Snow Brook Samoyeds

Dear Ray, Well, I finally got some time to tell you my story…. The first photo I am sending is a photo of my husband’s dog (or at least he says so). Her name is Gracie, “Australian Champion Snowbrook Dream of Grace” and I love her to bits! My mother bred her and has been breeding Samoyeds for 47 years. Getting Grace as a puppy was special, and she has remained a very spoilt only child until we bred her last year, which is where the second photo comes in…. this is one of her 7 boys and 1 girl litter. I mistakenly named him “Trouble”, but soon realized if I was going to succeed in training and showing him, I had to rename him as he was living up to his name. His name is now “Taj” or “Snowbrook Power of Dreams”. I built a kennel for the two of them, and spent that much money on it, it is now aptly named the “Taj Mahal”. As I said before, Gracie is very spoilt. She has always had her own place to sleep at night, but in the morning she gives a bark, I get up, let her out and then she comes back into bed with us. When we are ready for breakfast she comes down to the kitchen and sits beside my husbands chair awaiting her toast. Yes, I’m sure you are saying, this dogs’ got it over them…. Aren’t we trained well!…. Actually, my husband sits in his chair and waits for his breakfast too!!…. Getting the picture? I could go on forever about the dogs. Like most people, we love having our dogs around us, and your help with training/reminding me what to do has been of value considering I now have the Dog Showing Bug! Regards Catherine H

Bruno

Bruno is my rescue Rotty he was found by the neighbor after his Dad killed 6 of his siblings, he survived by hiding under some plywood, and the neighbor found him. My son has schzophrenia and I am sure that he knows this because no matter how his mood is I can tell when I get home by what kind of mood Bruno is in. He will meet me at the door as if to let me know. He is a very special dog. I love him very much. When I am home he is like my shadow.

BABE-MY BABY GIRL

Ten years ago we rescued our first Rottweiler. My wife brought her home and felt she would be her dog. Little did we know Babe came to us directly from God, and she would be my Medical Alert Dog. She was 2 months old and she was cute as a button. We began training her and she won Pet of The Year in our community. She got an article in the newspaper and an award. Later on she started to watch me a lot and would not leave my side. I have Diabetes and was going through a rough period. My wife had to call 911 every other day. Babe began to bark at me from time to time. I paid no attention. Finally one day she was barking at me and I just happened to check my blood glucose. I was low and about to have an episode of low blood sugar. I figured it out. She knew before I did when I was about to have a reaction. She started to go everywhere with me. She would sit next to me in my truck and just stare at me. When she would bark, I would check my blood. she was always right. She was never trained to do this, it was just something she did instinctively. She actually saved my life several times, by alerting my wife. She slept next to me, and sometimes I would wake up in the middle of the night to find her over me, staring. I would check and she was right on the money. Last year she got sick and we had her checked. she had cancer in her chest. she kept on until around thanksgiving. I had to put her down. It was the saddest moment of my life. she saved my life more than once, and I could not save hers. I have her pictures everywhere. It’s on my computer screen, in my wallet, in my truck, and a whole lot of other places. She is in my heart! We have 4 plots at a local Pet Cemetery. Babe is in one plot now. Her Stone says, “Dad’s Baby Girl”. I know she is waiting at the Bridge for me. I attached the picture of her that we put on her card, that we handed out at her Funeral. Bob F

