What was your first impression of your dog?

[kaycountrygal]

Hello, Earlier I told you about choosing LilGirl puppy in Sept 08. Now I'll talk about Annie who was a stray & just appeared in the yard in May 06.

My first impression, to be honest, was to hope she would go away because I did not need or want another dog (I had a little housedog Honey) & I didnt know if she was friendly or if she would hurt Luke or Honey dog (Honey died 2008). The next day she was still here. We were outside with cat & dog when she slowly came up, stood, wagged her tail, & made no attempt to hurt anybody. She was so skinny & covered in ticks & I felt sorry for her & decided she could stay. I named her Annie for Little Orphan Annie. She's been here since May 06 & is a wonderful sweet dog & we love her. ... Kay in NC

Here's Annie.

[K9karen]

Cody was in the whelping pen with his sibs. They were all so adorable and tiny and fluffy at 5 weeks old. My friend who drove mom and me to her sister's house, leaned over the pen, clapped her hands and said "Come puppy", and Cody was the only one who wobbled over to us. Viola! First impression? Brillant and adorable of course!!

I went from cage to cage at the SPCA, commanding "sit", and no dog did but Mz Logan! Then she laid down when I asked her to. I loved her Cleopatra eyes, everything about her. She was so confused but obedient and beautiful (and housebroken!) I was so impressed by her. I swore I wouldn't let her into my heart like I did Cody, but that lasted about 2 minutes! She's still smart and beautiful...obedient...when she wants to, with a mischievious gleam in her eye, the little sneak.

[anna_66]

With Roxey it was love at first sight. When I picked her up she snugged against me. I knew she was our girl!

Impression of Huney, scared. But I knew we couldn't leave her out to fend for herself. She's been the best dog ever!

Bon was scared and timid but he was the brindle we wanted. Should have known he'd be the big turd he is but we love him any way!

[lizbud]

Maggis was 3 1/2 mos old when I adopted her. I first spotted her at a
Petsmart adoption event. When back twice to see her again. Took Smokey
to meet her & it was a great success. I loved her optimism, spunk and her
unique coloring. She has brown streaks on all four feet. She is such a
sweet, sweet girl.

[wanwan1007]

When I gave my Aunt her dog back I knew I couldn't live anymore without a dog in my house. My Aunt's dog was an Alaskan Malamute and he was so wonderful that my hubby wanted to get one like him. We went on petfinders.com and did a search for an Alaskan Malamute.. We ended finding Tippy almost an hours drive away. My husband said I've prayed about the dog and when we get to the shelter if he comes to us then he's the dog for us but if he doesn't than he's not the dog. When we got to the shelter Tippy was in the next to the last pen. When we got there the Shelter worker said "Tippy you have company she opened the pen and Tippy came running out like a bumble bee with his tail on fire. He ran and jumped as high as he could to me and then did the same to my husband and back to me. My husband was looking scared. I laughed and said I guess Tip got the memo from the angel because he met your requirements. My impression was that this is one hyper dog. He was still a puppy only 4 months. Oh and I don't think he has any malamute at all in him. I use to love to watch him run in the yard. He would run so fast that he would start to roll down the hill. He is the perfect dog for us. He get's plenty of exercise and has calmed down a lot. Sorry for being so long.

[Varga]

My first impression of Taggart? Eh, I wasn't too overly impressed, to be honest.

There are more sheep than people in my home country, so naturally the majority of dogs there are sheepdogs/border collie lookalikes. So yeah, appearance wise he was pretty generic.

And when I walked him from my friends car up to my apartment, he pulled the leash and was generally over excited and impossible to connect with. So again, I was not too impressed with his manners at all! To top that off, first thing he did when he got into the apartment was to mark on the wall

Generally he was hyperactive and clingy and had no manners whatsoever.

He hasn't changed much over the years either, lol.

[SWHouston]

On January 20, 2009, about 3 PM, I was sitting at the Breakfast Table, drinking a cup of Coffee. Yea, that's a little late in the day for Coffee for me, but, during winter, I do that.

As I looked across the lawn, having sprinkled some seed out for the Jay's and corn for the Squirrels, I saw absolutely the cutest little tan and black furball I had ever seen, running across the lawn toward a Squirrel. The little guy was bounding over the longer grass, which we leave long during the winter months, and by the time he got to where the Squirrel was, it was long gone.

It had been over ten years, since I lost my last dog to Parvo. Suffering so much from that, I professed that I would NEVER have another, dreading the eventually of dealing with the grief, from another loss.
That grief remains still.

But, when I saw him turn and look over at me, it was love at first sight, and it wasn't just me, thinking like that.

As the time has passed, that love has turned to adoration, and when I look down, and see him looking up at me, I really believe he knows that.