Our history as dog owners

By way of background, animals and us - well we tolerate each other.

Our family has had 2 dogs - each for over 10 years.

Our first one was given to us by a colleague when our daughter was just 4. My friend travelled too frequently to keep her 1 year old dog and wondered if we would like to have her Pekepoo.  The next day, we all went over to see if it could be a good match (like there was any chance an adorable 4 year old and an adorable little dog weren't going home together). On our trip home, she threw up in the car - I guess she was nervous.

Our 1st Dog a.k.a."Ginger"

We were living in San Antonio at the time. The dog's name was.....well 2 years later the dog's name became Ginger. She was spunky and very lovable but she shed her hair like the leaves from the trees fall in late October. We discovered that some of our family was quite allergic to her. So Ginger was confined to areas where shedding could be controlled. But by doing this, she became more of a border than a family pet most of the time.

When she passed on, we decided that maybe we were not "dog people". We went years without one and really didn't feel like we wanted to get another.

Meanwhile, my wife's sister and brother both had dogs - multiple dogs. They'd get on the floor and play with them enjoying them more than people. They loved being licked and didn't mind where their dogs were in the house. My brother in law's dog was well trained. My sister in law's dogs were...let say they were more free spirits. But in that house, the dogs ruled.

One weekend in August 2001, our nephew came to visit for a few days and somehow got us thinking about becoming dog owners again. I insisted that if we were to consider this again, it would have to be a hypoallergenic breed that we could train so he could be part of the family. No gates, no barriers - just a fun and loving family pet.

After some research, we decided on a Miniature Poodle. They have hair instead of fur and don't shed. We found a breeder nearby and went to visit.  She had a few of the cutest little puppies to meet. The first one was very shy and hardly moved much at all. The second one was very playful and seemed to be full of personality.  We decided to have lunch and discuss our options.

So we went to a nearby Olive Garden and discussed what to do.  I voted that if we were going do this, we should choose the more lively one.  Ultimately, we convinced ourselves that - yes - we could be a dog family and chose the "spunky" one. Deciding on a name was easy. It would be "Ollie".

We went back to the breeder and got Ollie. He threw up on the way home in the car - I guess he was nervous.

Paying for a AKC mini poodle was only a portion of what we had to pay. There were all those dog things. A crate, food, toys, leash, collar, treats and all those vet bills.

We had no idea what to expect when we got home, but Ollie was probably just a typical puppy. But we'd never raised a puppy. He was a pooping machine - in the crate, out of the crate - everywhere but outside. He seemed defiant - like he'd intentionally pee on the rug in front of us but would wait till he had our attention before doing so. Oh what did we do.

We paid money to dog trainers and classes. We bought books. Don't get me wrong, he was very cute and could be very lovable but he was always trying to get the upper hand. He'd steal slices of pizza,  jumped in the middle of a dining table and eat what ever was there, tear up napkins, dig holes in and lick to soaking our fabric furniture. Of course, he had a digestion problem and required special canned dog food only available through the vet ($$$$). That prevented him from being borded just anywhere. Every 6 weeks, he had a standing grooming appointment.

He ran away a couple of times and we actually hesitated trying to get him back. But we did feel responsible for him and would always find him.

Ollie

We set up gates and barriers to confine him to a couple of rooms - not what we hoped for. One night, after he was a few years old, my wife and I went out leaving Ollie protected by gates. It was Mother's Day. When we got home several hours later, we were unexpectedly greeted by him at our front door. He had knocked down one of the gates. So we did our snooping to see what was destroyed. To our amazement, we found nothing damaged. No accidents. Wow, did he turn a corner? Did we misjudge his obedience?

As my wife got into bed, she felt extreme dampness. Oh no! Ollie marked that side of our bed as his territory. This was on top of him peeing on her foot one time while she was on the phone.

So we continued barricading a couple of rooms where he couldn't much more damage or where there was vinyl flooring until one morning, inexplicably,  he was gasping and panting. It was obvious (even to us) that something was wrong. The only 24 hour emergency vet was about 15 minutes away. I drove over as I could hear him struggling to breathe. But when I got to the vet's, he was lifeless. it was too late.

We thought that would be the end of us and dogs.