Your very first dog

[boscibo]

I still have my first dog. We never had dogs when I was a kid, only cats. But my grandparents had a dog, Rugo (sheperd/husky mix), that I spent a lot of time with as a child. Rugo was the only dog I knew (apart from neighbor's or friend's dogs that I didn't get to know as well) until I got Bandit. I was 25 when I got Bandit, now I'm 37. Bandit is 12, his picture is in my sig. Gandy and Rocky are really my boyfriend's dogs, but I've been with him for 10 years so they are my dogs too now, they are 11 and 12 years old. So I still have all the dogs I've ever had!

[Jessica12345]

i love these stories!

[Karen]

My very first dog was Sheba. She was a full-grown stray, German Shepherd mix who "followed" my cousin home. Her family already had a dog, a big German Shepherd who did NOT like other dogs, so they called my parents. I was a toddler at the time, so forgive me! My parents brought us over to see her, us being my two older siblings and I. I, not knowing any better, toddled over to this big strange black (and tan) dog, and, before anyone could stop me, grabbed her tail with both hands and yanked! My dad says his heart about stopped and he was poised to dive between me and the dog before I got bitten or worse, but to the adults' surprise, Sheba just turned her head, growled a quick soft growl at me, and looked at my Dad as if to say "help me!" Well, that was that, Sheba was ours!

I don't remember life before Sheba. We grew up together, though she was already grown up! She was the best, smartest dog in the whole world! (Don't try to convince me otherwise.) She led her rounds of the neighborhood every morning - she was THE Alpha dog of the whole crew. She lifted her leg to mark each tree, and was spotted more than a mile away, on many occasions, with 5 or 6 other dogs trailing behind her!

She was a predator. She killed any animal that was smaller than she was, so all the cats in the neighborhood learned where all the trees were and climbed them quickly when she approached. The neighbors loved her - for a full ten years after her death, no one ever had woodchucks in their garden, that is how well she cleared them out of the woods that surrounded us. She only tackled a porcupine once though. After watching her, wedged between Dad's knees, while he and Grandpa carefully pulled quills out of her muzzle, I knew how bad porcupines could be - and so did she. She never attacked another ever again. Like I said, Sheba was smart.

Because she was marked like a Doberman, people thought she was vicious. Not so (unless you were a woodchuck) but it worked in our favor. If we kids were out in the yard by ourselves, Sheba stood guard over us. No stranger ever came more than halfway up the driveway (about leve with where our sandbox was). Sheba would bark once, then sit, dead-centered in the driveway. If they got "too close," she would growl, and they'd all run away! My mother once saw a salesperson walking backwards down the driveway, never taking his eyes off Sheba, when we kids weren't even outside, Sheba had just barked to come inside!

She was my best friend when my older siblings went to school, and always, actually. And when she died, when I was 12, the father who lived across the street, who had always said he "wasn't a dog person," cried as he wrapped Sheba's body in her favorite blanket, and when my Dad came home from work, they went together to bury her at my grandfather's farm.

Never will there be another dog as smart and as wise and as clever and as patient as my Sheba dog!

[Logan]

My parents had three dogs when I was born. They were Sput (a Boston Terrier), Belle (a pointer), and Lady (an English setter). The first dog that I call "mine" (and he was really my mom's dream dog, but I loved him dearly) was Ben, an English Bulldog that we got as a puppy. Boy was he sweet! I think I was around 10-11 years old when he came to be ours. I remember entering him in the city dog show. It was held in the parking lot of a strip shopping center. Ben won "Best in Show", but when they called out his name, he was in the car with his nose stuck to the air conditioning vent!!! Hehehe!!! It was so hot and Bulldogs do not handle the heat very well. He died when I was in college. One day, I'll have another one.

[Twisterdog]

My first dog was a standard dachshund named Drawstring. I got him when I was four years old.

My brother ... who was much older than I was ... told one of his friends, "If you ever come across a good dog, let me know, I'd like to get a dog for Shanna." So, his friend comes over one day, with this six week old puppy in his shirt pocket. My brother said, "Ummm, no. I meant a German shepherd or something like that." About that time, I came into the room and saw the puppy and it was all over.

He got his name because my mom had one of those ugly 70's doorstops .... a soda pop bottle filled with sand, with a crocheted poodle body around it. (Remember those? Eeek!) Anyway, the poodle's head was held onto the bottle with a drawstring, and I asked her what it was called. When she told me, I said, "That's what I want to name the puppy." Who knows ... I was four years old!

[Kfamr]

Simba is *my* first real dog.., beside all of the other neighbor dogs i took care of. I was hmmm... like 11 when i got him in '98. He's a german shepherd pit bull mix of 5 years old. We got him when he was around 8 months old. He's my life and i have no idea what life is without him. He's my love and i'd do anyhting to make sure he is safe....

[zippy-kat]

I like the name Drawstring! VERY unique!


This was my first dog, ButterScotch....


We rescued her when I was 3 and she lived with us for 15 years! {{She was the bestest!}} Here's here link to fame DOTD March 10, 2002


Now we have Sara the clown (aka boxer)!

[COCatMama]

sniff sniff sniff
darnit, why'd I look in this thread?

