For me, there is a special place in my heart for dogs. That may sound corny, but dogs have always been my favorite kind of pet to have. With the ones that we have now, a small pair(Buddy and Zoe) that Ann and I learned had been abused in different ways by one of their previous owners, that could not be more true.

We got Zoe, a black Yorkie poodle first from a pet shelter just over four years ago on Valentine’s Day and it took some time for her to open up and trust Ann, Eric or myself. The life she had known previously consisted of long periods of time in a cage, unattended to and rarely fed healthy portions of food. I was a little surprised(but grateful) that she wasn’t an angry, violent dog looking to vent her anger and frustration on her next owner(s). Instead, she was very quiet, staying in one part of the house maybe assuming life might be the same that it was with her previous owner. It wasn’t. Each of us made sure that, when we were at the house, we’d interact with Zoe and it worked. She eventually opened up to all of us and began trusting us and today she appears to be much happier.

Today we use something called an electric fence device to keep Zoe on our property. She wears a collar that beeps if she goes pass the boundaries of the fence   This allows us to keep her in our yard without having to constantly watch what she does outside. Even when people, whether it be neighbors walking down the street or deliverymen  droppin, Zoe just does a lot of barking but has  never attacked or charged at people looking to bite them. In short she is loud but gentle.

Things worked out so well with Zoe that we got a second dog, a Yorky-Maltese mix just about the same size as Zoe. The dog, whom we named Buddy had faced the wrath of the children of their previous owners, who tossed him against a wall repeatedly.  Luckily, we were able to to rescue him on Christmas Day ten months after we got Zoe.

With his beige fur, Buddy is a good-looking hound and, though things are better now, he hasn’t always been this way. You see, when we first brought him home  was naturally aggressive, curling his lip at us when we initially tried to pet him.For this poor dog, it initially appeared to him that everyone was his enemy and there was no reason for him not to think that he could trust any other family, especially another one with a young child.

Fortunately, we haven’t ever had any serious trouble.

Ann and I decided that all three of us should be able to successfully housebreak the initially wild and anxious Buddy. And we did.This dog began trusting us a little more each day and has become a calmer, quieter dog most of the time. Luckily, that has been the case, though he still loves to bark(very) loudly at people, neighbors walking their dogs, cars, trucks or anything else on our road.

When I take my daily walk to a nearby convenience store, I’ll often take Buddy along with me. This is one his favorite things to do, especially since workers there spoil him with little dog snacks and treat him very well. Just like those people there are so good to him, Buddy, in turn, is very good to whoever happens to be working when we go there.

Though Buddy is far better than he was when we first got him, Ann and I agreed that it wouldn’t be a good idea to give him a collar and let him roam the yard like Zoe.

I realize that there are people reading this might not care too much about dogs or any other kind of pet,  but I have for many years. Therefore, it was important for me to share this story because any kind of pet,dogs or otherwise, should never be getting their asses beaten in. If someone is too angry or stupid to have a pet, maybe they should  find a hobby instead. Just saying.

Finally in an effort to get more people to read my blogs, I’m asking readers, if you haven’t been doing so already, to please pass this blog along to other people, no matter whether they’re friends,co-workers, neighbors or acquaintances. I’d really appreciate it. Thanks