. 4 weeks later she moved into the new house with us the same night we moved in! lol and slept on the floor with us! not ideal but we wouldnt change having her.

And that is how Sally came to be with us

Bert was chosen for us by the breeder but the story is a little amusing. We went to seem him at 7 weeks. We wernt sure if it was the right house so we (my mum and I) sent OH to the door to find out! A lady came to the door holding this tiny, teeny pug. As we walked in I remember thinking 'aw how cute, she must of had another litter and that is one of the newborns.' wasnt I in for a shock! she popped the pup on the ground and said 'meet your boy'. i almost passed out. this wasnt a dog, it was a rat! no way could something that small survive Sally! I looked at OH and he had gone chalk white!

When we were leaving OH had been very quiet and still very pale. I asked him if he was alright and he made up some excuse about it smelling inside and making him feel a little ill. he did joke that we wouldnt need to worry about walking bert, we would just need to purchase one of the those mouse wheels and put him on that!

needless to say when we collected him a week later thankfully he had grown and now my OH is pushing to get a 2nd pug!

and that is how chaos and mayhem came to live in our house!

[~*Shell*~]

I met Zero at 2.5 years old - i wanted a quiet dog because my neighbours had noise complaints about their dogs barking and I wanted a dog I would be able to have around without having him be in my lap all the time so I looked at sibes. I met heaps of them for months and months and eventually I was told about renbury having a few of them at the time.

Zero was the only dog in the entire place who wasn't barking - he was just sitting in the middle of his pen, on his own, doing nothing. The girls told me he wasn't very friendly and didn't want anything to do with people but he wasn't aggressive so I took him out and he paid a little bit of attention to me but nothing much. He looked horrible (obese, blowing coat, bad diet before) and my heart just bled for him - when they told me he was due to be euthanised that afternoon, i put my deposit on him then and there Soooooooooo glad I did. While I could have murdered him several times, he owns my heart and I think he knows it. It hasn't been an easy journey but it's been more than worth it to see what he's like now.

[Dust Angel]

Corvus you had me giggling with your stories

Niques - Do you still call him warthead? That's cute!

Janba - there is no resisting the collie stare is there!

Furballs - any day you will never forget for whatever reason is always a day worth sharing. Thank you. Do you have any photos of your girl?

bertandsally - thats so cute and just such beautiful dogs

Shell - Zero is just gorgeous and certainly landed on all four paws with you - he is a credit to you!

Edited April 27, 2010 by Dust Angel

[Evolving]

With Echo I was looking for a boy as I had never had a girl before.

When the litter was born there were 5 females and 3 males in it. I was told all the males were taken and I could have a female or wait for the next litter. I changed my mind about having to have a male and said yes.

I spent the next 6 weeks looking at the pictures of them growing up and not getting my heart set on any of them. Knowing it would be the breeders choice in the end.

When I went to visit them at 6 weeks old I was told there were three I could choose from, one of the males and two of the females. By this time I had talked myself into getting a female.

I was drawn to Echo from the begning. She ws so little and outgoing. She was one of the few who came up to me as spent the least time sleeping (When she first came I questioned why I though that was a good trait).

While I was there another buyer came to look at them who was also picking between the females. She decided she wanted Echo as well despite wanting the other puppy the whole time looking at the pictures. I think I almost had a heart attack from the stress thinking she would get Echo if the breeder had to pick between us. After ages she changed her mind back and went for her original dog.

How could you say no to this?

Edited April 27, 2010 by Evolving

[Longclaw]

So beautiful Longclaw - i bet he knew right away you were his forever home . Now you need to complete your story with a photo of the Divine Tommy boy

ETA - for some reason the photo in your quote didnt work the first time i can see it now..... but how bout some more.....

Oh ok then :D

With our darling Ruby (RIP)

And with our gorgeous little girl, Nissa

(and MrLC )

[lillim]

I was moving out of a pet free apartment due to a nasty incident and since I was moving in with my ex into a house rented from family, I was finally able to have my first own "big girl" dog.

I was still researching and browsing when I saw a photo of a small brown puppy with a white diamond on her head at the RSPCA, we went to look at her and honestly I think she pinned us as the suckers who would take her home.

We had a meet with some of the other dogs at the shelter before and after meeting her, they were all lovely but as soon as they were put back in their cages they lost interest in us, especially the puppies. Misha though stood at the front of her cage and stared at us the whole time.

