The year 2020 started out with a bang! John has always loved animals; animals of all kinds. He has always told me that when he was growing up, there were 10 inside cats and even more outside cats. They had dogs, both inside and outside. I, on the other hand, am afraid of most animals. My parents got a puppy when I was 6-years-old. Freckles was a beagle pup. I always remembered, maybe incorrectly, that they got that pup specifically to get me over my fear of animals. For the most part, it really didn't work! If I have an animal from its infancy stage, I'm usually not afraid. But coming up to a house with a full-grown dog is terrifying to me. The first time I took a quilt to my quilter at the time, she had several outside dogs running free on their property. I refused to get out of my car until I had called her on my cell and she came outside to assure me (and the dogs) of the safety. I really am a weenie! But I digress....John loves golden retrievers. As far as he is concerned, goldens are the only kind of dog to own! We lost our last 2 goldens about 18 months ago when they both passed within less than a year of each other. They lived to be almost 14. Most goldens live to about 10 years. John had started to get twitchy, wanting another dog. I told him I really didn't want a puppy this time; he is still working and the training would fall to me and I simply do not have the temperament to train a dog at my age. However, just as John rarely tells me NO when there's something I want, I don't tell him NO when there's something he really wants. Please meet Shiloh:
He is 9 weeks old. 11.5 pounds as of last week. I suspect he will tip just around 15 pounds when he goes to the vet this week for more baby shots. He is smart and funny and just so sweet. And his training has, of course, fallen to me. He has me trained quite well. I take him outside every 2 hours to do his chores....very few accidents in the house if I keep to that schedule!
Shiloh goes out to the barn each morning with John to open up the chickens. He helps John close up the chickens and feed the cows each evening.
John took him over to our neighbor's house on Sunday so Shiloh could have a play date with Bella, a full-grown German Shepherd. It appears they will be great friends....once Shiloh grows a bit more.
Thanks for stopping by. More soon!
2 comments:
Shiloh is a cutie, for sure......but just the same, I'm not a dog person after being attacked once when I was a child. My family had a dog, a real softie, when I was a teenager and we adopted a stray part-German shepherd 25 years ago, but I still prefer cats.
I was bitten by a little poodle when I was five. To get me past being afraid of dogs my parents got a Basset Hound puppy...it worked. I have loved dogs every since and am rarely afraid of strange dogs. But I am not a fan of little dogs...maybe the bite is why. I adore Goldens too! What fun to have a new puppy.
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