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Thursday, March 13, 2008

One dog year


Sit Ubu Sit. Good dog.
London, Ontario, February 2008 [Click to embiggen]

A year ago today, we welcomed a 19-pound mess of dirty, matted fur into our house (click here for the first entry, and click here for Act of Dog post category.) Frasier the miniature schnauzer was a rescue dog. He went from a home where he spent most days and nights ignored in a cage to one quite unlike anything he'd ever known in his eight months of life. Suddenly, strange little people were giving him hugs. He was taken for walks. He got to sleep in bed with his human mommy and daddy. He was constantly being played with. He was part of the family.

He's gotten quite used to his charmed life in the 366 days since. He's put a few pounds on his scrawny frame. He's calmed down - a little - but is still that bouncy-nutty puppy we know and love. His sweetness has rubbed off on our kids, who have become his best friends, and who have grown immensely in their own right now that they have a puppy to care for. As I write this, our daughter, Dahlia, is animatedly talking to him as he lies down by my side. The sounds in the room are nothing if not delightfully joyous.

I still have days when I wonder what the hell I'm doing with a dog in the house. He's not the world's greatest listener, he eats things he shouldn't and he makes noise at the most inconvenient times. Yet when he walks up to one of us and flops his head down like Finnigan the sock puppet on the old Mr. Dressup show (not Canadian? Click here) I know that all is right with the world, and it was meant to be that he found us and made us his.

Happy birthday, furry little man.

Your turn: A dog's life + 1. Please discuss.

19 comments:

  1. What a lucky dog.. and a lucky family!

    We took in a dog from the pound; it grew up with two of our kids. We were glad to have him when we could. Then, another was rescued maybe ten years ago from a home. The pups are shepards but ours is the runt and treated badly. She has toothpick legs and is spastic but the kids love her. I hope your dog continues be given tons of hugs and you and your family will be loved.. unconditionally.

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  2. Happy Gotcha Day!

    What an adorable dog. And he obviously found the perfect family for him.

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  3. Can it be that it's a year already? I DO remember when you got him!

    And thanks for the memory of Finnigan flopping his head down....I LOVED Mr. Dressup as a kid! Oh how I wish they had shows like that now!

    Happy woofday, Frasier!

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  4. Happy Birthday Frasier. And bless your heart for giving him a second chance on this earth.

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  5. He's such a cutie, Carmi, and I know he was a great addition to your family.

    You posted a reference to a Canadian TV show for kids and I posted a reference to an American TV show for kids. What's in the air today?

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  6. This post made me smile :D I approve :D Happy Dogday furry friend!

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  7. He is soooooooooooo cute! And rescuing him is a beautiful thing you did. I've a friend who transported dogs across her state as they were being rescued from the Katrina-ravaged area, and ended up adopting 2 of them. We got Spirit, our cat, from the SPCA and it made me feel wonderful to have done that; it was my first time adopting there.

    Theo, on the other hand, wasn't a rescue dog but he gives us the same kind of joy as your Frasier (love the name, btw!). After having put Toebi down 9 years earlier, it was time, this past summer, to welcome back a ball of fur. The love is unconditional, the delightful antics are endless, and he even acts as bedtime motivator (e.g.: "Sam, if you go to bed now, Theo will sleep on your bed."). Every time!

    Happy homecoming anniversary, Frasier!

    (and the Ubu line made me smile)

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  8. In the midst of chaos and stress, it was a blessing to reflect for a moment on living with pets. We still don't have our dog, but we still hope to soon. And in the mean time, the cats are wonderful. Happy "homecoming" anniversary, Frasier and family! :)

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  9. Frasier!!! Happy One Year at the Levy house! You are all so lucky to have one another... a little chaos helps you appreciate the calm even more and it can all be fun!

    What an awesome picture of the Furry Man, BTW!!!!

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  10. Oh, how sweet he is! And, it sounds like he has made himself very much at home and loves everyone there. What a difference a year can make...am glad your family has him...and that he has your family!!

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  11. One of our dogs: Friends adopted a stray who turned out to be pregnant. They gave most of the puppies away. We took the runt, who was also the smart girl. Sweet dog (and an escape artist).

    The other was abandoned at a 7-11. Friends of ours saw it happen and took in the dog, but they were dorm-living college students and couldn't keep him. He ended up with us.

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  12. Awww, happy birthday to the furrybeasty...my dogs say he's lucky to have such a great family.

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  13. Having a dog is cheaper than having a psycharist! I love our mutt, sounds like you have a good dog too. Here from Michele's blog.

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  14. Awwww. He's such a cutie, Carmi. I'm sure he's brought y'all a lot of joy this past year.

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  15. i heart frasier!!! he is adorable.

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  16. Happy Gotcha Day, Frasier!!

    You sure have found a wonderful home for the rest of your furry life - with Papa Carmi, Mama Deb - not to mention the little humans.....

    A long happy life, fella!

    cq
    and Pandora
    and Charlie

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  17. This is your little dog?? Frasier is so cute! I am happy that he was rescued. I love dogs! :D

    Also, thanks so much for your sweet comment on my blog! Please stop by anytime. :D

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  18. I have got really behind on my blogging, thanks for your recent visit to mine, I have just been paging through your recent posts to see what you have been up to and was so glad to find this post. I have often wondered how Frasier was doing and am glad to see him well and happy, handsome fella!!

    Lori

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  19. I love rescue dogs...Thats how we ended up with 3 of our 4 dogs. All of ours are in the house and we wouldn't have it any other way. They are like our children, and our daughter absolutely loves having four legged playmates!!

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