So, as nothing very much equine related is going on, and I am anxiously anticipating my graduation (thus the sudden influx of blog posts, and neglect of school work, haha) I thought I would write about my wonderful puppies today.
I think there is a pretty big controversy out there over adoption vs. buying, to breed or not to breed, etc. I do not find any qualms with a pure bred animal, I do not support puppy mills, but an animal from a reputable breeder with good lines, not inbred, etc. should be a great animal to have. It's like going to Iron Spring Farm to buy your next sport horse...probably a huge investment, but well worth it. I think "backyard breeders" can be a little dangerous, who knows what sorts of precautions, if any, they choose to take, and who knows if this puppy's father is really its half brother, uncle, etc....much the same as getting your next horse from "that guy down the road" - get them cheap but as we all know, how cheap are animals anyway?
And then there is the influx of these dogs in rescues....not being independently wealthy and getting most of my animals against my mothers will, I turn to pet finder. My first dog I got was a "12 week old Beagle Puppy" from a Collie rescue. I grew up with collies, and having one recently pass, I thought it was perfect and an omen, she was supposed to be mine. I wish I could find the photos, Baylee was precious and stood no taller than a baseboard heater....and then she just kept on growing. At her heaviest, (thanks to lack of exercise and a mother that feeds those poor, sad, hound eyes whatever she wants) she was about 60lbs...much too fat but is now about 40-45, long, lean and can kiss your face easily when she jumps up...yeah, not a beagle.....and although not, she has proven to be a great barn dog, barking and letting me know when horses are running in the pasture, pawing for food, etc. biting heels when horses won't move (hate that!!) and being a great trail buddy to hack out with...especially for a hound, she's extremely obedient.
It was clear during the summer Baylee needed a friend. As always, I turned to petfinder. A few puppies came up, and this introduced me to the breed of Catahoulas...pretty cool looking animals. I narrowed the search to Catahoula only and one caught my eye in particular, her name was Brooklyn. It was getting close to the start of school, so I opted out...until October, Brookie was still available....so I inquired...It took a lot of string pulling, coordination, and people to get Brookie from where she was rescued (georgia?) to Petco in Poughkeepsie where my sister picked her up, brought her to my grandmothers, who brought her to me in Alfred. Brooklyn was not a puppy, in fact some of her papers said 2 or 3 or 4...I knew there were strings to any older dog, but I was hopeful.
Upon Brooklyn coming to me, I was actually really saddened. She was SO sweet and SO willing to please, how could anyone give her up (she was an owner surrender and had two failed adoptions....). She just needed a permanent home. There have been some slight "issues", (establishing who's boss with Baylee, and the occasional rummage through my closet to find lord knows what....) but now that I have known Brooklyn for as long as I have, it's clear that she was never allowed to just be a puppy, or a dog for that matter. She knew how to "sit" and "lay down" but things like paw, walking on a leash, coming when called, being asked to jump up on the bed, or even playing fetch were all completely foreign. For a long time you could throw a ball or piece of knotted twine and she would cower from it. It was so sad. It slowly became clear that no one ever spent the time with her, it took maybe a day or two to learn each of the things mentioned, she just wants to be good but no one ever told her how!
Anyway, I got lucky, she's a good girl and I am glad that she wound up with me and Baylee. However, it makes me sad to think there are others like her out there....the itch is terrible to get another one :)