ACD

We always have a houseful of various indoor pets and all kinds of outdoor wildlife.  You can read the stories of how our four pooches came into our lives below.  They are all quite special to us and are definitely a part of the family.

The Dogs
Our dogs are Hardy, Blue, Lois Lane and Buddy.  They have all led interesting lives and each of their stories are below.  They are our spoiled fur kids, our entertainment and forever our best friends.  For more photos of my pups, take a look at the Dog's Flickr set

Hardy - The Scruffy Old Man

Breed: Wire-haired terrier mix 
Age: Approximately 16 years old

Hardy came to live with us on Christmas Eve of 1996.  Jason and I were on our way to visit Mama & Papa in Campbellsville, Kentucky with Portia sound asleep in the back seat.  About five miles from our destination we noticed a black dog lying motionless in the emergency lane with a dusting of snow on top of him.  As we passed by and both noticed him, we let out simultaneous sad “aww’s”, both thinking what a shame it was for a little dog to be dead on the side of the road on Christmas Eve.  Right at that time, his little head popped up and we immediately turned the car around to go get him.  The poor guy was in really bad shape.  He couldn’t stand or walk, he was skin and bones and he stunk to high heaven.  On top of that he had a large gash in the top of his head and what appeared to be several cigarette burns on his face and head. Once we got him home we gave him a much needed bath, which turned the water so black we couldn’t even see through it.   We gave him some water and food and a nice comfy beanbag to lay on.  His stomach was so empty that he hurled up the water and what little was on his stomach within minutes of drinking.  After that there were other projectile bodily fluids, much hobbling around and another bath.  It was an eventful evening. Our intention was to keep him through the holidays until the shelter’s opened back up and then let them handle him from there.  We were in an apartment at the time and really couldn’t afford the extra dog deposit and increase in payments per month.  However, by the time three days had passed and the shelters were open again we ended up taking him to the vet to get a check over and some medication instead of turning him over to the pound.  We had grown attached to him in that short time and didn’t want to give him up.  The vet sent him home with antibiotics, an anti-inflammatory and some muscle relaxers and within days he was up and walking around on his own. Portia got the honor of naming him (she was almost three), but where she came up with the name Hardy we’ll never know, but it fits him well.  Today Hardy is looking like an old man, but surely doesn’t act like it.  He still runs and plays with the other dogs, fluffs up his pillows to his liking and enjoys his humans.  He can see pretty good, but has a hard time hearing, though sometimes I think he practices selective hearing.  His favorite activities include sleeping, taking walks where he can pee on everything in site and trying to hump Lois Lane.

Blue – The Dense One 

Breed:  Australian Cattle Dog (Blue Heeler) 
Age: Approximately 9 years old

Blue came to live with us in February of 2002.  Jason had taken Hardy and Rudy (our belated lab/chow mix) to the vet for their annual check-ups.  While he was there he saw a strange looking dog resembling a dingo in the office.  When he inquired about the dog, the vet-tech had quite the story for him.   She lived in a small, back country town (they are plentiful around here) and stopped to refuel on her way to work.  As she pulled up to the pump she noticed the dog tied to the gas pump.  When she went in to pay for her gas she asked the gas station attendant why there was a dog tied to the gas pump on a cold February day.  He said someone had come by earlier that morning and tied him up and left him there.  He went on to tell her that if the dog was still tied to the pump by the end of the day, he would be taking him out in the field and shooting him.  With that news, the vet tech untied the poor dog, put him in her car and took him to work to have him looked over.  He stayed there for a few days as they tried to find him a new home.  That was when Jason happened to be a the vet’s office and happened to let Hardy and Rudy play with him and just happened to bring him home. The vet tech had named him Blue, likely after his blue coloring and the fact that he is a blue heeler (as opposed to a red heeler).  Luckily for him, we decided to keep calling him Blue.  He’s certainly not the brightest crayon in the box, although most ACD’s are highly intelligent, and another name change may have pushed him over the edge. Several years ago Blue ruptured a disc in his back and was paralyzed from the middle of his back down to the tip of his tail.  We were devastated to learn that he would require immediate surgery and only had a 50/50 chance of regaining feeling and movement.  Due to the fact that he was only about four years old at the time, we decided to take the chance and see if the surgery would work.  He was in the doggie hospital for three days and we visited him every night after work.  On the third day, he walked out of the back room to go home with us.  Blue was on cage rest for the next six weeks, which meant no running, no jumping and no steps.  These restrictions are total torment to a heeler, but he did very well, for the most part. Today Blue is almost 100% back to his normal movements, though sometimes he gets a little too rough and has to spend a couple of days recovering.  His favorite activities include eating, herding the lawn mower, vacuum cleaner and kids and he highly enjoys tormenting the other dogs.  He also must be under foot at all times and we trip over him at least ten times a day.

