Lori's Dogs

LORI'S DOGS

Here they are: Delta, Daisy and Dixie

Dont know what I'd do without them, Delta, Daisy and Dixie

Aren't dogs wonderful! I think they are the greatest creatures on this earth. So smart, loving etc. I could go on and on but you all know what I'm saying. I can't remember the last time I didn't have a dog and can't imagine being without one (or three).

My husband, Terry, surprised me with Dixie the day we moved into our house. Best Surprise Ever!! He sent me to the store and when I returned, he kept telling me what a mess the former owners left the yard in. He kept telling me to go look at the messy side yard. I finally went to look, and what did I find? A cute adorable Golden Retriever puppy!! It took me about 1 second to fall in love with her.

A year later on Dixie's birthday, I went to the pound and got Daisy to keep Dixie company while we were at work. At least that is the excuse I used. Terry didn't know a thing about it until he came home that night. Not only did I want a friend for Dixie, but I wanted a "watchdog". No offense to Golden Retrievers but if a burglar looks in the window and sees a Golden Ret. with a tennis ball in her mouth, wagging her tail, he is not going to be to alarmed.

And another year later I surprised Terry with Delta on Fathers Day. A Saint Bernard is a dog we had talked about getting for a long time. A dog we had both wanted since childhood. (who doesn't?) We had discussed getting one, looked in the paper for one, I wrote to the SBCA for information, searched for breeders in our area. We weren't having much luck. Then one weekend my friend Jann told me about a dog show in town. Terry and I went and watched the Saints. While we were there we met some Saint people and wouldn't you know it, a breeder lived just a couple blocks from us. She just happened to have a puppy that was returned to her because it was not "show quality". We weren't planning on showing and would be happy with a "pet quality" dog.

I went to the breeders house every day and brought Delta home for an hour or two. I remember how tiny she was..nothing but a "little" 19 lb fluff ball. The breeder would not let me have her until she was sure Delta was ready.

Here is Dixie in her chair doing what she does best. Not really, she is a great dog. She loves to play and chase the ball. One of her favorite things to do, is bring out any clothes or shoes we have not put away. Naturally she always manages to find a pair of panties or bra to bring out when we have company. Dixie resting after a hard day playing ball
When we first got Delta (saint), Dixie used to run and play with the other dogs. It seemed that the bigger Delta grew the less Dixie wanted to play. We just figured that she didn't like getting trampled by a Saint Bernard. As time went on, Dixie played less and less. She just laid around. Terry started calling her "dog mat". She also got very dry flaky skin (she was not scratching or itching). And her coat felt greasy. After I would pet her, my hand would feel like it had a film on it. Her face slowly started looking droopy. This is going to be hard to explain but from the inside edge of her eyes down to her cheeks, the hair on her face grew straight up (mohawk style). A straight line of sticking up hair. I don't know if this was the way her hair was growing or from her droopy face. Also she had patches of bald spots on her tail and what hair was left on her tail was very thin.

It turned out that Dixie has Hypothyroidism. She is now on Thyroid medicine. I also give her "Missing Link" a food supplement for her skin. Her hips look like they bother her a little bit, so I've been giving her Yucca. Yucca is an herb for painful joints etc. In the last 3 months between the Thyroid medicine, Missing Link and the Yucca she is a completely different dog.

She is a pleasure to pet again. She is getting her new coat and it's soft and silky. The bald spots on her tail are filling in. Her face has tighten up and no more strange mohawk lines of hair from her eyes. She walks around with a mischievous look in her eye. And best of all, she is out playing with Delta, playing tug-a-war, wrestling etc. She doesn't even seem to notice the 75 pound difference.

Here's Daisy in her chair, never without her orb. orb = ball. We can't say the word ball around her or she goes ball crazy, so we say orb. The orb is between her feet. Daisy is the best dog. She is very smart and well behaved. She's the kind of dog that you don't have to tell her anything, she knows what you want her to do and does it. I can't remember the last time she did anything wrong. And she is one heck of a Watchdog also. She does her job very well!!

She loves to sit in Terry's chair. When she is sitting in the chair, we tell her how precious she is. She is so cute! As soon as we say the word "precious", her ears go back a little, her eyes bug out a tad, and she gets this look on her face that says "I'm so precious you just have to come over her and pet me!" Then she sits up in the chair and reaches for us with her front paws. "come on, I'm precious, you have to come and pet me"

She also loves car rides. When we get home after taking her somewhere, if the car ride wasn't long enough for her, she doesn't want to get out of the car. She will just sit in the car waiting for another ride. Sometimes it makes me feel bad that she is just sitting there, so I take her for another ride.

I have to fight for my seat in the front of the car on our weekly outings. It seems like I am always the last out of the house. Terry is warming up the car, it only takes a split second for the dogs to jump in. Daisy always takes her place in the "shotgun" position. Delta and Dixie are happy in the back......and where the heck am I supposed to sit? I have to chase Daisy out of "my" seat!

And here I am sitting on the floor...just kidding..I do have a chair to sit in.

We can't forget Delta's favorite place, as the guard dog! Guarding her pool..She won't fit in any of the chairs, thank goodness. Delta guarding her pool This is where she hangs out all summer. Keeping Cool. She doesn't play in her pool, she just gets in it and splashes the water around with her feet. We have tried to get her to sit or lay down in the pool, but it is usually us that ends up in the pool!

She has always loved the water. Delta pup This is a picture of her at Pyramid Lake.

Another picture of Delta. Delta My Goober Dog. She really doesn't drool very much. Except for car rides,trips to the Vet and after drinking water. We call her Goober dog as an affectionate term. Like my husband calls Dixie "dog mat".

Our parrots know all the dogs names. But for some reason they use Delta's name in sentences and not the others. They say "good girls" "Delta's a good girl" "Delta.. Delta... Delta Daawwwgggg" and "Delta's a goo goo dog" We are not sure where they got "goo goo" but we guess it's from goober. And they also say "Delta's a tickle tickle dog" ???