 The Three Amigos! As with many families, your pets are like your children. Many times, we search long and hard for the perfect companion, while occasionally, a pet arrives as if it were meant to be.  Bailey Doing What She Does Best Our first “child” was Bailey–a black Cocker Spaniel/Poodle mix standing frightfully in the middle of the picture above. Liz and I got her from the Larimer Humane Society in Fort Collins sometime in 1999. We believe she was about 4 months old and considerably emaciated. Liz’s mom Karen helped in the selection process, which was difficult since she had a sister to be adopted as well. Alas, we went home with Bailey, but we’ve always hoped her sister found a good home as well. Bailey’s nickname is “Dootsie” or “Rhamacus”, neither of which have much to do with her actual name. Nevertheless, we call her by her nicknames almost exclusively. Rarely do we call her by her given name, Bailey! Dootsie is quite the couch potato these days. She enjoys laying on the couch with her blanket and occasionally going out to use the bathroom when the mood suits her. She is daddy’s girl.  Our New Dog "Piper" Next in the pet line is Piper. He is a full-blooded AKC Miniature Schnauzer. Don’t let the breeding fool you though–he can be dumber than a box of rocks sometimes. Regardless of this, we all still love our “Pipey” and wouldn’t trade him for the world. He stands ever alert on the the right hand side of the picture above, as you are looking at it. It is typical of him because he is always on high alert. Piper came to us in December of 2001. We purchased him from a local breeder because we wanted a dog that will grow up with Haley. He was the last of the litter when we brought him home at around 3 months of life. We’ve watched him grow and be best friends with everyone in the family. While mostly mom’s dog, Pipey still loves to be around everyone in the family and is quite restless until everyone is seated to relax.  Chester the Scruffy In February 2008, we felt the need to expand our dog pack by one. While trolling the Adams County Animal Shelter, Liz spotted another Miniature Schnauzer so we went to have a look. We wound up snatching Chester to enrich our lives. We believe he was a little under one year old when we got him, based on his teeth and the “puppy-ness” he displayed. Chester excels at barking and just fooling around. Piper and Chester play quite a bit, but Piper is becoming a little more crotchity these days. One thing that Chester the Molester does is grunt around like a bull. Chestie is friends to all of us and compliments the rest of the dogs in the family. |