So now I had Helo home with Charlie and I which meant everything was going to be fine, right?
The first thing I learned about Helo was that he had a pretty serious case of separation anxiety. By "pretty serious" I mean I put him in the bedroom on the first day and went to grab something from the car and by the time I got back he was screaming bloody murder. I thought something had happened to him, but he just missed me.
That first night wasn't any easier. I managed to keep to our agreement of putting him in his crate to sleep, but I had the crate right next to the bed and dangled my arm over it to try and minimize the little guy's feelings of being alone. Yes, this may not have been the best thing for building up an independent dog, but it's what I had to do to keep my heart from breaking for the little guy.
He actually turned out to do better then Charlie had at crate training and the next morning he was up and raring to go. Sunday was spent just kind of getting him acclimated to our place and his new family. We had some time on webcam with Holly and I think he met a few of our neighbors as well.
When Monday morning rolled around I had a decision to make. I really couldn't see myself leaving him home alone so I opted to bring him into work with me. Since it was summer semester no one was at school so I figured he could just hang out with me in the lab, but again if I left the room he'd get nervous. I opted to spend the rest of time until Hol got back "working from home."
On the day Holly's flight arrived I decided to bring Helo with me to the airport. He was well behaved, for the most part. We just hung out on the roof of the central parking garage at Logan until Hol's flight arrived. Helo wasn't exactly sure what to make of her at first, but I'm pretty sure by the time we were on our way back up to Lowell he'd curled up in her lap and accepted her as part of his new family.
So ended the first days of Helo's time with us. We figured it had been a bit rough, but we'd be able to work through stuff. Hol had previously joked that we'd used up all our good dog luck with Charlie and that whatever dog we got next would be hell on four paws. Helo, while not perfect, didn't seem to be that dog, though. Sure he had a bit of separation anxiety and wasn't all that fond of leashes, but we figured he'd grow out of it.
I'm sure you can imagine what happened next...
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Sunday, May 16, 2010
I'm bad at updating
So life kind of got in the way for a while there. I'll attempt to get back on track now. We'll see how long that lasts...
Today is Helo's second birthday. Two years ago today our little guy was born into foster care in rural West Virginia, though it would still be about twelve weeks until we picked him up. Life for little Helo (at that point Bach) must not have been the easiest since when we picked him up he was underweight with a bloated tummy, a bad case of intestinal worms and anxiety issues that still plague him to this day.
Now, two years later, he's laying behind me curled up on our papasan, his $150 dog bed resting after a hard day sleeping in our apartment. He's not always well behaved, but I wouldn't have him any other way. We'll probably be getting him some time with a dog behaviorist within the next couple months to try and help him with his issues just so he's not as stressed.
I think he's had a good birthday. He curled up with me on the couch to watch Carny (starring Lou Diamond Philips!) this afternoon then went to have a nap curled up next to mom for a while. After dinner he draped himself over my leg while we watched some Food Network shows and then we played a bit of fetch before taking him out. After I finish this we'll be off to bed.
In addition to this being a special day for Helo, it's also a special day for Holly, Charlie and I as well. Today two years ago was also the day we picked up Charlie from PA and brought him home and really started our life as dog people. We didn't really do anything special for the boys this year, but I think it's more from Hol being buried under finals and other considerations. We'll do better next year.
Today is Helo's second birthday. Two years ago today our little guy was born into foster care in rural West Virginia, though it would still be about twelve weeks until we picked him up. Life for little Helo (at that point Bach) must not have been the easiest since when we picked him up he was underweight with a bloated tummy, a bad case of intestinal worms and anxiety issues that still plague him to this day.
Now, two years later, he's laying behind me curled up on our papasan, his $150 dog bed resting after a hard day sleeping in our apartment. He's not always well behaved, but I wouldn't have him any other way. We'll probably be getting him some time with a dog behaviorist within the next couple months to try and help him with his issues just so he's not as stressed.
