Dogs

Opie

Opie is the most recent addition to our family. We had no intentions of adopting another dog, especially not a young, very active one. As a foster dog, he was just too adorable and happy and good natured for us to to resist. We adopted him in December, 2010 when he was less than two years old.

Pete

Pete is a Chocolate Lab that we adopted from LRR in January 2008. He was another foster dog, but one that was having difficulty being placed. He had been returned a couple times because of problems fitting in at his new homes. He seemed comfortable in our house, and was a very sweet dog, so we made our house his forever home.

Max

After we had Quinn for a couple of years, Kathie wanted a third dog, but Mike wasn’t quite ready yet. We compromised and began fostering for LRR. In October 2004, after fostering dozens of great dogs, we fostered Max, a Lab and Great Dane mix, and couldn’t give him up! He became a part of our family in November of 2004. He’s an extremely goofy dog, and loves cuddling, unlike Sheba who was more aloof and didn’t like being touched unless it was on her terms.

Quinn

Quinn was a black Labrador Retriever and Flatcoat Retriever mix, born in March 1996. We adopted him in August of 1998 from Labrador Retriever Rescue when we were looking for a companion for Sheba. Here is Quinn’s Story from LRR, one of the stories that encouraged us to visit them when we were looking for a second dog. Quinn was a great dog, despite being stuck with more than his fair share of health issues. Over the years he had a hip replaced due to hip displasia, surgery on both back knees due to torn cruciate ligaments, allergies requiring regular shots, and a pancreatic gastronoma. Still, he led a good life, protecting the house from squirrels, stealing steaks from the grill and turkey from the table on Thanksgiving, and chasing tennis balls until he was exhausted.

On Tuesday, March 22, 2005 at 7:45 PM Quinn crossed The Rainbow Bridge and is once again able to play fetch and eat all the foods he loves. His life had become a delicate balance between keeping his pancreatic gastronoma (tumor) under control, and keeping his arthritic bionic legs (one artificial hip, and two knee surgeries) pain-free. Unfortunately, the pain medicine for his legs badly aggravated his gastronoma, and after two years with the gastronoma, the balance couldn’t be maintained any more. He could barely get up and walk any more, and couldn’t keep food down due to the gastronoma. We miss Quinn dearly, but we know he’s happy now that his pain is gone and he can eat all the steaks and popcorn he wants, and chase tennis balls all day long.

Sheba

Sheba was Kathie’s first dog as an adult. She was a yellow Lab, born in May, 1994 and passed away at 13 1/2 years old, in late 2007. Kathie took her at about one year old when a friend was no longer able to keep her. She was a spoiled rotten princess and was the cutest dog in the world (our humble opinions), and could wrap someone around her paw in seconds.

Labrador Retriever Rescue

We also volunteer for LRR, and are a foster home for dogs that are taken in from shelters, until they are adopted by new families. Scattered throughout my blog and Kathie’s blog are many stories and photos of the dozens of dogs we’ve fostered.