Introducing Apollo

It's funny how things fall into place sometimes. 

We started talking seriously about getting another dog - a few months ago. Mike was dead set on a German Shorthair Pointer - a dog that I had absolutely no interest in as a family dog. From the research 

I'd done myself they came across as energetic and bred to kill/retrieve birds. That wasn't going to work with my pet hens!

I pleaded for something like a Welsh Pembroke Corgi - I love those little dogs. However, they're herders and are known to nip ankles and bums of little ones so eventually we dimissed that breed as a possibility.

Now before someone leaves me a scathing comment about rescuing or adopting from a rescue society let me say that I brought that up several times. We even looked at some rescue societies for the purebreeds, but didn't see what we were looking for.

Some of you may know that we previously owned a Doberman Pinscher. Her name was Mae and she passed away last year at 10 years old. She was a rescue - we adopted her when she was 5 years old. When we got down to the knock down drag out discussions of which breed we were going to get I finally told Mike that the only pure bred dog I would consider would be another Doberman.

So that started it - hours were spent pouring over breeder websites (there aren't many close to us) and the puppy sale websites (where breeders, etc list their dogs). We discussed color and sex, along with whether we wanted ears cropped or not and how much we wanted to spend on a dog.

Prices for Doberman puppies range from a few hundred dollars to thousands of dollars. We knew we weren't looking for a show quality dog or a breeding dog - we just wanted something that fit the breed standard and had parents with good dispositions and solid pedigrees. Championship bloodlines weren't a priority, but making sure that it was healthy and free from some of the diseases that can affect purebreeds  was something we wanted to take into consideration.

We're actually on a waiting list for a little of puppies due to be bred and born sometime this summer. We're waiting to hear back from another breeder in Alabama who is planning to breed her dogs this summer.

Like I said, it's funny how things happen sometimes...

Mike's mom, Paula, called him one day last week to say that someone in Crestview had a litter of AKC Doberman puppies listed in the online classifieds. He didn't call me immediately - but in a later conversation mentioned it casually and said maybe I could call.

So I called - and there was one pup left - a black and tan male. I called Mike back and we agreed that we wanted to at least go look at him - even though it most likely wasn't the dog we were looking for.

We arrived after dark (without the kids) and met the puppy - who was very friendly and seemed to like us enough. He allowed me to pick him up like a baby and curled up in my arms and just laid there. Our only concern was wanting to see the pedigree, which the man didn't know its location and wanting to meet the parent dogs. It was dark and the owner refused to accommodate us that night. We agreed that I would return the next day.

I talked my sister into going with me (thank you natalie!) and we drove up to go meet the parents and see the puppy again.

Well, you know the rest of the story....

We named him Apollo - which ironically means "destroyer."

So far he's not living up to his name, although the house training is a bit of a challenge at times. He's the most mellow puppy I think I've ever met! He plays some and sleeps a lot - eats food like he's never been fed in his life and drinks so much water it's a wonder he doesn't pee gallons (close to it though!).

His birthday is October 23, 2009 (he shares a birthday with my best friend Rebecca's husband, Brett!) and when I weighed him at Petsmart he was 22.5 pounds. He's going to be a big dog and I have to say part of me is glad he's a male even though I prefer female dogs. He is a bit protective and I like that - it will come in handy when Mike is out of town and I can rely on him to alert me to strange noise that go bump in the night.

The kids enjoy him and since he's on the mellow side they're having a better adjustment I think. The cats are another issue - he was around cats at his birth home, but he barks and playfully growls and paws at our feline friends and they are none too appreciative. I don't think Azzie has come off her bookshelf in 3 days! Pumpkin is warming up - he's the one who has never been around dogs much at all and was the most standoffish and mean to the puppy. He swiped him really well across the face this morning. Tarmak is ironically the most friendly towards him - odd for the scaredy cat. My hens are a little traumatized and he's working hard on learning not to chase them, but they run from him so that makes him want to chase even more!

Most importantly is that Mike is in love with him - and I find a lot of joy in my husband being so excited about something! At this moment he's in the recliner with the dog curled up in his lap. Apollo sleeps on the floor on Mike's side of the bed and is now spoiled by going everywhere with us in the car. He is working on his crate training as well because once the summer heat sets in he won't be going with us as much.

So meet Apollo - he's a sweet little guy and has melted into our family so well it's like he's always been here!

I'll post a picture of that same scene in a few months when the dog is close to 100 lbs!

Mae - a good dog. August 2008- November 22, 2008

This morning our doberman Mae passed away. She turned 10 years old this past August and had a good life. We rescued her about 5 years ago from a local vet. Mike had always wanted a red dobie and one day I was taking our cat in to be groomed and there were three dobies wanting homes and 2 were red. The female - Mae - and I bonded instantly and she was our dog from that moment. We went through some tough times with her as she was full of parasites and had some rather bad habits, but eventually we settled into a happy life together.

She was a wonderful dog - intimidating to look at, but she must have considered herself to be a cat because she had the playfulness of a kitten. She would have let anyone into the house - except a stray cat or squirrel! She often frightened trick or treaters when she'd stand at the door with her ears at attention. Unsure of other children - she was protective and loving towards our two little ones. She was always on guard and always with them when they were infants and I felt safe leaving her in the room with them - I never once feared she would harm them.

We decided when Wyatt was a few months old that Mae should go live with my parents and my sister Natalie. Natalie and Mae were best friends - from before we even rescued her. She knew Mae when her original owner was still living - he died of cancer. There were other dogs for her to play with and more attention than what we could give her with two children under 2. She loved it at my parent's house - because she had visited many times. She settled into a fun, lazy life with Bonnie and Mia - and later Daisy the beagle puppy. She loved their cats: Ace, Crystal, Noel (who is missing for several weeks now...) and Gucci kitten (who wyatt calls Goopy!).

This morning Mae came out into the kitchen breathing hard and having a hard time standing. She began to lose control of her body functions and went down into the sunken fireplace area - a place where she never spent much time. She died peacefully - with my mom, sister and Maddie talking to her. My sister told her she was a good dog and that it was ok for her to go - and then she died.

I arrived not long after Mae passed away - Mike and Wyatt came about a half hour later. My brother and his friend came soon after that. Carefully we placed her on a plastic shower curtain and then wrapped her in a blue comforter and her favorite yellow blanket.

I went into the wooded area of my parent's yard and found a dead sapling and made a cross to mark her grave. The camellias are blooming on the side of the house and I decorated the cross with white flowers and one lone pink camellia that had bloomed. I also picked a branch of white ones for my sister.

Mae was Natalie's baby. Even though we were all expecting her to pass away soon - it is still a shock and Natalie has taken it very hard. They had such fun together - going to the dog park, cuddling in bed. Mae would drag all of Natalie's clothes onto her bed and sleep with them - moping terribly if Natalie was gone overnight.

We all know that Mae is in a better place where she is free from the physical pain and sickness that she had in her life - but her presence in our lives will be sorely missed. She was a great dog- gentle and sweet. It's funny because she never jumped up on people (only on beds and the couch) and other than a single lick - kiss - she was not one of those dogs who licked you incessantly.

We love you Mae and miss you already.