I think he's had a good birthday. He curled up with me on the couch to watch Carny (starring Lou Diamond Philips!) this afternoon then went to have a nap curled up next to mom for a while. After dinner he draped himself over my leg while we watched some Food Network shows and then we played a bit of fetch before taking him out. After I finish this we'll be off to bed.
In addition to this being a special day for Helo, it's also a special day for Holly, Charlie and I as well. Today two years ago was also the day we picked up Charlie from PA and brought him home and really started our life as dog people. We didn't really do anything special for the boys this year, but I think it's more from Hol being buried under finals and other considerations. We'll do better next year.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
An Aside
Since people may be reading this blog who don't know who I am I think I'll take a moment to introduce myself.
My name is Ben. I grew up in Lansing, MI with my mom, dad and little brother. When I was in 3rd grade we got our first dog, a brittany named Fluffy. We lived in a semi-rural area and generally let her outside to run free during the day until whenever she decided to come home. Generally her "hunting grounds" were within 100 yards or so of our house, but there were a couple times when she'd be gone for hours upon hours at a stretch.
In 1997 I left home to attend at a small liberal arts in Alma, MI (Alma College). During my first summer back home a yellow lab started hanging around our property. We eventually took him in and named him Dusty. He was a bit more of a roamer than Fluff so we had to keep him on a tether when we let him out.
I've always considered myself a "dog person" but our family dogs both seemed to gravitate more towards my parents. I don't know if it's because mom & dad were the "alphas" of the pack or what, but at night the dogs stayed in their room and when they watched tv the dogs stayed right by them. This didn't bug me too much since the dogs didn't dislike me, but in general I didn't feel as close to them as my parents did. I think this is why after they both passed I wasn't as shook up as my parents were over it (both dogs passed within about two years of each other).
I figured I'd get a dog when I got a house. I'd graduated from Alma with a degree in chemistry in 2001. My first job was down in Indianapolis working 3rd shift at a chemical manufacturer doing analytical QC (quality control). I lived in an apartment there on my own and didn't feel like I could do a dog justice at that point since I was gone 12 hours a day.
In 2002 I got a job working in Kalamazoo, MI. Again, I was working 3rd shift and living in an apartment on my own. This time it was only working 8 hour days, but I still felt with my backwards sleep schedule it wouldn't be fair to a dog. It was while I was in Kalamazoo that two things happened. The first is that I decided to go back to graduate school to get my PhD in Green Chemistry. The second is that I met Holly.
Holly and I met online. Nowadays I don't think it's really a big deal, but when we first met it was 2003 and society wasn't as wired as it is today. We didn't meet through any dating site or whatever. We met on a discussion forum we were both members of. I had actually decided I was going to be a "quirky alone" shortly before really getting to know Hol. She blew that idea out of the water, though.
There were only really two obstacles to overcome. The first, and probably most important, obstacle was that Hol lived in England. We overcame this in May of 2004 when I decided to fly out and meet her and her family. The trip went surprisingly well and there was instant chemistry between us. The second obstacle, however, wouldn't be dealt with for another four years. Holly was scared of dogs.
She's not really sure where her fear of dogs came from, but she says that her family used to tell her she'd been attacked by a dog when she was young. Bringing Hol to visit my family was always a bit of a challenge. The first night we'd be there she would generally have a mild anxiety attack, but then sort of normalize as our visit went on. It didn't help that my parents had gotten another hyper black lab, Champ, who just looked like a huge mass of black fur and teeth to Hol.
In the fall of 2004 I left Michigan to go to the University of Massachusetts at Lowell to start my PhD work. Hol had just finished college in the UK and suggested she come out to MA to live with me for 90 days under the visa waiver program. I figured it was a good idea so we tried it out. There were a few culture shocks along the way and some family-related heartache for Hol, but she toughed it out. The following May I went back to the UK to visit her again at which point I proposed and she accepted. After two more 90 day visits we got everything in order and were married in August 2006 and have been living together ever since.