When she was brought out, she jumped all over us, nipping, licking and chewing on my toes. She was full on and looking back not the best puppy for me. But I was hooked and there was something about her I adored , so a few days later she came home with us. Its a decision I have never regretted and cannot imagine my life without her.

When she reached about 8 months, the diamond on her head that first made me notice on her disappeared, personally I like to think that the diamond was Misha's advertising ploy and it disappeared because she no longer needed to advertise as she had found her home. I know this is bollocks, but I like the idea.

[Niques]

Niques - Do you still call him warthead? That's cute!

Only when talking about him, not to him, unfortunately. I had grown very fond of Warthead. Particularly given that his actual name was not my first choice and it took at least a week for me to warm up to that. He spent his first couple of weeks mainly going by Puppy. Which has since mutated into Handsome Puppy (which, embarrassingly enough, I do actually use so often that he now responds to it ).

Evolving, talk about irresistable! Could she be any cuter?!

[Longclaw]

How could you say no to this?

I tried saying 'no' to those photos... it just came out 'nnnnnoawwww!'

[furballs]

How could you say no to this?

I tried saying 'no' to those photos... it just came out 'nnnnnoawwww!'

That is one cute pup :D

[WillowGirl]

I was looking at different breeds for months trying to decide what was best for me.....

I wanted a Sibe coz they are gorgeous, but after looking into it, I decided they would drive me nuts. My brother and I have always loved the movie Turner and Hooch, it was actually the first movie I ever cried at. I walked out of the cinema all blotchy and sniffing!!!!! :D

Anyway, was thinking Doberman, boxer....too much energy..... wanted someone to chill with. lol.

So I looked into the DDB. Well..... they were sooooooooooo expensive I thought I'd never find the money. My brother kept coming over saying - hey, there's Dogues in the paper......but I couldn't afford it. A few weeks later I got my tax cheque back........so of we went on the 3hr drive.

When we got there, the hugest red dog I have ever seen walked out towards the driveway......there was no-one there so I was NOT getting out of the car. Then the owner walked around with 2 puppies and the mummy in tow.

I was so overwhelmed by the size of the sire that I wasn't taking much notice of the pups. I had never seen a DDB in the flesh and was really impressed. He was so docile. The breeder told us about the pups - one male, one female left, they were mini versions of their parents and sooo cute.

I had wanted a female but when Zeus hopped up onto the couch to go back to sleep while we were there I couldn't believe it........I thought, he's so calm! Most pups I had been around would be jumping around your feet the whole time!! Well, at least a bit!!!! Then his sister went and sat beside him......my brothers phone rang (some ridiculous song) and the little girl started barking......Zeus just lifted and eyebrow. My brother said - See, she'd be a great watch dog! I said - yeah, but he knows its just a phone! LOL

So I leaned over to pat him and he put his huge-for-a-pup paw in my hand and that was it. SOLD

Apparently he was the biggest male.

I already had his name picked out if I got a boy, but I nearly changed it to Romeo when we got home......everyone loves him - still to this day.

When he was bitten by a snake not long back I had several phone calls a day asking after him!!!

He's my dog, I'm his person Zeusie is the best!!!!!!!!

P.S. I love reading all your stories, great thread

[Alfie02]

What great stories everyone, I feel a little teary reading about all the beautiful doggies and how they got great homes .

Evolving, can I ask what breed your little puppy Echo is?

[Evolving]

Echo is a finnish lapphund.

[SkySoaringMagpie]

Why is SSM a Saluki nut? This is why:

Best dog in the world, she's the reason for everything else.

[MavericksMission]

Well...I was not looking for a puppy when I found Maverick..

Maverick came into the shelter I work at with his 5 siblings.

I thought nothing more then ,it is just another litter of unwanted puppies.

I placed them all into their pen, all the puppies went around and sniffed the pen and ate some food, not Maverick, he came up and put his paws on my knee and gazed into my eyes.

I popped him down and then continued to keep working, through out the day going in and cleaning up after them.

Every time I went into the room, Maverick would run up and put his paws up on the door and give a little cry until I gave him some attention..

So after about 4 days of that, I brought mum into the shelter to show her, I had never thought she would have agreed to getting a puppy, but she fell in love as well!

So he is sitting next to a year and a half later and I still remember it like it was just yesterday!