Bear

Hello, My name is Bear and I am a very handsome four year old toy poodle. I weigh 4.5 pounds and am usually snow white. I am a very proper gentleman with perfect manners. I live with my human Mom and Dad and a huge Main Coon Cat named Pretty Girl. We tolerate each other but she is a snob and totally ignores me. I am also a hurricane Katrina refugee. One year ago today my family and I lost the life we had known since my birth. We lived one block from the beach in Bay St. Louis, MS. It was a wonderful life!!! I loved running on the beach and walking in Old Town with Mom and Dad. Dad is my favorite human as he always takes me wherever he goes and is always ready to rub my ears. Old Town was an artiest community and I was always having my picture taken. I was allowed to go in every shop and was even given treats from some. I knew everyone and they all knew me. August 29, 2005, started out as usual except my Dads and Moms son, his wife, and their dog Sage came over very early. Sage is a huge Rottweiller and always wants to play with me. I stay in my “room” whenever she is around. Dad and Mom were watching television and were not acting normal. They seemed to be very agitated. About 8:00 a.m. they went out on the front porch and sat for awhile. It was storming so I did not understand why they would be outside. When they came back in the house the four of them were acting very strange. They all were in the den when we heard a huge crash. They all ran into the dining room and I followed. A tree had fallen and the limbs had broken all the windows. The rain was pouring in so they were all moving furniture and grabbing anything they could to move into the other rooms. It was only a short time later when another Oak tree came down and fell across the front porch and crushed it. The problem was that it also fell across the door and windows to the outside. The noise was so loud I ran back to the den and got in my bed. I heard Mom scream above the crashes and storm sounds. Then I realized what she was saying. She yelled at Dad “get Bear, he is floating away”! What? me floating away, what is she saying…..then water was everywhere in a matter of minutes. There was no warning just water rising very fast. Dad and Moms son then yelled “we have to get out or we will drown”. I will never forget those words. Dad was holding me and we all tried to make it to the back door. The water was rising so fast that it was waist high when we got to the back. Dad tried to open the door but it would not open. Everyone seemed to panic but then Dad and his son pulled together and it flew open. The problem was more water poured in the house. Dad grabbed a towel and put me in it and then over his back. We all made it to the back porch and Dads son, his wife, and Mom and Sage jumped off into the black, filthy water. Mom had to be helped as she had open heart surgery and is still not 100%. They were getting hit by debris and Mom’s shoes she had on came off and floated away. Sage was swimming like mad and seemed to lead the way for them. I was scared but knew Dad had me and would make sure I was OK. Then Dad yelled to Mom he had to go back in the house!!! What, back in the house, has he lost his mind? I just knew it was the end if he went back in. Mom was screaming above the noise for him not to go. He turned around and we went in..furniture was floating, the fridge, stove and freezer had turned over and was crashing all around us. The water was up to Dads chest and he is over 6′5″. He went to the kitchen cabinet and on the top shelf was Moms medicine she has to take. It was all in a zip lock bag and Dad got it and we started back out. We finally made it to the back porch and off we jumped. The water was moving so fast and the debris was all around us. We caught up with Mom and Dad was trying to swim with me still on his back. It seems like it was hours that we were in the water but in reality it was only about half an hour. We were all together and trying to help each other. Trees were falling, huge amounts of debris was everywhere. The smell was overpowering. The wind was blowing so hard it felt like swimming with lead feet. Then a miracle! Police were there and pulling us up and out of the water. We were taken to the police department and up to the second floor. One of the police men said we could not take Sage up she would have to remain on the first floor that was quickly filling up with water. Now I am no fan of Sage but the very thought that she would be left to drown was not even going to happen. Dad, Mom, his son and his wife all said NO!!!! Sage would go with us and we would all stay together and whatever happened we would be together, with Sage. The water was rising so fast the policeman did not argue. We went to the second floor and sat. The wind was blowing so hard we could hear it and when we looked out the windows the entire town was covered in water. The floor was starting to get really wet and then an inch or so of water. The mud was so thick and it smelled so horrible. I was placed on a bench but was muddy and wet. Everything was wet. We spent the night in this horrible place. Nobody slept and I tried to doze but with all the sounds and it was pitch black as there was no power anywhere it was very scary. At first light we looked outside. It looked like a bomb had hit our town. It was so quiet, no birds or sounds of life anywhere. The trees that were left standing had no leaves on them. The debris was everywhere. Cars were turned upside down and washed into roads and ditches. We ventured outside and nothing was left. We met other people and it was if we were all in a terrible dream. The next few weeks were horrible for Mom and Dad. Everything they had was gone. The house was totally destroyed and they did not even have clothes. They had me washed a week later. My feet were so full of dried mud that I could hardly walk. There was no water but Dad and Mom would give me what they could find. There was no food so the vending machines in the police department that did not get wet was what we shared. Mom was very sad as Pretty Girl did not make it out of the house when we did. A week after the storm we finally made it back to the debris that was our home. Dad and Mom both cried and were very sad. Then we heard a noise…it was very low but we all heard it at the same time. Then we saw her!!! It was Pretty Girl. She was so sick. She could not move as the mud had dried and she had not eaten or had anything to drink. She was dying. Mom picked her up and kept talking to her. Dad had borrowed a car as ours were lost in the storm. We got in the car and headed to FL. Dad and Mom held Pretty Girl and gave her small amounts of water all the way to FL. When we arrived they went directly to a vet. They had to leave Pretty Girl for the day. That evening when they picked her up she had been given IV drips, washed three times, and had eaten. She looked nice, for a cat, but was so skinny. We have tried to rebuild our lives in Texas. Nothing will ever be the same. I have lost all of my friends, my beautiful town, and two months after the storm Pretty Girl passed away. She was 17 years old. Her last days were spent comfortable but she never regained her health. The Lord closes one door he opens another somebody told me. I am happy here and have made new friends but life has changed. It is a year later but the horror of that day and the weeks following will forever be in all of our thoughts and dreams. Bear W, Mike

