It’s been 10 years almost to the day since we adopted our good friend Buddy. He was named Ralph when we got him at WECHS and even though I wasn’t sure I really wanted a dog at the time, as soon as we met him and brought him home, I fell in love with him and never looked back.

He’s been the best dog you could ever hope for. Sure, he’s deeply affected by the presence of the mailman on our street daily, and he loves to wait patiently for you to leave your food unattended so he can snatch it up, and if he ever gets the opportunity to roll in a dead fish he’s all over it.

But he’s also the most loving, protective, loyal friend you could ever ask for and we are so happy to have had 10 great years with him so far! Since bringing Buddy home in January 2006 we also brought home his human brother and sister, who love him just as much as we do. As you can see by his beginning and later pictures, Buddy has aged beautifully. 

So what if his hair is a little grey?  (I blame it on the kids.) He worries about them a lot when they are outside playing without him or when we have to go places without him. Anyway, I just wanted to share with you another story of a loving friend and longtime companion who found his happy forever home.

If you live in the Windsor, Ontario area and would like to give a home to an animal in need, click here to see some of WECHS’ adoptables.

The post A Rescue Dog’s 10-Year Anniversary appeared first on ILoveDogsAndPuppies.

The post Fudge & Friends appeared first on ILoveDogsAndPuppies.

The streets of New York City have a unique cast of recurring characters.

Taxi drivers hollering at one another, the skateboarders scraping the pavement. Homeless people who’ve set up encampments. Nannies pushing babies in high-end strollers. And dog walkers.

We’ve all seen these intrepid souls negotiating a tangle of leashes and tails and whipping out plastic bags to retrieve poop off the footpath. It is not the most glamorous occupation, but for me dog walking is more than just a job. It’s a love story.

I’ve been a dog walker for over two years, ever since graduating from college. For most of that time, I’ve had the same four regular “clients.”

They range from a tiny Yorkie-Poodle, to a rather large German Shepherd-Wolfhound mix. I’ve been with one since he was only 12 weeks old, and another since he was already 8 years old. From walking these dogs nearly every day of the week, for months on end, the situation is no longer a means to an end in terms of paying rent and covering my bills. I’ve invested my heart in these animals as if they were my own.

Having worked in restaurants for several years through high school and college, you could say I’ve gone from taking crap to picking it up, and I couldn’t be happier. Even if it does get on my hand sometimes.

When originally entering the dog walking world, I had no inkling of the effect it would have on my life. Each owner of each dog has become a personal friend, for whom I would do anything and everything. I’ve also begun to relate to the dogs themselves.

Fred hates skateboarders, barking and growling ferociously at them when they get too close. I scream at taxis that cut me off when I ride my bicycle, but like Fred, my bark is worse than my bite.

Spike enjoys chasing little birds, running at them until they fly away out of reach. Don’t you remember running at some pigeons to scare them away when you were a kid? Puka likes to lounge on a couch in the shade with some air conditioning, without a care in the world. She makes me want to grab a beer, put the game on, and relax all afternoon.

Then there’s Norman and Z, who love nothing more than to wrestle, rolling around the rug all day long.

I frequently channel these disparate personalities throughout my day, all the time.

Short of sniffing someone’s butt when I meet them, I’ve basically become a dog. There’s no shortage of fur on my clothing, and if you see me, I very likely have a poop bag in my back pocket. Even if I’m “off-duty.” I sit on the floor frequently, and my friends make fun of me for sniffing everything before I eat it.

The thing is, we can all learn something from our four-legged friends.

We all have a way of making our lives complicated, but sometimes it’s better to appreciate the simple things the way dogs do. They take such joy from life and its little pleasures. Take a cue from my canine friends, and try sniffing the New York City air sometimes. Warmly greet the person you live with. Stare at somebody with great, big eyes when they eat your favourite food.

When life gets you down, give yourself a treat. Then find someone to scratch your back, go for a walk, and really take everything in.

The post How Walking Dogs for a Living Taught Me to Be a Better Human appeared first on ILoveDogsAndPuppies.

The post Driving Miss Lillie… Home appeared first on ILoveDogsAndPuppies.