I think that brings us up to the start of our "Beginnings" story. If there are any questions just post them in the comments section and I'll answer as I can.
My name is Ben. I grew up in Lansing, MI with my mom, dad and little brother. When I was in 3rd grade we got our first dog, a brittany named Fluffy. We lived in a semi-rural area and generally let her outside to run free during the day until whenever she decided to come home. Generally her "hunting grounds" were within 100 yards or so of our house, but there were a couple times when she'd be gone for hours upon hours at a stretch.
In 1997 I left home to attend at a small liberal arts in Alma, MI (Alma College). During my first summer back home a yellow lab started hanging around our property. We eventually took him in and named him Dusty. He was a bit more of a roamer than Fluff so we had to keep him on a tether when we let him out.
I've always considered myself a "dog person" but our family dogs both seemed to gravitate more towards my parents. I don't know if it's because mom & dad were the "alphas" of the pack or what, but at night the dogs stayed in their room and when they watched tv the dogs stayed right by them. This didn't bug me too much since the dogs didn't dislike me, but in general I didn't feel as close to them as my parents did. I think this is why after they both passed I wasn't as shook up as my parents were over it (both dogs passed within about two years of each other).
I figured I'd get a dog when I got a house. I'd graduated from Alma with a degree in chemistry in 2001. My first job was down in Indianapolis working 3rd shift at a chemical manufacturer doing analytical QC (quality control). I lived in an apartment there on my own and didn't feel like I could do a dog justice at that point since I was gone 12 hours a day.
In 2002 I got a job working in Kalamazoo, MI. Again, I was working 3rd shift and living in an apartment on my own. This time it was only working 8 hour days, but I still felt with my backwards sleep schedule it wouldn't be fair to a dog. It was while I was in Kalamazoo that two things happened. The first is that I decided to go back to graduate school to get my PhD in Green Chemistry. The second is that I met Holly.
Holly and I met online. Nowadays I don't think it's really a big deal, but when we first met it was 2003 and society wasn't as wired as it is today. We didn't meet through any dating site or whatever. We met on a discussion forum we were both members of. I had actually decided I was going to be a "quirky alone" shortly before really getting to know Hol. She blew that idea out of the water, though.
There were only really two obstacles to overcome. The first, and probably most important, obstacle was that Hol lived in England. We overcame this in May of 2004 when I decided to fly out and meet her and her family. The trip went surprisingly well and there was instant chemistry between us. The second obstacle, however, wouldn't be dealt with for another four years. Holly was scared of dogs.
She's not really sure where her fear of dogs came from, but she says that her family used to tell her she'd been attacked by a dog when she was young. Bringing Hol to visit my family was always a bit of a challenge. The first night we'd be there she would generally have a mild anxiety attack, but then sort of normalize as our visit went on. It didn't help that my parents had gotten another hyper black lab, Champ, who just looked like a huge mass of black fur and teeth to Hol.
In the fall of 2004 I left Michigan to go to the University of Massachusetts at Lowell to start my PhD work. Hol had just finished college in the UK and suggested she come out to MA to live with me for 90 days under the visa waiver program. I figured it was a good idea so we tried it out. There were a few culture shocks along the way and some family-related heartache for Hol, but she toughed it out. The following May I went back to the UK to visit her again at which point I proposed and she accepted. After two more 90 day visits we got everything in order and were married in August 2006 and have been living together ever since.
I think that brings us up to the start of our "Beginnings" story. If there are any questions just post them in the comments section and I'll answer as I can.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Beginnings, Pt IV
Bach and Burton both caught Hol's eye, but it was Bach who became Helo in the end.
Yesterday Hol informed me that what led her to choose Bach was his description:
Hol e-mailed the shelter and got everything set up for us to complete Bach's (Helo's) adoption. The one problem, however, was that they were going to be doing all their adoptions on one day in August... on a day Hol would be in England. Hol was going back to visit her family and I was going to be on my own for a while with Charlie. We'd figured we could get Helo after Hol got back.
