EchoPet
Gecko Obsessed
- Messages
- 408
- Location
- Little Rock, AR
I realized that I've talked about my dogs, but haven't posted any pictures or introductions of them. So, I would now like to formally introduce you all to my babies. 
This is Wrangler.
She's an Australian Shepherd mix, maybe with some Border Collie in her? Who knows. She's my goofy girl, my wild child, and is always all smiles. She was my first dog on my own - my family had a dog while I was growing up, Jessica, who we had for 15 years. After Jessica passed away, it took me three years before I was ready to have another dog. Wrangler's mother was a Heinz 57 stray, and a generous family took her in after she was found pregnant by their Australian Shepherd stud dog. Their farm was right down the road from the stables where I used to work... and the rest is history.
She gets her name from my love of Jeeps by the way. I think she lived up to her name.
Wrangler will be 3 years old this June.
This is Riley.
She's a Pit Bull mix, and the biggest sweetest baby ever. I wasn't planning on adopting another dog - at the time I had Wrangler and my now-ex-husband's dog Jack - but made the mistake of reading about some "Last Chance Dogs" who were going to be put to sleep a Houston Shelter...
I couldn't help but fall in love with the sad little girl I saw in this picture...
So after several days of emailing and calling the shelter, getting the ok to adopt a dog despite being out of state, getting the euthanasia date pushed back a week, and arranging transport... Riley joined the family. She's very in-tune with me and my best snuggle buddy. She loves to give hugs and kisses with her monster tongue! She also has a silly side.
Riley will be 4 years old this December.
This is Lola.
Again, I wasn't planning on getting another dog when Lola came into my life. Long story short, she was pretty much surrendered to me by a backyard breeder who couldn't sell her and didn't want her for the breeding program because for a "purebred Chihuahua" she was "too big".
Well no wonder... after growing some, it's quite obvious that Lola is no purebred Chihuahua. I think she's got some Jack Russell Terrier in her. She weighs in at about 15lbs, but I swear, she thinks she's a big dog and can rough and tumble with the best of them. She's also the worst chewer of the bunch, and loves to shred stuffed toys.
Lola just turned 2 at the end of February.
This is Lulu.
She is a real purebred Chihuahua. Lulu used to belong to a "friend" of mine, and when I took her in (originally planning to dogsit until my friend could find her a permanent home) she was in such bad shape, I decided to keep her.
It was the middle of winter (day after Christmas, actually), and Lulu was covered in fleas. She was skinny and her prominent nipples suggested over-breeding. Her nails were badly overgrown to the point of either being one inch long twisted straight out or curled under and embedded in the paw pad. Her teeth were rotten and she couldn't eat solid food (even though she was dropped off with a bag of Ol' Roy Large Bites). Her skin was dry and flaky, and she smelled awful. She could barely walk, shook all the time, and cringed if you looked at her funny. After a diet change, a teeth cleaning, spay surgery, and lots of TLC, she's a totally different dog now. She the top dog despite her 4lb size and the big dogs know better than to mess with her or get too close. She'll play with them and the cats occasionally, but for the most part she enjoys spending time on her own, sunbathing on the porch or relaxing on whichever bed she's claimed in the living room. She also seems to like hanging out in some unusual places.
We estimate that Lulu will be 9 years old this August.
Last but not least, this is Kody.
He's a big goofy Rottie x Lab mix (we think). Kody showed up in our yard, probably originally attracted to the other dogs. His tail is docked, so I think that as a puppy he was thought to be a purebred Rottie, but as he grew up and his old "owners" realized he was mixed, he was dumped. At first the skinny bag of bones was very elusive, running away whenever I'd come outside. But putting down a bowl of food is a very good way to gain a stray's trust. It took several weeks, but I finally managed to convince Kody that I wasn't going to hurt him, and finally convinced my boyfriend that we should keep him. Then the real work started. Kody was terrified of anything strappy, so it took a lot of positive reinforcement to get him used to a collar and leash. I don't think he'd ever been inside a house before, so it was a whole new scary experience for him. Luckily, when he was finally desensitized enough to go for a ride in the truck to the vet for shots and neutering, he had a clean bill of health.
He still has a ways to go. He's finally starting to figure out toys, but doesn't really play with them - he just likes picking them up when no one's looking, carrying them into his kennel, and arranging them how he sees fit. He has figured out that he likes bones and kongs filled with yummy stuff. He's still wary of strangers and going new places, but is making progress. He's filled out well and grown another five inches at the shoulder since we found him, so we guess he was still pretty young. Now that he's come out of his shell, he's really a big goofy, bouncy boy. He will sometimes like to snuggle, but usually prefers to go off on his own and nap in his kennel or on the doormats.
