Sunday, May 27, 2012

Important Members of our Family

We are a dog family. Our children have experienced fish in bowls and in tanks as pets, but for the most part, their pets have always been dogs.
Misty

We had our first dog for 13 years. Misty was a golden retriever/chow mix that we adopted from a pet rescue organization. She grew up with our kids. She suffered through their youthful exuberance and constant coaching to fetch – although she never would. She was treated with hugs and kisses from the kids for years. She was that silent companion who shared our secrets and our sorrows. Misty was a great member of our family and my husband and I cried like babies when we had to put her down. Misty had been sick for quite a while. We’d treated her for some issues with bowel and incontinence problems. And at the end she was losing use of her hind legs. One weekend our youngest was visiting her brother at college and Misty was in terrible pain and had lost all control. So we made the toughest decision of our lives and went to the vet. We came home alone that day, but Misty remains forever a part of our family.
Several months before we lost Misty, Graham joined our family. Graham is a 2nd generation cockapoo born to a litter of four. Our daughter introduced us to him and we met him when he was small enough to sit in our cupped hands. ByGraham 3 the time he was weaned he was long enough to cradle on our forearm. We had chosen the cockapoo as these dogs do not shed much, especially compared to Misty who shed like crazy.

Graham loved Misty and always wanted to wrestle with her, but she showed him who was boss and they kept their distance until the last couple of months when Misty was slowing down. Graham would lie down beside Misty and they would nap together.
When we had to put Misty down, Graham searched all over the house for her for several weeks until he realized she wasn’t coming home. With Misty no longer around Graham took up residence in the master bedroom and became best friend to my husband. They are best buds and he is a major part of our life. Even though Graham is officially our daughter’s dog, her moving away to college put the care of Graham on us.Graham
Cockapoos aren’t known for their fetching skills, but Graham loves to play ball and retrieve stray golf balls that end up in our backyard  and even plays Frisbee, oftentimes catching it with his paws. Graham’s antics may make it to the blog on occasion and we hope you will think he is as cute as we do.
Graham (2)

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