Lois Lane – The Spoiled Brat

 Breed: Jack Russle Terrier mix
Age: Approximately 5 years old

Lois Lane was a planned adoption about three months after we lost Rudy.  When we choose to adopt a dog we always go through rescue societies (unless the dog finds us first, as in the case of Hardy and Blue).  We found Lois through the Shamrock Foundation, a non-profit organization whose mission is to end pet overpopulation, reduce the number of companion animals destroyed in local shelters, and to save or enhance the lives of animals in need in our community.  They accomplish this by relying on foster homes for the dogs and cats they bring in, as they do not have a physical shelter to work out of. Lois Lane had wondered onto a farm in the summer of 2006 and had a litter of puppies.  She was then turned over to the Shamrock Foundation where she was fostered for several months.  The foster home she was staying in wasn’t working out very well, as two of the resident dogs there did not care for Lois and they had to be kept separated.  When we decided to bring her home for a week trial basis to see how she got along with Blue and Hardy we learned that if our home did not work out for Lois Lane that the foster home was going to have to give her up.  Sometimes when that happens the foster dog ends up back in the shelter due to lack of foster homes for them to be turned over to.  Luckily, Lois was a perfect match for us and our dogs. Lois Lane has a crazy personality and is probably the most intelligent dog I’ve ever had.  She has special games that she plays with each member of the family and she plays these games on a daily basis.  For instance, when I walk in the door from work she greets me and then runs as fast as she can to jump in my office chair.  There she will sit until I come over, make her shake and tell her to get out of my chair.  Even if I go upstairs to change first, she’ll sit in that chair until I come down and chase her out of it.  Lois also loves food, loves to run in the back yard, loves to watch (and chase) squirrels and adores her humans.

Buddy – The Big Loaf; Giant Dawg

Breed: Great Pyrenees
Age: Approximately 4 years old

On June 30, 2009 there were 37 dogs removed from a mobile home in Mt. Vernon, Kentucky.  Every dog was severely emaciated and covered in fleas.  There were dogs from chihuahuas to great danes, young and old.  They were living in filthy conditions where they were standing in up to 6″ of feces in some areas.  They were rescued by the United Rescues of Kentucky group and those that were healthy enough went to foster homes until forever homes could be found. A friend of ours does Great Pyrenees fostering and posted a message on Facebook asking if anyone could temporarily foster a male Great Pyrenees mix.  It was Fourth of July weekend and we had no plans so we offered our home up to him until he could be transported to the Great Pyrenees Rescue in Indianapolis the following week.  We had been thinking about adding a fourth dog to our family and thought it would be a good way to see how we would handle four dogs.  Needless to say, we fell in love with Buddy (named by Jason because he just looked like a big buddy) and decided to adopt him ourselves.  He was 59 pounds when he came to us where he should be around the 100+ pound range.  He was also unaltered and his coat was in pretty bad shape.  He has been with us for almost 2 months now and has gained about 15 - 20 pounds, has been neutered and is coat is beginning to look like it should. Buddy is a big ol' love bug.  He thinks he's a 15 pound lap dog, he's a leaner and loves to be brushed (thank goodness). He has fully taken over our couch as his own and follows Portia everywhere.  He loves to go on walks and occasionally decides to take a swim in the pond, which we're trying to break him of.  I think next summer we'll buy him his own pool to lounge in. He has settled into his new home very quickly and gets along with the other three dogs wonderfully.  They are still trying to figure out the best way to play with such a giant beast, but they are learning.  I think Buddy is happy in his new forever home.