Kody will be celebrating his estimated 2nd birthday in July.
This is Wrangler.
She's an Australian Shepherd mix, maybe with some Border Collie in her? Who knows. She's my goofy girl, my wild child, and is always all smiles. She was my first dog on my own - my family had a dog while I was growing up, Jessica, who we had for 15 years. After Jessica passed away, it took me three years before I was ready to have another dog. Wrangler's mother was a Heinz 57 stray, and a generous family took her in after she was found pregnant by their Australian Shepherd stud dog. Their farm was right down the road from the stables where I used to work... and the rest is history.
She gets her name from my love of Jeeps by the way.
I think she lived up to her name.
Wrangler will be 3 years old this June.
This is Riley.
She's a Pit Bull mix, and the biggest sweetest baby ever. I wasn't planning on adopting another dog - at the time I had Wrangler and my now-ex-husband's dog Jack - but made the mistake of reading about some "Last Chance Dogs" who were going to be put to sleep a Houston Shelter...
I couldn't help but fall in love with the sad little girl I saw in this picture...
So after several days of emailing and calling the shelter, getting the ok to adopt a dog despite being out of state, getting the euthanasia date pushed back a week, and arranging transport... Riley joined the family. She's very in-tune with me and my best snuggle buddy. She loves to give hugs and kisses with her monster tongue! She also has a silly side.
Riley will be 4 years old this December.
This is Lola.
Again, I wasn't planning on getting another dog when Lola came into my life. Long story short, she was pretty much surrendered to me by a backyard breeder who couldn't sell her and didn't want her for the breeding program because for a "purebred Chihuahua" she was "too big".
Well no wonder... after growing some, it's quite obvious that Lola is no purebred Chihuahua. I think she's got some Jack Russell Terrier in her. She weighs in at about 15lbs, but I swear, she thinks she's a big dog and can rough and tumble with the best of them. She's also the worst chewer of the bunch, and loves to shred stuffed toys.
Lola just turned 2 at the end of February.
This is Lulu.
She is a real purebred Chihuahua.
Lulu used to belong to a "friend" of mine, and when I took her in (originally planning to dogsit until my friend could find her a permanent home) she was in such bad shape, I decided to keep her.
It was the middle of winter (day after Christmas, actually), and Lulu was covered in fleas. She was skinny and her prominent nipples suggested over-breeding. Her nails were badly overgrown to the point of either being one inch long twisted straight out or curled under and embedded in the paw pad. Her teeth were rotten and she couldn't eat solid food (even though she was dropped off with a bag of Ol' Roy Large Bites). Her skin was dry and flaky, and she smelled awful. She could barely walk, shook all the time, and cringed if you looked at her funny. After a diet change, a teeth cleaning, spay surgery, and lots of TLC, she's a totally different dog now. She the top dog despite her 4lb size and the big dogs know better than to mess with her or get too close. She'll play with them and the cats occasionally, but for the most part she enjoys spending time on her own, sunbathing on the porch or relaxing on whichever bed she's claimed in the living room. She also seems to like hanging out in some unusual places.
We estimate that Lulu will be 9 years old this August.
Last but not least, this is Kody.
He's a big goofy Rottie x Lab mix (we think). Kody showed up in our yard, probably originally attracted to the other dogs. His tail is docked, so I think that as a puppy he was thought to be a purebred Rottie, but as he grew up and his old "owners" realized he was mixed, he was dumped. At first the skinny bag of bones was very elusive, running away whenever I'd come outside. But putting down a bowl of food is a very good way to gain a stray's trust.
It took several weeks, but I finally managed to convince Kody that I wasn't going to hurt him, and finally convinced my boyfriend that we should keep him. Then the real work started. Kody was terrified of anything strappy, so it took a lot of positive reinforcement to get him used to a collar and leash. I don't think he'd ever been inside a house before, so it was a whole new scary experience for him. Luckily, when he was finally desensitized enough to go for a ride in the truck to the vet for shots and neutering, he had a clean bill of health.
He still has a ways to go. He's finally starting to figure out toys, but doesn't really play with them - he just likes picking them up when no one's looking, carrying them into his kennel, and arranging them how he sees fit. He has figured out that he likes bones and kongs filled with yummy stuff. He's still wary of strangers and going new places, but is making progress. He's filled out well and grown another five inches at the shoulder since we found him, so we guess he was still pretty young. Now that he's come out of his shell, he's really a big goofy, bouncy boy. He will sometimes like to snuggle, but usually prefers to go off on his own and nap in his kennel or on the doormats.
Kody will be celebrating his estimated 2nd birthday in July.
