Dogs

     All of the dogs that I have ever actually owned have lived all or part of their lives in this house. All have been miniature Schnauzers. When we first moved here in the summer of 79' , We had two Salt and Pepper Schnauzers. A twelve year old female and a seven year old male. The little male died here, in the house, of lymph cancer only about 6 mos. after we moved in. The older female went on to 14 but died of the same condition; also here in the house. I bought a male puppy while the older female was yet alive. She accepted him pretty well but he was more than she could handle. After her death, I got a female and the two became fast friends, so fast that two litters resulted. The runt of the first litter we kept, the rest were sold. So there were three dogs in this house for a number of years. From the time we first moved here we would sometimes see a white, brown spotted ,dog on the rear stairs. It appeared to look like a Jack Russell. Never amounted to more than a short glimpse. Usually facing you, he looked like he was expecting you to play with him. But his appearances were hardly more than impressions. But we both remarked on it. This dog did not look like any dog I had ever had and though my wife had dogs when she was growing up, she never had one that looked like that one. The female I bought developed liver cancer and had to be put to sleep by the local vet, she was 11 years old. I still had the male and his female offspring. I had my little male a long time; but he had a series of strokes in his 17th year and just before his 18th birthday he had gotten so bad I had the vet put him down. Strange, after the shot was administered he took two deep breaths and then the longest, most relieved, sigh I ever heard a dog make. I think I did the right thing for him. His offspring continued with us as an only dog. She,too, did very well until she was 17 years old and then we noticed a subtle change in her. Thought she was getting hard of hearing. During a check up at the vets I described what she was doing. The Vet diagnosed Alzheimers. There was a canine medicine for it then and we had our old pup back for a few months, then decline started rapidly again and just shy of her 18th birthday she forgot how to eat or drink or stand or anything but lay and stare. Again it was time. There is a Pet Cemetery just south of Canton Ohio where all of my deceased dogs are buried. After the loss of the only home born dog my wife thought it best tohave no more dogs, We went six months. I missed them terribly My wife must have too, though she'd never admit it....but one day she called me from work....Theres a lady down here with the cutest little schnauzer pup for sale..... I now have two, one is 3 years old and the other, our first black schnauzer, is almost 1. So I guess it is understandable that most dog sightings are Schnauzers. But the Jack Russell does still make an appearance,