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Hi, everyone! Soose here! Well, what did you think of the "soose cats"? On this page, are the present "soose dogs". After Thelma and Heidi passed on, and Helga went to the state of Washington to live with my brother (she was originally his dog), I acquired a new bunch of lovable "zanies" whom you will now meet. As in the previous page, each pet has a story to tell. So, without further ado, please meet:
About 5 months after I lost my parents (July, 1998), I was in the neighborhood pet shop to buy pet supplies. Located in the front of the store was a cage containing a little black ball of fur. This little black ball of fur had caught my eye--she was so energetic, and had a personality so refreshing. Somehow, I just knew she was for me.
As I was looking at her, Helga (the pet shop manager) walked by. I told her that I was interested in buying that little rascal. Helga looked at me and said that another dog was the last thing I needed. But I was insistent. Helga reluctantly agreed, saying that I could keep the pup for the week-end as a trial test without paying anything. If I could tolerate the pup's hyper personality, then I could pay for the dog and she would be mine permanently.
Well, it did NOT take the entire week-end for me to make up my mind. The very next day, I was back at the pet shop paying for "Leah" (I named her after Mom) and buying various puppy supplies. Now, a little more background on Leah:
Leah is a full-blooded Schipperke. Schipperkes originated in Belgium. She has no tail, and is jet black (two of the Schipperke traits). Leah is a small dog--about 16 inches in length and about 10 inches in height.
When I bought Leah, she had been marked down drastically because she was getting too "old" to be sold as a puppy (she was only 16 weeks old). I "talked" Helga into reducing the price even more. Actually, it didn't take much talking to convince Helga at all.
Leah has been a breath of fresh air. I have never regretted buying her.
This is Leah relaxing on the couch after a busy day of "plotting".
In September of 1998, Linda (GryEyes911) and I were headed to Fresno to exchange a scanner at a computer store. When we reached the outskirts of Fresno, we passed a sign that read, "MINIATURE DOXY PUPPIES FOR SALE". We looked at each, she sighed, then I made the "fatal mistake" of asking her if she wanted to go back and take a look. I have never seen a person "force" a vehicle to make a U-turn so quickly in my life. In a split-second, she had turned the vehicle around and zoomed back down the road and turned into the driveway where the Dachshund puppies were.
We met with the owners and saw the momma dog. We were told that this was her first litter, and that she gave birth to only two males. Then the two puppies were brought out. They were SO small. Linda and I immediately fell in love with both of them. We decided to buy both puppies after our visit to the computer store to exchange the scanner.
I don't think the owners actually expected us to return as they looked pleasantly surprised to see us again. They retrieved both puppies and because the puppies were so small, the owners put them in a child's size 3 shoe box--there was so much room left, a third puppy could have easily fit, too!
On the way back home, I decided that my puppy's name would be "Ike". Linda did not decide on the name of her puppy until later. It eventually became known as "Zorro". Because Ike and Zorro were so young (they were only 5 weeks old), I kept both of them together at my house for about 4 weeks. Then at 9 weeks old, Zorro left to go live with Linda.
Ike is in the front, and Zorro is behind him.This was taken in December of 1998 when both boys were 4 months old.
Ike and Zorro are both registered (as is Leah) with the AKC (American Kennel Club). Among close friends, Ike is known as "Ike the Blimp" as he is considerably larger than his brother, Zorro. But, it doesn't look "good" on an AKC registration certificate. So, I registered him as "Eisenhower Goodyear"--I hope you see the connection. (grin) Today, Ikie and Zorro still visit each other when Linda and I visit each other. It is always fun watching the brothers reunite.
Here is Ikie doing what he does best: being a "con artist".
If ever an animal could look sad and unloved, Bear could when he was about 7 weeks old. In January of 1999, I had gone to the pet shop to get supplies (no, not the same pet shop as mentioned above). As I passed the cages that contained various animals for sale, one particular puppy caught my eye.
Bear was all alone in a glass case and he looked so lonely and terrified. Earlier that day, his sister had been sold and now he was all alone. The look on his face said it all. And it was that look that had sunk a hook into me. Oh, I tried to resist. But Bear had hooked me for good. I tried walking away, and continue my shopping. It was no use. I returned to the glass case, looked at him, then went to find a salesperson.
The girl who helped me had a kind look on her face. She lifted Bear out of the cage and handed him to me to play with and observe his behavior. His fur felt like the "fur" of a very expensive plush toy--so soft and cushiony. He seemed really pleased that someone was paying attention to him.
Linda (GryEyes911) was with me and flat out told me that I was crazy--"That's the last thing you need now". Regardless, I bought Bear and he was quickly accepted into the family.
The fun came when he was growing up. He was being brought up by two little dogs--Leah and Ike. Naturally, he thought that he was a small dog, too. Calamity after calamity would occur as Bear got bigger and slowly discovered that playing "Follow the Leader" with the little dogs wasn't such a good idea. The little dogs could hide under furniture--Bear couldn't and would tip something over in the process of trying.
Today, Bear weighs a hefty 124 pounds. Although he is mostly a Lab, his papers says that he has some pit bull in his blood, also. And even though he is so huge, he is quite a gentile guy, and loves people.
Maggie's story is more of a story of rescue than any of the other dogs' stories. I discovered her at the pound. She was about 8 weeks old and was there with her 2 sisters. I wasn't looking to get another dog. I was there with a friend to lend support to HER.
While she was off looking at some dogs, I accidentally wandered down the aisle that had the puppies. I had never been to this particular shelter before, so I did not know it was the "puppy aisle". There in a "cell" were 3 adorable German Shepherd puppies, all with definite personalities.
While I was watching and playing with them through the bars, a young lady came up to me and asked if I wanted to take all 3 pups outside and see how they interacted with me and each other. I naturally said, "SURE!", and off we went to one of the many exercise cages outside. The biggest of the 3 pups was obviously the dominant one as she was taking things away from the others and was playfully picking on them. Next, was the "middle child" who found that anything was a play toy--her favorite thing was a blade of grass. She paid no attention to the other two pups. The last pup was the "runt" and was VERY subdued and submissive. She was picked on the most by the dominant pup.
I swear, if it was at all possible, I would have taken all 3 pups home with me. But I already had Leah, Ike, and Bear at home. There was bearly enough room for one more pup, let alone three more. But I picked a pup anyway--the middle one, and immediately decided on the name, "Maggie".
After a week of "quarantine", Maggie was finally allowed to come home.
I wasn't sure just how the other three dogs would take to Maggie so when we arrived home, I let the other dogs in one at a time. The first to come in was Leah. She immediately started sniffing and mothering Maggie. Ike was next. He growled to let Maggie know who was "boss", then also began to mother her. Bear was SO happy to see Maggie that he put a strip of saliva down Maggie's back, proclaiming she was his property. I never saw a dog accepted so fast into a family as Maggie was into this family.
Today, when the little dogs (Leah and Ike) are playing, Bear has a playmate, too--MAGGIE! Those two rascals rough house pretty good, too.
Well, there they all are--the "soose cats" and the "soose dogs"---"SOOSE PETS"! I hope you enjoyed meeting them just as much as I enjoyed telling you about each of them.