Dogs and Boys

As I mentioned on my earlier post, we have 3 dogs now. The first two, Reina and Bisou are both females. Female dogs - in general - have a tendency to be more of a one person dog, and that has really been the case with my two girls. They play fetch with the boys, and like to wrestle around some with them, but generally, you'll find them by my side.

Now, my mom has brought Chance the Sheltie down to stay with us. He's just awesome, and has fallen in love with my oldest son David. I'm so happy about it. Chance is a bit of an old man, going on 8 years now. I bought him with my grandfather, back in the days long ago when I lived with my grandfolks. Grandpa Bill and Chance (or Champ, as he was called back then) were a pair, and my grandmother and Chance were both devastated when Grandpa died 3 years ago. Grandma and Chance couldn't stay alone, so they both went off to live with my dad. Unfortunately, it wasn't a very happy time for Chance - they had a bunch of other dogs that treated him mean, and some of the people living there didn't treat him too well either.

Well, it was only about a year and a half later that my grandmother followed my grandfather, and poor old Chance was left alone in a family of strangers. My mom caught one look of him when we all came down for my grandmother's funeral, and it just about broke her heart - his hair had been cut down to about 1 inch long, he was very overweight, and covered with flea bite dermatitis. So, my mom told my dad, 'Gee, you've got so many dogs... would you like me to take him off your hands for you?' She took him back to Gainesville (Florida) with her, and that's where he's spent the last two years. She renamed him, from Champ to Chance - a new start, and a new opportunity at a good life.

This past June, she came down with my nephew, Nick, to stay for a few months, and decided to bring Chance down to stay with me. It's taken most of the 3 months for the 2 brats (Reina and Bisou, not the boys!!) to accept having this new dog in the house, but things are going pretty well now. And the best part is, he and my 12 year old David have taken to each other the way a boy and a dog should. Chance follows him around, plays chase in the yard, and sleeps at the foot of his bed at night. David is so thrilled to have a dog that loves him.

Win win and win for everybody.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Dogs As Smart As 2-Year-Old Kids: Study (huffingtonpost.com)