The Island of Misfit Dogs

My first dog growing up, Mindy, was adopted from a home that no longer wanted her.  Dan's first dog, Tiffany, was adopted from the Humane Society.  So, it just seemed natural that when we decided to get our first dog as a married couple, that he/she should be rescued.

When I was 6 months pregnant with Arianna, it seemed like the perfect time to bring a dog into a our home.  We headed to the Michigan Humane Society and started wandering.

Not really sure on what we were looking for....or, maybe we were sure on our own, but just not decided together....Dan wanted a big dog and I wanted a lap dog.  Well.....we sort of got both with Lucky.

Lucky was a black lab mix that weighed about 50 pounds (he was 6 months old) but also loved to curl up on my lap.

He was defiant in a gentle manner and absolutely adored our kids.  He left us way too soon and you can read his whole life story HERE.

About 2 years after adopting Lucky, we thought it wouldn't be so bad to bring in a second dog.  So back to the humane society we went.  This time, bringing home Spaz.  We really weren't sure what to do with Spaz...he was a unique dog.  We spent many a days conferring with our vet as Spaz seemed a bit "off".  Lucky wasn't even sure of him.  As it approached our time to move to a new house, we became somewhat concerned about him adapting to new surroundings.  Unfortunately, he made the decision for us by nipping Ari....and off he went.

Back to a 1 dog family.....

Then Riley came along.....we went the pure bred route this time...6 weeks old, papers and all, folks (though, one little snip negates those papers....oh well!)

Riley was a playful pup...and he loved to lay on the fireplace hearth.  He also loved to test Lucky's patience.  Guess what? Lucky didn't have patience for a pup....he quickly asserted his big dog title, Riley agreed and all was well in the world.  They co-existed peacefully......and even chased each other around the yard.

It was during a playfest in the yard that Riley became super dog....recap HERE.

Riley was not ready to take on the big dog role when Lucky died and he sulked around the house for a long time.  It seems that would be about the time that he sort of became an old soul.  Then hip and back problems set in....he couldn't go on long walks and he didn't do much playing in the yard anymore....just more lounging in the house....

We didn't mean to get another dog....we just wandered into the pet store one day and they had just recently opened a new branch of the humane society there.  We were just going to look at the cute dogs.

Well, one looked back at us....velvetey ears and all.  And Dan and the kids were sold.

So, along came Ranger.

 

 

We've had him for a year now.  He is 3 but still has a TON of puppy in him.  He drives me crazy.....but he is cute.  He is house broken, he sits, he shakes, he even high fives.  But he also loves to get in the trash (we bought a trash can for the kitchen that has a release button to open it.....um, yeah - he learned how to push the button with his nose!) and he LOVES small animals.  He doesn't want to hurt them, but he howls (he's a coon hound) incessantly when the other neighborhood dogs walk by (especially that beagle....oh that beagle....such a torment).  We don't take Ranger on walks....we can't.  The last time we did, he went crazy after the 4th dog walked by and Dan had to tackle him.  It was quite the site.

On the plus side, Ranger has brought out some energy in Riley.  It's good to see the old boy running around the yard and playing tug of war.  It's also brought out the devious side of Riley.....like when he takes the tennis ball then lays on it so Ranger can't get it.  That drives Ranger CRAZY....and we all hear about it!

So, if we can just work on the socializing aspect of Ranger, he would be top notch.....after all.....those velvetey ears are to die for!