Hol was of course bummed to miss Helo's first days at home, but there wasn't really anything we could do about it. Before she left she made sure I had my computer's webcam functional so she could at least see the new guy when he got home. I had my friend Julie come down with me to get Helo so he'd have a warm lap to ride in on the way home.
Once we got to the shelter we immediately saw a small pen with what looked like beagle pups all playing with each other in it. I hadn't studied the photos of the dogs before leaving so I couldn't pick out which one was going to be ours, but I had my camcorder with me and got some footage of them playing. There were two of them playing a "King of the Hill"-type game in a concrete planter and then one over at the far side of the pen under a bench. That one turned out to be our Helo.
After filling out the requisite paperwork they brought the little guy out to Julie and me. He looked scared and very thin with a somewhat pudgy little puppy tummy. We got our picture taken with him and then were on our way home. He stayed sat nicely in Julie's lap the whole time just sort of observing everything that was going on.
About half-way back to Boston we decided to stop and see if he had to go to the bathroom. We parked towards the wooded area of the parking lot and I tried to give him a couple treats, which he was having none of. We walked him over to the underbrush and he immediately found a little hill which he declared himself king of and "viciously" defended by hopping around. I was a little nervous having him off leash since he seemed more active than Charlie had been on his trip home, but once I held out a few kibbles for him I knew he wasn't going anywhere. He wasn't a fan of the treats, but he loved the kibble.
We dropped Julie off at her apartment in Allston and then it was just Helo and I. He stayed in the front with me, curling up in his seat and resting the rest of the way home. I was a little nervous about introducing him to Charlie when we got home, but they got along well. By the end of the afternoon they were both curled up sleeping on the floor together.
He'd made it through our first day together, but there were still three more days until Hol came home and a lot more for me to learn about our little bagel.
Yesterday Hol informed me that what led her to choose Bach was his description:
Hi, I'm Bach! I'm a little boy! A little on the bashful side I must admit. I weigh between five and eight pounds and I'll be ten weeks old the first of August. They tell me I'm a terrier-beagle-aussie mix. All I know is that I'm a puppy who loves to nuzzle and be cuddled. I play well with children and big and little dogs and I do nicely around farm animals too! I sure hope there's someone out there with a warm lap just for me.
Just waiting,
Bach
Hol e-mailed the shelter and got everything set up for us to complete Bach's (Helo's) adoption. The one problem, however, was that they were going to be doing all their adoptions on one day in August... on a day Hol would be in England. Hol was going back to visit her family and I was going to be on my own for a while with Charlie. We'd figured we could get Helo after Hol got back.
Hol was of course bummed to miss Helo's first days at home, but there wasn't really anything we could do about it. Before she left she made sure I had my computer's webcam functional so she could at least see the new guy when he got home. I had my friend Julie come down with me to get Helo so he'd have a warm lap to ride in on the way home.
Once we got to the shelter we immediately saw a small pen with what looked like beagle pups all playing with each other in it. I hadn't studied the photos of the dogs before leaving so I couldn't pick out which one was going to be ours, but I had my camcorder with me and got some footage of them playing. There were two of them playing a "King of the Hill"-type game in a concrete planter and then one over at the far side of the pen under a bench. That one turned out to be our Helo.
After filling out the requisite paperwork they brought the little guy out to Julie and me. He looked scared and very thin with a somewhat pudgy little puppy tummy. We got our picture taken with him and then were on our way home. He stayed sat nicely in Julie's lap the whole time just sort of observing everything that was going on.
About half-way back to Boston we decided to stop and see if he had to go to the bathroom. We parked towards the wooded area of the parking lot and I tried to give him a couple treats, which he was having none of. We walked him over to the underbrush and he immediately found a little hill which he declared himself king of and "viciously" defended by hopping around. I was a little nervous having him off leash since he seemed more active than Charlie had been on his trip home, but once I held out a few kibbles for him I knew he wasn't going anywhere. He wasn't a fan of the treats, but he loved the kibble.
