Wow! I'm so jealous at all the wonderful dogs you all got to share your lives with!! Although I wasn't blessed with the sheer numbers, I was blessed with my first/childhood dog growing up (and I'm planning on adopting a dog when our living situation isn't quite so crazy!! I'm looking forward to the rest of my life with dogs!). My sisters and I bugged and bugged my parents to get a dog, and coming home from school in second grade one day, I walked into the family room to see my mom holding the prettiest dog I had ever seen!! This was my first day with Misty (American Eskimo mix(aka Spitz). She was my best friend. Misty saw me through everything. From the crazy teen years, to learning how to drive, to dating, through breakups, through college and just barely to my wedding day. My first dog definitely has a very special place in my heart. She was the best dog for 3 little kids growing up. She never growled or snapped. She calmly let us dress her up and pretend she was a princess. She would sit and lick my scraped knee when I fell down on the pavement. She would share my ice cream cone and my after school snack of cheetoes! She would lay at my feet as I did my school work. She would run to the door when mom would shout "kids are home!" I always thought it was so funny, and cute how she could spring straight up into the air (Eskie trait) when she was excited. When I would come home from college, she would always come and get me for our walks, like we used to take. She was easy to train, and she will forever be my "heart bandit" (www.heartbandits.com).
Karen