Now Hector is my newest addition, he only came home about 2 months ago.

He also came into the shelter with his 5 siblings.

I had not long lost my old girl Tinka, when he came into the shelter.. I wasn't looking for a puppy, but agreed that if the right one came along we may consider it.

Well.. Hector was placed into my arms by his owner and it was instantly love at first sight. Went home and discussed it with mum and then we adopted.

I brought him home and the look on Maverick's face was priceless.. sort of like a "oh my goodness, can we keep him mum, can we, can we!!!"

Ahh I love them :D

[skip]

I decided to pick my own first dog so looked at all the rescue pics. Saw such a little black dog with the best expressive eyes. He was a a guess as to his age but young and said to be a kelpie x chi. As I wanted to do agility but wasn't sure about a full working breed _ thought this cross would be good.

I drove from Orange and met the foster carer from Campbelltown at Penrith Panthers car park. I had only seen a head shot so far and when they drove him with him I was smitten. I said a quick hello and gave him a pat. The foster carer was happy to let me have him and thought he would be happy. I put him in his brand new blue car harness and off we went. He looked back at his foster family once but came with me.

It must have been so confusing for him. A rough start, then the pound, then rescue and a new family of kids and dogs. Then I turn up in the car park and take him away. He was in the front and strapped in ( I didn't know about crates etc then). I had covered the seat and surrounds with a sheet in case of car sickness. Unforunately I didn't cover the gear stick a bit which is were he projectile vomited to. He was very timid but I just patted him and we went home.

He is the best bargain ever.

[Kempe]

After my 14.5 year old Kelpie had to be PTS I knew I would get another dog but waited a few months as I just couldn't do it, eventually put my name down with the BC breeders that I was interested.

Due to the waiting list I missed out on a few litters and had resigned myself to having to wait another few months for the right dog.

Out of the blue one of the breeders emailed me that she had a 10 week old girl she thought was perfect for me, sweet natured and great personality.

Stunned and surprised I phoned her and all I could say was "why"?

Why do you have a 10 week old?? was she the runt of the litter??, there all gone at 8 weeks, why do you have a 10 week old ???? (I was embaressed saying it and embaressed writing it) lol

There was a very logical reason and next day I left work early and grabbed the family and drove out there.

When we got there (a bit early) the breeder had Tara in the house and had just finished bathing her, she walked out the door with Tara in her arms and she had this sideways look just staring at us, and to this day she still does it often and it reminds me of the first second I saw her.

Tara is now 16 months and a beautiful dog....thanks Michelle

This is Tara photographed in the back garden the next day

[Alyosha]

This is a lovely thread guys. :D

I had wanted a Borzoi since I was 10 years old (I'm not saying exactly how long I waited but it was over 20 years...). I ended up with an Afghan for about 13 years and he was my boy . We shared lots of good and bad together. After he had been gone for about a year I suddenly decided to look at Borzoi again.

My first online search found a breeder with a litter, 2 girls and 8 boys. I emailed asking about a girl - I thought I didn't want to have another boy yet, it was too soon after losing my Affie boy. After a few emails and conversations they told me they thought a boy could suit out family better, being soft and smoochy. They had just the pup in mind and sent a photo:

I was hooked and was off to visit with my then 10 year old daughter in tow.

They were nearly 7 weeks old and I had a couple of boys to choose from but the breeders had guessed right and the smallest, funny looking runty boy was the one who kept coming back to me.

I was sold.

All the way home I drove my daughter nuts, singing at her "I got a puppy, I got my Borzoi, I got a puppy, I got my Borzoi!" over and over - she's never let me forget it!

A few weeks later I was back up there to pick him up, in a disbelieving cloud that this precious bundle was actually mine. He sat in a box strapped into the front seat right next to me - he was so tiny and peaceful!

He is my heart dog, my boy. Doggy love of my life.

Sometimes he is so like my old Afghan that my husband or I refer to him by the wrong name, but he's more simple, less challenging and even more devoted. His nickmane at home is "Old Yella" as his favourite spot to sleep is at my feet, or one the mat beside my bed where I can roll over and put a hand on him if I need to during the night.

My devoted boy Boris, giver of the worlds biggest 'zoi hugs and tug-o-war fanatic:

Edited April 27, 2010 by Alyosha

[WillowGirl]

the first day

A month or so later

Hope this works, never posted pics on this forum!