I love my dogs (with video and pictures)

My first dog (not including the foot-biting little menace inappropriately named "Lady" we had when I was very young!) was when I was in about grade 5 or 6 - not sure exactly. We got Sam. At this point I had been begging for a dog. So, even though we were a family of 6, he was "my" dog. Out of the 4 kids I'm the only one who's a big animal lover. Always have been (except Lady and other yappy foot-biters!). Sam was a Yellow lab rescue dog. I don't really know what happened to him, but he was so scared when we got him. He would hide under the table. When we tied him in the yard with a chain, he was so scared of the chain he wouldn't move at all. When he was nervous, he would pee. The first class at obedience school he peed all over the place. Poor boy! But he was a gentle, loving creature and he eventually came to be a happy dog and member of the family. Being a young boy, naturally my parents ended up doing a lot of the care - like walks etc. I just cuddled and loved and played with him.
Here's a photo collage of him I recently retrieved from a box of souvenirs.

I Have some great memories of Sam. Actually, I called him Sandy because of his color, but my older brother didn't like it and called him Sam and that stuck.
My Dad often called Sammy a "pot-licker". No - it wasn't kitchen pots he would lick - it was my Dad's pot belly. My Dad's one of those guys with the big gut who insists on going shirtless most of the summer. He'd sit in a lawn chair and Sam would come over and lick his belly, and Dad would laugh and call him a pot-licker.
Sam loved it at the lake. Somehow he knew exactly where the boundaries of our yard were. If us kids were over playing at a neighbors, Sam would be lying and waiting exactly at the property line. But if we were in the boat - forget the property lines! We'd go skiing and Sam would sprint from dock to dock along the lake chasing the boat and barking. One time he was racing to the end of our dock so fast he couldn't stop. He sat down and back-pedaled, but it was too slippery and went flying off the end of the dock! Man, I wish I had a video of that!
Sam got old and he got sick. One day when I was about 21 I came back to the cabin at the lake after teaching swimming lessons at the beach and found Sam had passed away while in one of his favorite spots - under the van. My younger brother Guy and I buried him at the back of the yard, both of us were crying like crazy the whole time we were digging. I really loved that dog.

It was many years after that before I got a dog again. I forgot what having a dog was like. My in-laws had some terriers (again yappy little things) that I wasn't at all fond of. They didn't make me want a dog.
Then they got Lotus, a beautiful, sweet Australian shepherd. She made me want to get a dog again. Every time I visited, those big brown eyes reminded me of how much I love dogs. Also, my daughter Janelle had become obsessed with dogs and wanted to get a chocolate lab.
So, after much discussion and research, we looked around in Vancouver and found an organization called a better life Dog Rescue. There was a cute young pup on their web site we were interested in, but by the time we contacted them he'd already been adopted. But they had another dog who was a similar mix of border-collie and lab, very affectionate, etc. So we decided to meet this guy. Our first impression was - wow, he's huge! We had a small apartment, but knew we'd be moving to Creston, so that wasn't an issue. It didn't take long for this boy to start tugging at our heart strings. His name was Sam, so of course I had to change his name. there's only one Sam dog for me. So, he was River. River the giant cuddlebug!
I remember the first time I let him off leash at a secluded low-tide beach in Stanley park. He went crazy happy and starting turning 180s 4 feet in the air and racing around. I though "What have I got myself into!". But now that enthusiastic athleticism is just a joy to beyond. Though the high fences and sturdy kennels have been expensive! But that's another story. There's lots of other stories - I could go on and on about River.





A few months later we had moved to the Creston area and we found River needed a friend. He has some serious separation anxiety issues. Plus, we just liked the idea of another dog. So, after lots of searching classifieds etc. we bought a puppy from a breeder in Kelowna. We named him Loch. He was the biggest of his litter. An Aussie Shepherd/border-collie cross and twice the normal size of either breed. But a fluffy little cutie and River took a liking to him right away. I remember the "really, we get to keep him" look on Rivers face when we brought the puppy in the car with us.

Loch is the first dog I've ever had from puppy-hood. Thankfully, we were camping the entire first summer so house training just sort of happened on its own later.
One of the cutest things Loch did (and sometimes still does) is grab on to Janelle's hand with his mouth very gently and take her for a walk. He never usually has any particular destination in mind - he just likes it I guess. For some reason only her, not Emma or Niqi or I.
Loch also gives the best hugs. If you're sitting he will put his front paws around your waist and his chest against your tummy.
He's also very empathic. Niqi often gets nerve pinches or other pains with her fibromyalgia. As soon as she says ouch (or rather "ow, ow, ow, ow, ow ow!) Loch comes running to her side to kiss her better. Sweet boy!

River and Loch are now best buds and play together all the time and get along great. I love them both very very much and am so happy to be a dog owner again. I didn't realize until they came into my life how much I had been missing having a dog and not even knowing it. It's hard to describe just what it means to have these boys in my life. They offer a kind of companionship and uncomplicated emotional connection that is so different from human relationships.

Here are a couple videos. Note these are Revver videos which means if you watch and click on ads, I get paid. So, please click on the ads if they at all interest you (no need to buy anything - just click).
First is a video of River and Loch playing with their favorite toy - a half deflated soccer ball. River climbs a tree!


Second is a short one of River watching the fish in the aquarium.


And I'll leave you with a recent photo of these two playing in the water.