Katie was our first venture into the land of dogs. We had just lost a 
very special cat and I really thought that a dog was something that could bring a little happiness into our lives after such a loss. We had our sites set on the Basset Hound breed...and as luck would have it...a local pet store had two cute little baby Bassets for sale. We brought her home as a tiny little puppy in May of 2003. She was very sick with coccidia and almost died right after we brought her home...but our great Vet, Dr. Busby, saved her life with a blood transfusion. Soon she was a happy and healthy puppy. 
She was a HOOT and a handful! Little did I know that having a puppy was a little bit like having a newborn baby. Talk about sleep deprivation...I was up with her every night taking her out to potty two or three times. I had the unenviable task of cleaning up her stinky mess
es...and because I had NO idea of how to potty train a dog...there were a LOT of stinky messes!
very special cat and I really thought that a dog was something that could bring a little happiness into our lives after such a loss. We had our sites set on the Basset Hound breed...and as luck would have it...a local pet store had two cute little baby Bassets for sale. We brought her home as a tiny little puppy in May of 2003. She was very sick with coccidia and almost died right after we brought her home...but our great Vet, Dr. Busby, saved her life with a blood transfusion. Soon she was a happy and healthy puppy. 
She was a HOOT and a handful! Little did I know that having a puppy was a little bit like having a newborn baby. Talk about sleep deprivation...I was up with her every night taking her out to potty two or three times. I had the unenviable task of cleaning up her stinky mess
es...and because I had NO idea of how to potty train a dog...there were a LOT of stinky messes! She seemed to thoroughly enjoy tormenting our two cats Kitchen and Kiki. As she grew, we knew that she needed a playmate to help drain some of that energy. A web search helped us find the Basset Hound Rescue of Alabama (http://www.bhra.org/). I really did not have a clue about the world of Rescue...but I was soon to find out.
Since Katie was a "tri colored" basset...I had my heart set on a "red and white" male as her best friend. We found our Livingston listed on the BHRA website. This is actually the picture of him that we first saw. He was a young b
asset and we thought he might just be our boy. We called his foster parents, Jack and Leanne Bains, and talked to them about him. We submitted our application to adopt him and we set up a time to take Katie to meet Livingston. We was a very rambunctious fellow and the two of them ran around Jack's back yard like two chickens with their heads cut off. We were pretty set on adopting him, but we had to wait for approval from the Rescue and our home visit. Once we were approved I drove half way to Birmingham to meet Leanne and get our new family member. When he got into the back of my car I could not help but think, "What I am doing with this dog? My second dog? I'm a CAT person!" I was really very intimidated by the whole thing. A few minutes into our drive, this sweet face climbed up into the front seat next to me as if to say, "Lets go home, mom!" 
He was a blessing for Katie and for us. He finished potty training Katie and the two of them soon became like peas and carrots. I wish I had a picture of the day they absconded with a pair of my underwear and played tug of war with it in the back yard. They had the best time running around with it stretched out between them...one end in each of their mouths. Livingston's favorite thing in the whole world is howling. And buddy...he is GOOD at it! He has the loudest, most heartfelt howl you can imagine. He loves to get the girls going. As you can see...they are very spoiled and more often than not, they are sprawled out on the furniture and I am sitting on the floor. That is ok, though, Livingston rests his head on my shoulder and gives me kisses.
asset and we thought he might just be our boy. We called his foster parents, Jack and Leanne Bains, and talked to them about him. We submitted our application to adopt him and we set up a time to take Katie to meet Livingston. We was a very rambunctious fellow and the two of them ran around Jack's back yard like two chickens with their heads cut off. We were pretty set on adopting him, but we had to wait for approval from the Rescue and our home visit. Once we were approved I drove half way to Birmingham to meet Leanne and get our new family member. When he got into the back of my car I could not help but think, "What I am doing with this dog? My second dog? I'm a CAT person!" I was really very intimidated by the whole thing. A few minutes into our drive, this sweet face climbed up into the front seat next to me as if to say, "Lets go home, mom!" 
He was a blessing for Katie and for us. He finished potty training Katie and the two of them soon became like peas and carrots. I wish I had a picture of the day they absconded with a pair of my underwear and played tug of war with it in the back yard. They had the best time running around with it stretched out between them...one end in each of their mouths. Livingston's favorite thing in the whole world is howling. And buddy...he is GOOD at it! He has the loudest, most heartfelt howl you can imagine. He loves to get the girls going. As you can see...they are very spoiled and more often than not, they are sprawled out on the furniture and I am sitting on the floor. That is ok, though, Livingston rests his head on my shoulder and gives me kisses.Our third Basset is Cede...aka Steve. She is a now 11 year old Basset who started out as a foster. 
She was just so sweet and we fell madly in love with her. Having been previously adopted and returned twice we decided that at her age she deserved her final "forever" home and we adopted her. We knew she loved us and our dogs and she'd be happy here for the rest of her life. Livingston took to her right away...but that is just his personality. Katie, on the other hand...in true Katie form, took a little bit longer to come around. Now she has found a wonderful begging pal. She actually lets Steve do most of the work, while she just runs around in circles like a freak!
She was just so sweet and we fell madly in love with her. Having been previously adopted and returned twice we decided that at her age she deserved her final "forever" home and we adopted her. We knew she loved us and our dogs and she'd be happy here for the rest of her life. Livingston took to her right away...but that is just his personality. Katie, on the other hand...in true Katie form, took a little bit longer to come around. Now she has found a wonderful begging pal. She actually lets Steve do most of the work, while she just runs around in circles like a freak! So there you have it...the three that are affectionately referred to as "The Bad Dogs". Life is great with these three around as they are always doing something funny.
The funny thing is that this self proclaimed "Cat Person" has gone very far into the world of dogs...not only do I have three dogs of my own...but I am a Trustee with the Basset Hound Rescue of Alabama! We have fostered many homeless hounds and it is a great way to spend your free time. I highly recommend getting into the world of dog rescue...it is very rewarding.
Martha
No comments:
Post a Comment