dog

It's no coincidence that a dog is a man's best friend; they're more faithful than most other animals, and more faithful than many people.

My Rhodesian Ridgeback Friend
I got to name the beautiful animal when he became a member of our family, which was awesome! As a family of three we each said a name that we liked. My brother wanted it to be Hunter. I liked the name as well; it's fierce enough for the powerful breed our dog was, as well as a fitting tribute to a favourite wrestler of ours - Triple H or Hunter Hearst Helmsley; a good rebrand for 'Jean' Paul Levesque. However I have digressed a little. My mum had a few suggestions that I can't now quite remember, but it boiled down to my brother's suggestion and my own. Mine was inspired from a book I had recently read. See, I enjoyed Darren Shan growing up; his vampire series (The Saga of Darren Shan) had thrilled me as a young boy, and as an adolescent his Demonata Saga had me enthralled with each time/location travelling instalment. One of the characters, from the Demonata Saga, had a Gaelic name that captured his warrior spirit. This character fought hard in the book he featured in, and he died a noble death akin to Boromir of Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings… he stalled enemies and gave his life allowing the title character the time needed to evade hostiles & survive long enough to feature in future books. The name of this secondary hero was Ronan. My mum insisted she liked the name because of how it sounded, and stressed repeatedly to my brother, it had nothing to do with Ronan Keating. I was just thrilled that she chose my option! Ha, take that bro, she clearly loves me more!
By T A Court4 years ago in Petlife
Dogged Determination
While I was in the hospital delivering my bundle of joy, my canine bundle of joy was at camp contracting the latest strain of influenza. I found the manner in which the staff at his former camp handled this to be less than professional and courteous and decided to shop around for a new camp for my dear Dodger.
By Jennifer Boucher4 years ago in Petlife
A Sibling Bond
My dog has always treated me like a sister. Not his mom, not his “master”, not even his friend, but simply sister. I fall and he walks past unbothered just like my brother would’ve done. He knows he can break the rules with me because I won’t tell, only siblings are like that. No snitching.
By Dany Elizarraras4 years ago in Petlife
The Hapless One
The Hapless One By Christopher “Bully the Kid” Bennett The ground was hard, frozen from the below freezing temperatures of the previous night. His breath cascading across the concrete as he looked at the traffic below the under pass in which he rested. A small cardinal perched atop the chain link safety fence, ruffling its feathers against the cold. He watched the bird for a moment, before stretching his long limbs and shaking his coat as if the motion would bring some form of warmth to his bones. The shake was a preamble to the moment of movement that would start his day.
By Christopher “Bully the Kid” Bennett4 years ago in Petlife
She makes my dog happy.
Love is crazy. Anyone can tell you that. What they can't tell you, is if it is real. There is no test or equation that can quantify it or qualify it. You have to just trust in the forces that have perpetuated humanity since Day 1. Duo was always a strange dog. The first time I saw him, he was in a playpen. Surrounded by 7 of his siblings. They were all at the peak of their puppy-ness, all bark and wiggle, as puppies are want to do. Not Duo though. He sat in the back of the children's playpen that was his Sing Sing and just watched. "I think he's special..." the lady trailed off. I guess she felt bad cause she felt he must have something wrong with him otherwise he wouldn't obviously be so "special" Did I not see it? Could I not feel that something was obviously very off with this dog? You're damn right I could. "Is the black one available?" Yeah, that one. The one that doesn't bark, nor wiggle, nor do anything more than sit there and study me with wee teddy bear eyes in a sort of appraising sort of way. Not in the what is his value appraisal sense. More of a "I wonder if his wallet has turkey in it" sense. Everyone says buy rescue and I get it I really do. I was on a mission however. I didn't just wanna acquire a dog. I needed a Service Dog. Prescribed by a doctor. This breeder allegedly had the smartest and "bestest" dogs you could find. Not for their non-jailhouse existence but for the ability to train and learn, Known for being smart. Service Dog. Right. Hahaha. If only I had realized then exactly what that meant.
By Nathan Williams4 years ago in Petlife
Buying Time
As the ferry made its way into the harbor and started to slow down, Dodger lifted his head and peered up at me, sensing the shift. I gazed back down at him, considering the days when we were nearly always at eye level. At almost 13 years old, he was no longer able to jump up onto the seat next to me as my first mate. Not that it was permitted by the Steamship Authority, but we were never much for rules anyway. He slowly made his way to his feet and searched for his next cue from me. "We're almost there sweetheart!" I assured him as I scratched behind his ears, lingering on the velvety tips.
By Jennifer Boucher4 years ago in Petlife
Fighting For A Chance
The morning of September 7th wasn't supposed to be anything special. I woke up groggy after a restless night of sleep. Perhaps, it was my momma-senses that were tingling, having kept me awake that night, or maybe it was God trying to give me a heads up that something about that day would not go right.
By Amber Dawn4 years ago in Petlife
You Are Safe, And I love you
Do you remember the scene in Avatar when Jake Sully comes to a pivotal moment and has to choose his mountain banshee, or rather the banshee has to choose him? And when he does they become one, bonded for life. That’s sort of the experience that occurs when you rescue a furry companion from a shelter. Well, minus the part where the banshee tries to kill you to show its affection. The bond though… that’s real. Once you feel it there’s no going back.
By Chelsea LaValle4 years ago in Petlife
Pepper
I remember the moment as clear as day, it was a sunny afternoon, the sun burning the pavement on the beaming white sidewalks. The dazzling blue overtaking the skies, shoving away any unwelcomed clouds that wander about, getting from one place to another. The cars aggressively speeding past others, some small and dainty in shape and color, others big and loud trying to overpower the streets, and a few were lean and fast, bright in magnificent, stunning, rare, extraordinary colors, trying to make a statement. The roads were overrun by people, the traffic was heavier then normal.
By Madison B. 4 years ago in Petlife
My Life is Yours
”Come on Luca! I know yah wanna a walk,” I yelled out to my over active Sheprador. Who was currently upside down, on his back, tongue out, wriggling like a worm. At this angle his ears look like they actually stand up. You can see the German Shepherd in em. I swear, being half shepherd, half Lab, makes for the goofiest personality.
By Trixy Renfroe4 years ago in Petlife
Mabel, Mabel, If You're Able
The instant I saw a photo of Mabel, I knew she was going to be my dog. I couldn’t tell you exactly how or why; I had looked at hundreds of rescue dogs at that point, even inquired about a few that I was really serious about bringing home. But there was just something about her sweet face that made me know, deep in my soul, that she was going to become part of our family. My then boyfriend, now husband Devin, was just happy to be adopting any dog; we had talked about rescuing one for months even prior to all the Covid shutdowns, but especially being in the height of the pandemic we knew it was the right time. I don’t know if he felt that same instant, deep connection that I did to this specific dog; I remember feeling almost frantic telling Devin about her, and how I just knew she was the one. He was supportive and excited too, but reminded me to not get too attached; there had been several dogs we tried to adopt already who ended up finding other homes first. He doesn’t get it, though, I remember thinking. That’s OUR dog. I just know it.
By Katie Dee4 years ago in Petlife
Honey, Come Home!
If we'd had a Halo Collar back in the day, I wouldn't be able to write the story I'm about to tell. You might think that a dog that had lost the use of her back legs, who had to be carried outside just to do her business, wouldn't have much need for a fence, either electronic or physical.
By Alan Gold4 years ago in Petlife