I was a "Dog-Person" and I didn't even know it!

So my boss sent me home early today. I, my friends, am sick. Sick as dog, if you will. (will be more funny once you have read some of the post) I came to Greg's house straight from work and got to spend a sick, yet very nice, afternoon with my Maxxie until Daddy got home, hence how I got the idea for this here blog post... Enjoy!

I only remember having negative experiences around the few dogs I came in contact with when I was younger. It was just my mom, dad, and I until I was 11, and literally no one in my family had a dog. My father is from Syria and in his country, dogs are more often wild and much less used as family pets, so I am pretty sure dad didn't really like dogs. This is surprising to me because he was a pretty tough looking dude when I was young, so it is hard to think that he was scared of anything. My mom never talked about wanting a dog and I never really wanted one due to my unprecedented "fear" of them, so it never came up in family discussions.

I thought I was a "cat person" for the longest time. My aunt and uncle always had 2 kitties running around their apartment, Nicki and Jerri, I never cuddled with them or anything, but I wasn't intimidated by them the same way I was of dogs.  

My best friend at the time had a dog named Nellie. Nellie never did anything that scared me, but I always remember having a fear that she could easily hurt me. Nellie was probably a foot and a half tall and maybe 20 pounds at the most; now that I think about it, she was probably the nicest dog ever, but I always had this relentless stigma that kept me away from dogs in general.

One very clear memory I have involves a very rambunctious, and at the time horrifying, black lab puppy. When I was in 3rd or 4th grade, one of my other good girlfriends and her family got a black lab puppy named Midnight and one day I got the courage to go to her house to meet the little guy. When I heard the word "puppy", I naturally pictured a small baby thing..well, to my surprise, Midnight was huge. I was always a very short, little girl (I still am), and Midnight was probably 5 months old by this time and, in turn, not small.
My friend had Midnight tied to a rope outside in her back yard for my first meeting with him, so I walked out the back door, saw the pup, and walked right up to him. Puppies are puppies, they are excited by a dust bunny let alone a new human being at their house, so naturally, Midnight was super excited and began jumping and running around like crazy. Somehow, someway, I got wrapped around in Midnight's rope and he was jumping up at my face over and over, seemingly to me, to bite my face off. (He probably just wanted to kiss me, but I didn't know) I remember feeling like I was trapped forever, when in reality, I probably just needed to calm the heck down, lift my feet up over the rope, and get un-stuck. My friend came to my rescue, saying "He is just excited to see you! It's ok!" while I just cried and screamed that I wanted him far away from me. After she got me free, I ran into the house and I am pretty sure I went home for fear of my life. (Drama queen much?) 

Well that experience really did me in, and my fear for dogs continued until I was probably about 11 or 12 when my Uncle adopted the sweetest 7 year old, German Shepherd-mix named Buddy. Buddy was a gift from God for my entire family. He made us wonder how we had never had a dog in the family for this long. Buddy was quite a timid pup, however. He was abused since he was a puppy in his former home, and because of this, was quite afraid of many things, and kept very quiet for the most part. Buddy never lashed out at us in any way due to his past life, he always stayed so well-behaved. My uncle retrained Buddy to know how to do "normal" doggie things, like play, how to not be scared of everything, and seek out affection from those that would happily give it to him. I remember Buddy as the first dog that I let lick my face.  From then on, I felt so much more comfortable around dogs. Now, when I saw dogs in my day-to-day life, I wasn't scared at all anymore; I wanted to know what their names were and wanted to pet them if I could. Buddy allowed me to see what being a dog-lover really was. In his time with us, Buddy battled two bouts of doggie-cancer, and unfortunately passed away during his second bout in 2012.

Here is Buddy a few days before

he passed away <3 RIP

My Uncle got Astro a couple of months after
Buddy passed. Hi Astro!

There's Coaster!

When I started dating Greg, his family had a little dog named Coaster. Coaster was a 16 year old Bison-Poodle who had just about everything wrong with him in his old age. He was deaf and blind in 1 eye, and occasionally suffered from seizures, but he was still kickin and livin life like an innocent pup does. Not long after I started dating Greg, Coaster's old age got to him, unfortunately, and he was put down. Coaster was 17 when he passed away.. 17! And he lived a wonderful 17 years with Greg and his family. He and Buddy are probably partying it up now in doggie-heaven.

Love at first site!

Enter: Max.

Greg adopted Max in May of 2012 during a time when we were not together. Max is a Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier. I had never heard of this breed until I met Max. Since Greg brought Max home, he stole the heart of everyone he came in contact with. Greg raised and trained Max in his parent's house for about the first year and a half of his life, and he did a fantastic job. This dog is amazing, I swear, and I know a great deal of it is due to the tender love and care that Greg, and his parents, gave him as he was growing up.

Baby Maxxie!

I began to truly know Max when he was about 11 months old, and I quickly fell head over heels in love. Max was a very rambunctious, energetic pup at that age (as, again, all puppies are) and it did take time for me to learn how to make sure he treated me with respect and as a "master". There was a long time when I didn't quite know how to act and train a pup to respect me because I never knew how to do it. Greg gradually taught me how, and Max and I have come a long way in our human-pup relationship.


I remember a specific turning point in our puplationship where Max and I really bonded and we both learned a bit more about the roles in each other's lives. Greg and his family were away on vacation and Max was staying in a kennel  for the week, I agreed to pick Max up 2 days early and spend the last night that they were away alone with him in the house. Something changed after that short period of time together, it was definitely for the better.

Since that time, Greg and Max moved out of his parent's house, and I spend a great deal of time there. I feel so much better when Max is around, and I miss him dearly from the moment I leave Greg's house, to the moment I step back into the house on Friday afternoon. I feel the most amazing sense of happiness when he is near me or wants a cuddle. I believe it is similar to what a mother must feel for their child. (Don't worry, I know Max is not a human being..don't worry. But I am sure most dog-lovers will know exactly what I am talking about.

Such a photogenic pup

Max is our son, and we are one happy little family. He is such a blessing, and I believe, in his own pup way, Max helped Greg and I be the strongest we have ever been.

In closing.. I am SO a "Dog Person". No ifs, ands, or buts about it. (Cats are ok too...if you catch them on a good day...) ;)

Xo Dane :)