Snow Dogs

Normally my dogs hate the snow! Zoe, the pit bull, is a priss and hates to get her feet wet! She will go out, do her thing and come right back in. Boscoe, the beagle, is a tad more adventurous and takes his time to do his thing and then mosies back to the door. Yesterday was a totally different experience due to the 6-8 inches of snow that are out there.

They played and chased each other like a couple of kids on a snow day! They had the best time and I was able to capture them from the back porch!

Zach had a snow day and we put him to work shoveling the snow! He was not happy about it but did it anyway! He was lucky that the neighbor came over with his snow blower and did the driveway so we could get out so all Zach had to do was the sidewalks.

Sorry about the doggy photo overload but there were so many fun shots of them, that I really had trouble narrowing it down! I think my favorite is the lone beagle at the top! He was just having a great time and it shows! He is MY dog, we got him right before Spencer deployed to Iraq in February of 2003 and he has been my little buddy ever since! In fact, when I leave the house he paces at the door and whines until I get home even though everyone else in the house is home with him! I guess he just loves me the most!

These beautiful brown eyes belong to my four legged daughter, Zoe. She is, by birth, a pit bull but she is also my 65 pound snuggle bunny! Her breed has gotten such a bad wrap over the years and it makes me very sad because most of these dogs are used and abused for the personal enjoyment of the owner. It goes back to that old psychology terminology, Nature vs. Nurture. Let me give you some background on my bully baby.

We got Zoe in March of 2005 before my husband deployed to Iraq for the second time in three years. She and her litter mates were born just a few block from our house at Fort Campbell, KY so we did not have far to go to view the babies. When we walked in the room where they were, both mommy and daddy greeted us with tails wagging and lots of kisses (I know that animals can tell when a dog lover is in the room). Keep in mind that this was to be my husbands dog and he was doing the looking but the minute we walked in and I saw the only little "cow" in the bunch, I knew I wanted to take her home with me! The first time we saw her she was only 2 weeks old but her black and white "cow" pattern was obvious so we told the gentleman that this is the one we wanted. He got lots of requests for my little moo moo but had to tell everyone that she was taken.

A few weeks later the guy delivered her to our house in a little box. She was only 4 weeks old but they were moving and they could not take the pups with them so I became her mommy. She was so cute and small at only 4 pounds but she had attitude and immediately showed the 2 year old beagle, Boscoe, who was the boss. Zoe slept with us, went to Rural King with us and was never far from my side! She is still under my feet all the time! The only difference now is that I am the one who gets hurt because she trips me up and I am not the most graceful person to begin with!

When Sadie was born, my husband brought her little hat home from the hospital so the dogs could get used to her scent and when we brought her home Spencer set boundaries for the dogs and they never set a paw near my chair! Both dogs knew that they were required to be good around their new "master" or daddy would go all "Dog Whisperer" on them. We have gotten loads of helpful hints from that show, check it out on the National Geographic Channel or on video at Walmart.

Zoe is especially good with the baby! Sadie can sit on her back, pull her ears and tail and even stand on her back to get on the coffee table! Zoe has never once been aggressive toward Sadie or any other human for that matter! She is a big ole lover who craves attention! In fact, I worry more about the beagle nipping the baby because he is a grouchy, old man (and getting grouchier by the year).

I guess all I am saying is don't judge a book by its cover (breed)! You may miss out on some of the best puppy love imaginable!