DOGGY SLEEPOVER!

HEH RAY! GREAT SITE…. CAN’T WAIT TO READ ALL THE STORIES.. HAVE NOT HAD TIME TO WRITE MY OWN YET BUT I HAD TO SEND A PIC IN OF MY BOYS!!! THIS IS JAKE AND WISHBONE!! THEY ARE THE BEST LITTLE GUYS IN THE WORLD..IT DOES NOT MATTER HOW BAD MY DAY IS..THEY ALWAYS BRING LAUGHTER TO MY HEART….COLLEEN

My Savior (Brutus)

Dear Ray, The picture above is Brutus, my friend, my companion and my baby. We are Katrina Victims. I had three handicapped people with me during the storm and no transportation so we had to weather the hurricane here in New Orleans, which was the most frightening experience we ever had. We lost everything. When we were rescued, I was told I could not take Brutus, but a kind man kept him for me and we were separated from August 2005 until October 2005. He was so happy to see me, and believe me, I was happy to see him because I thought I lost him. He is now the only thing that I have to my name. I love him dearly and we are together like glue. Deirdra F

Pepe

This is Pepe, our very inquisitive little Chihuahua. He is 11 months old and to investigate everything he sees here I had left my knitting bag by my chair and went to make a cup of tea. This is what I found on my return!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Joan M New Zealand

“My Lily Bear”

I wanted to share my story of my baby Shih-tzu, Lily. She’s over a year and a half old, but she’s still my baby! My husband and I got her on Valentine’s Day in 2005, and she was born 3 days after my birthday in December 2004. My Mother passed away at age 50 in December 2004, 2 days before my birthday. I was totally devastated. She had been ill for a while, but I don’t believe that ever makes it any easier. My husband and I had been talking about getting a dog for some time. So one night I was sitting outside thinking of my sweet Mother, trying to convince myself that she was still with me, and I said aloud, “Mom, please help my find the perfect doggy for me.” Well my husband and I searched the internet and the newspapers for a good breeder of Shih-tzus, the breed we wanted. Finally, we found a breeder about 2 hours from our home, and I knew we were meant to be friends the minute I saw her picture! When I found out she was born 3 days after my birthday, I felt as if my Mom really had helped me find my new little companion! We decided on the name Lily because my Mother and I shared a love for the flower, and I would often bring bouquets of them to her when she was ill. We put down the deposit and about a month later, we picked up our new, tiny, furry baby! She was so cute, I held her in a towel on my lap on the ride home, and her little tounge was curling upward when she panted! I spent every spare moment with her, teaching her and playing with her, and my sister even helped me by coming over at lunch time to take her out so she could be on a routine. I’m not sure how the nickname “Lily Bear” caught on, but that’s what I call her when I baby-talk to her. Well, needless to say she did wonders for the depression I was feeling after my Mother’s death - she still helps with hard times. It is very difficult to function when you are grieving - it’s difficult for everyone. Lily was always there to kiss away my tears when I mourned this great loss, always there to learn and help me learn - and she is there every day, doing her silly little happy dance when I get home! She really is my baby, my friend, my companion. My sweet little Lily Bear. Aimee R