We dropped Julie off at her apartment in Allston and then it was just Helo and I. He stayed in the front with me, curling up in his seat and resting the rest of the way home. I was a little nervous about introducing him to Charlie when we got home, but they got along well. By the end of the afternoon they were both curled up sleeping on the floor together.
He'd made it through our first day together, but there were still three more days until Hol came home and a lot more for me to learn about our little bagel.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Beginnings, pt III
I mentioned PetFinder.com previously. My wife had an addiction to that site.
We hadn't really decided exactly what breed we wanted for our second dog. We were talking about possibly getting a Papillon since they were adorable. Another dog on our list was the Brittany since I'd had one of those growing up. At this time Hol was out of school for summer break and spending a lot of her time browsing Pet Finder looking at puppies (a dangerous activity for her which she's since been unofficially banned from). It was here she first saw Helo.
I don't know exactly what drew her to him, but one day she approached me with several questions and a proposition. What it all boiled down to was she had found a litter of puppies that had been born into a shelter in Rhode Island and she thought adopting one of the puppies would be a good idea. She pointed out that we'd be making a morally responsible decision as well as a financially responsible one since the rescue pup would come neutered, a significant expense we'd found out after we had Charlie done.
The puppies were like none I'd ever seen before. The rescue said they were part beagle and part Australian shepherd. Their frames resembled beagle pups, but their coats were the typical beagle tricolor markings mixed with some of the most amazing merles I'd seen. Some of the dogs also exhibited heterochromia (two different color eyes). Pictures are worth a thousand words so here's the litter Hol was so entranced by:
Mom - Jennie B
Girls
Barbie
Betty
Button
Boys
Boyd
Burton
Bernard
Bach
Thankfully all the dogs pictured above did eventually find their own forever homes. Next time I'll reveal which of those dogs eventually became Helo as well as his journey into our hearts.
We hadn't really decided exactly what breed we wanted for our second dog. We were talking about possibly getting a Papillon since they were adorable. Another dog on our list was the Brittany since I'd had one of those growing up. At this time Hol was out of school for summer break and spending a lot of her time browsing Pet Finder looking at puppies (a dangerous activity for her which she's since been unofficially banned from). It was here she first saw Helo.
I don't know exactly what drew her to him, but one day she approached me with several questions and a proposition. What it all boiled down to was she had found a litter of puppies that had been born into a shelter in Rhode Island and she thought adopting one of the puppies would be a good idea. She pointed out that we'd be making a morally responsible decision as well as a financially responsible one since the rescue pup would come neutered, a significant expense we'd found out after we had Charlie done.
The puppies were like none I'd ever seen before. The rescue said they were part beagle and part Australian shepherd. Their frames resembled beagle pups, but their coats were the typical beagle tricolor markings mixed with some of the most amazing merles I'd seen. Some of the dogs also exhibited heterochromia (two different color eyes). Pictures are worth a thousand words so here's the litter Hol was so entranced by:
Mom - Jennie B
Girls
Barbie
Betty
Button
Boys
Boyd
Burton
Bernard
Bach
Thankfully all the dogs pictured above did eventually find their own forever homes. Next time I'll reveal which of those dogs eventually became Helo as well as his journey into our hearts.
Friday, January 8, 2010
Beginnings, pt II
We picked Charlie up from Pennsylvania the week of my wife's finals.
Now we know it should have been a warning sign, but at the time we thought it was convenient that the breeder offered to bring Charlie to us at the hotel we were staying at. When getting a dog it's always important to ask to see the conditions in which the dog was raised. A reputable breeder should be more than happy to show you the conditions as well as the dame to whom your new puppy was born. Refusal on either point should immediately raise red flags.
We'd decked out my Monte Carlo in everything we thought we'd need for the ride home. We had Charlie's crate set up in the back seat along with a blanket and some towels for him to lay on. We also had a few toys in case he got bored. The "breeder" (broker) didn't give us anything of his mom's for our trip home, another bad sign. Separating a puppy from its mother can be a traumatic experience. Having something with their mother's scent on it can help make the transition easier.
