Oreo WAS a real characther. We got her when she was five weeks old - a friend who drove for UPS found her in a nearby town on a farm. She was the daughter of a full blood beagle and a poodle - not planned - just happened. Since the pups were not wanted, they kind of fended for themselves - her sister got caught in a drainage tile and died. Five weeks was too young to take her from her mother but she had little or no chance of making it much longer where she was.

So she came home with us. We named her Oreo because of the white stripe down her chest. She trained us rather than us training her. She lived life on her terms. We were too stupid back then to know we didn't have to let her. You petted her when she wanted petted. You never MADE her do anything, bribed, encouraged but never made unless you liked to be bit.
She destroyed more things than all of our others have together. She ate the couch, the chair, shoes, socks, the list could go on.
She did seem to think she was part cat and often sat on top of the furniture.



She loved to shred paper and she loved to grab Carl's shoes and go behind the end table and tear the insole out. Later she would just shake the shoe around to get your attention.

She lived alone with us for the first 12 years of her life. Then Dazzi came to live here. By the time she was 12, Oreo was fat, and arthritis had set into her legs so sometimes she could barely walk - she could no longer jump on the furniture or in the car. Then we added Taggert to our family. Oh, Taggert loved to tease Oreo. He loved to stand outside her cage when she was being fed. She would bark and bark at him to go away but not Taggert! One day she even trapped him in her cage.

Thought you could eat my food did you

Mom, isn't there a back door to this kennel


With the addition of the others and the trips to the dog park, she began to loose weight. And the dog who couldn't make it around the block walked around and around the dog park. Her stiffness went away and instead of getting older she seemed to drop the
years right before our eyes.