My first dog was Blackie, a Heinz 57 farm mutt with some BD in him somewhere. I had been begging my mom for a dog for YEARS so when we finally moved somewhere where we could have one, she knew some ppl on a farm that had puppies! We drove there, and it was on/near my birthday and she said she had to pick up some 'papers'. I remember whining about it, heh heh. When we pulled up to the house there was puppies and dogs and cats galore, I remember I was playing with some puppy and then the begging ensued "OOH PLEASE MUM! CAN'T I HAVE HIM!?!?!?!?' She said no and i started to bawl! then she said 'I picked THIS one' and there was Blackie, snoozing in a cardboard box with a bunch of kittens! I remember the drive home, with him in my lap and he was a black ball of fuzz with a white stripe on his nose and four white feet and a white tip on his tail and i thought he was the most beautiful thing I'd ever laid eyes on (I'm bawling as I am I writing this btw)

We got him home and of course i had to show him off to the other kids and they asked me 'where did you get the skunk from?' hahah!!! too cute.
my mom made me go take a shower *ggrrr* and my friend Mike came over and i remember to this day walking up the stairs and looking back down and seeing mike on the floor with Blackie in his lap.

I had named Blackie in the car (hey, I was 10 and he was mostly black).

He was my best friend for 14 years and I will miss him until the day I die. My mom still has his ashes, and I have pics of him up still, 5 years after I had to have him euthanized, I found him having a doggie 'stroke' and he was beyond help. .

He was a very beautiful dog for a Heinz 57, glossy, long, thick black fur and bright yellow eyes.

Now I have Juneau, and he has filled the hole that Blackie left in my heart, but there will never be another "Blackie"

Btw, my mom loved Blackie alot too, we still talk about him

RIP Blackie, 1984-1998

[iceyshiver21]

I've had dogs since I was born but when I was two, my mom and me shared a dog, named Lady, she was a Pom. Mix who looked kinda like a fox.

kinda big, sorry bout that.

Lady decided to pick a fight with a rotwieler mommy next door when she got loose, and she lost the fight. Sadly they didnt tell us that their dog had killed lady until a month after we had been searching. But I remeber the how loving and great of a dog she was. She would have been 13 two weeks ago.

The Rotty's name is Dutchess, I now own her, and Her husband Buck the Labrador, and at one time I owned Toby one of the pups Dutchess had when she was protecting her pups from Lady, LONG story)

**Now I own Buck, Bishop, Dutchess, Annie, and Odie. All the dogs are **Mine** My parents just buy the dog food, and I buy the dog equitpment and pay the vet bills. I do the same with my cats, rats, and horse.

[lizbud]

Although we had "family" dogs when my children were growing
up, they "belonged" to the whole family, especially the kids.
MY very first dog (to keep)was Buddy, my RB Angel.
Just wanted to say that Lalania's post about her dog Blackie
was about the sweetest story I've ever seen her post on PT.
He looks beautiful, just as she described him in her story.

[iceyshiver21]

Originally posted by lizbud
Although we had "family" dogs when my children were growing
up, they "belonged" to the whole family, especially the kids.
MY very first dog (to keep)was Buddy, my RB Angel.
Just wanted to say that Lalania's post about her dog Blackie
was about the sweetest story I've ever seen her post on PT.
He looks beautiful, just as she described him in her story.

I agree

[Sudilar]

Lalania, that was beautiful. Blackie was striking!!!!

Since I have severe asthma with allergies, my childhood family was not able to be owned by a dog.
After I was married a few years, we thought we would try and see if my asthma could be worked out. My first dog was a gorgeous GSD (German line) named Wolfgang. I went through heck with my asthma, but would not give him up (hospital, daily wheezing, etc). I was given shots and meds and finally, I was able to control my asthma enough to actually feel really good as long as I take my meds. We had him before my kids came along. People said to be careful because he might be jealous and hurt the babies. HAH!! He LOVED my kids, especially my son. He was their guardian, their protector, their champion!! My love for GSDs originated with Wolf. He was my heartdog. He was perfect even though he had hip dysplasia (surgically repaired). He lived for ten years and died in his sleep (after being told 6 months earlier to put him down because he was sick, but he snapped out of it.) I will never, ever forget him.

[CountryWolf07]

My very first dog was Benny, he was a yellow labrador/beagle mix - my parents got him at the shelter when he was 8 weeks old - 2 years before I was born, so he was around.. almost 1/2 of my life, til' he was 16, and I was 14, and we had to put him to sleep, that really torn me so hard, but now I have two, which y'all know - Anna and Rosie. So basically I've been around dogs all my life and I love dogs, I can't live w/out them at all Anyway I miss Benny like crazy, he was my best friend and he was always there for me..

[wolfsoul]

my first dog was a big fluffly black newfoundland named bear...i dont remember him well, cuz i was only three, but i remember always cuddling with him and giving big "bear" hugs

[tomkatzid]

This picture is of me at two years old with my Grandpa's dog, on their farm in Kansas. Her name was Lady.



Then at 5 my parents got me a dog that I named "Mike". Not sure why, I was a kid Mike only lived with us one day. He peed on the hardwood floor and my Mom gave him away the next morning. The good news was she gave him to her Mom,(in Oregon where we lived) so I got to see him all the time. He lived a long and happy life. And, they didn't even change his name

"My" very first dog was Tonee(RB). A beautiful cocker. My soul dog I loved her more than anything. She really was the love of my life. I miss her every day. She was 16 when she passed.



I started this thread but it took me all this time to find the pictures of lady