Hello, readers!  My name is Beth (a/k/a The Dog Lady), and I have been asked to begin blogging on doggies.com, so I  thought I’d start by telling you a bit about myself and the dogs I have known. 

I grew up with a beautiful tri-color collie named Lady.  A sweeter dog has never been born.  We got her when I was about 6 years old, and she passed after I had left for college, so I cannot imagine any part of my childhood without her.  Even though I have 5 human brothers and sisters, Lady was my best pal.  Seems like I was the one she always woke up at night when she had to go outside. 

Now that I’m grown and have my own kids, we have developed quite a menagerie.  In addition to three kids and two cats, we now have four dogs!  My oldest is Maggie, a 7-year old golden retriever.  When we got Maggie, we already had 2 or 3 dogs, but I really wanted a golden – the quintessential family dog.  One day, while we were driving through Amish Country in Ohio, we found a sign for a breeder, and stopped in, just to see what he had.  He met us at the door with, “I’m sorry – we don’t have any puppies right now.” 

“Perfect,” I said.  “We just got new carpet.  Would you happen to have any older dogs for sale?”

As it turns out, Maggie (then four years old) had been bred twice, but had never been able to bring down enough milk for her pups, so to a breeder, she wasn’t worth much.  So, we loaded her into the car for a bargain basement price and took her home to meet the kids.  She is so patient with them, and believe me, my kids are wild!

Next in line is Kayla, a mixed breed (probably shepherd and either chow or huskie – she’s got the curled tail).  She is five years old, but we’ve had her since she was a pup.  We got her the day BEFORE we found out we were getting a new foster infant.  I’d never do that again!  Kayla was my “out of mourning” dog after we lost our foxhound Molly to cancer.  We got her from a lady who takes in strays and had Kayla’s mom as a pregnant drop-off in the middle of the night. 

Third in line is 2-year old Cooper, a beautiful Vizsla from a breeder in Southern Ohio.  We drove about 5 hours each way to pick him up because we just had to have a Vizsla after being introduced to the breed at a relative’s house.  He is very active, and his best trick is holding down the picnic table whenever he’s in the back yard.  It’s his favorite perch – he can see the whole neighborhood.  No doubt mapping out his route for the next time the kids leave the gate open.

Last, but certainly not least, is my baby Beagle, Penny Layne.  She stands up pretty well, considering all the other dogs in the house weigh at least 3 times more than she does.  My middle son, who is autistic, has really taken to Penny.  I think we will train her for agility so Jimmy can work with her – it would be good for both of them!

So, that’s a little bit about the craziness that is my life.  I hope to share lots of stories with you through this blog.  I’ll be doing about five posts a week, so check back often.  I’ll do the surfing to find all the wild, wacky, funny, serious, and helpful information you need to know.  Between this blog, the rest of doggies.com, and breeders.net, you’ll have a full resource for everything dogs!

Good day and good dog!