We didn't care, though. From the moment we first held Charlie he set up a permanent residence in our hearts. A few weeks after we'd had Charlie back home we started calling him "Rock Star" but it was fitting nickname as early as the ride home.
At our first stop on the way home we took the little mite out of the car and tried him out with a collar and leash. He wasn't really moving about so we took off the leash figuring we could catch him if he toddled off too far. At this point we also pulled out the camcorder we bought for the occasion (yes, we're those type of parents) and got some great footage of me and Charlie playing in the green space at the rest stop.
As the day went on Charlie continued to work his rocker mojo. When we stopped for lunch at a Wendy's Charlie and I waited outside while Hol went to get food. He was a good boy and stayed pretty close to me, but when another person came out of the Wendy's he started walking after the man towards his car. While at another rest stop Hol and I were sat on a hill with the little guy and watched as he slowly lost his balance and went lazily rolling down the hill. All of this was done with his typical Charlie charm.
Once home Charlie adapted to apartment life very quickly. He knew that whenever we put the leash on him it was time to go outside and say hello to people. We tried crate training him for a while, but eventually relented and allowed him to sleep on the bed with us. I say "we" relented, but my wife is always quick to remind me that I relented. I'm a soft touch. Sue me.
The summer passed in a blur of photos and outings. We brought Charlie with us wherever we could, even taking him on a whale watching trip out of Gloucester when my parents came to visit. In mid-July Charlie was chosen as The Daily Puppy's puppy of the day.
We'd always known we wanted to be a two dog family. My wife and I are both out of the apartment for varying spans of time during the day and we figured it would be best for Charlie to have a brother (or sister) to entertain him. We'd thought January would be an optimal time to get our second dog since it would coincide with my wife's winter break.
Fate, however, had other plans for us.
Now we know it should have been a warning sign, but at the time we thought it was convenient that the breeder offered to bring Charlie to us at the hotel we were staying at. When getting a dog it's always important to ask to see the conditions in which the dog was raised. A reputable breeder should be more than happy to show you the conditions as well as the dame to whom your new puppy was born. Refusal on either point should immediately raise red flags.
We'd decked out my Monte Carlo in everything we thought we'd need for the ride home. We had Charlie's crate set up in the back seat along with a blanket and some towels for him to lay on. We also had a few toys in case he got bored. The "breeder" (broker) didn't give us anything of his mom's for our trip home, another bad sign. Separating a puppy from its mother can be a traumatic experience. Having something with their mother's scent on it can help make the transition easier.
We didn't care, though. From the moment we first held Charlie he set up a permanent residence in our hearts. A few weeks after we'd had Charlie back home we started calling him "Rock Star" but it was fitting nickname as early as the ride home.
At our first stop on the way home we took the little mite out of the car and tried him out with a collar and leash. He wasn't really moving about so we took off the leash figuring we could catch him if he toddled off too far. At this point we also pulled out the camcorder we bought for the occasion (yes, we're those type of parents) and got some great footage of me and Charlie playing in the green space at the rest stop.
As the day went on Charlie continued to work his rocker mojo. When we stopped for lunch at a Wendy's Charlie and I waited outside while Hol went to get food. He was a good boy and stayed pretty close to me, but when another person came out of the Wendy's he started walking after the man towards his car. While at another rest stop Hol and I were sat on a hill with the little guy and watched as he slowly lost his balance and went lazily rolling down the hill. All of this was done with his typical Charlie charm.
Once home Charlie adapted to apartment life very quickly. He knew that whenever we put the leash on him it was time to go outside and say hello to people. We tried crate training him for a while, but eventually relented and allowed him to sleep on the bed with us. I say "we" relented, but my wife is always quick to remind me that I relented. I'm a soft touch. Sue me.
The summer passed in a blur of photos and outings. We brought Charlie with us wherever we could, even taking him on a whale watching trip out of Gloucester when my parents came to visit. In mid-July Charlie was chosen as The Daily Puppy's puppy of the day.
We'd always known we wanted to be a two dog family. My wife and I are both out of the apartment for varying spans of time during the day and we figured it would be best for Charlie to have a brother (or sister) to entertain him. We'd thought January would be an optimal time to get our second dog since it would coincide with my wife's winter break.
Fate, however, had other plans for us.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Beginnings, pt I
Up until two years ago my wife was terrified of dogs.
We both think it was my friend's English Cocker Spaniel that started the change in her. We'd had my buddy and his wife over to our place for dinner a few weeks prior and he was returning the favor. After we'd had dinner we went down to his newly finish home theatre and the puppy followed. As he and I rocked out on Guitar Hero the puppy was busy worming her way into my wife's heart. It wasn't long after that she suggested we get a pup of our own.
Our first dog was a "Cockalier", though we both refuse to call him that. After a great deal of reading my wife settled on a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel as her ideal first dog. Their temperament and loving disposition both resonated with Hol. Unfortunately their price didn't resonate so well with me.
I'm a graduate student. I'm working on earning my PhD in chemistry, but at the moment my only source of income is a part time job working for my former advisor. At this point in our lives my wife and I couldn't afford the twelve hundred dollars most pure bred cav puppies cost. Instead we went to PetFinder.com and started looking for cavs there.
Hol and I knew we didn't want to get a dog from a puppy mill. We'd both seen the programs on TV about the conditions in which these dogs were raised and were morally opposed to perpetuating the cycle. On petfinder we located a breeder in Pennsylvania who had half cav, half cocker spaniel puppies for sale. They said they were an Amish breeder so Hol and I figured they must be respectable people.
What Holly and I didn't know was that the Amish of Pennsylvania are some of the worst puppy mill breeders in the country. I think they try to trade on their Amish heritage to get people to buy, but make no mistake, these people are puppy millers. Later on Hol and I saw an episode of 20/20 which highlighted Amish puppy mill breeders in which it showed how the breeders simply treat the dogs as livestock. The dogs are given minimal space in which to live and the females are bred near constantly. These were the conditions into which our Charlie was born.
We both think it was my friend's English Cocker Spaniel that started the change in her. We'd had my buddy and his wife over to our place for dinner a few weeks prior and he was returning the favor. After we'd had dinner we went down to his newly finish home theatre and the puppy followed. As he and I rocked out on Guitar Hero the puppy was busy worming her way into my wife's heart. It wasn't long after that she suggested we get a pup of our own.
Our first dog was a "Cockalier", though we both refuse to call him that. After a great deal of reading my wife settled on a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel as her ideal first dog. Their temperament and loving disposition both resonated with Hol. Unfortunately their price didn't resonate so well with me.
I'm a graduate student. I'm working on earning my PhD in chemistry, but at the moment my only source of income is a part time job working for my former advisor. At this point in our lives my wife and I couldn't afford the twelve hundred dollars most pure bred cav puppies cost. Instead we went to PetFinder.com and started looking for cavs there.
Hol and I knew we didn't want to get a dog from a puppy mill. We'd both seen the programs on TV about the conditions in which these dogs were raised and were morally opposed to perpetuating the cycle. On petfinder we located a breeder in Pennsylvania who had half cav, half cocker spaniel puppies for sale. They said they were an Amish breeder so Hol and I figured they must be respectable people.
What Holly and I didn't know was that the Amish of Pennsylvania are some of the worst puppy mill breeders in the country. I think they try to trade on their Amish heritage to get people to buy, but make no mistake, these people are puppy millers. Later on Hol and I saw an episode of 20/20 which highlighted Amish puppy mill breeders in which it showed how the breeders simply treat the dogs as livestock. The dogs are given minimal space in which to live and the females are bred near constantly. These were the conditions into which our Charlie was born.
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