An Explaination

Welcome! 

I hope you have enjoyed the first couple of posts about Hunter. He is a special dog, and he has certainly provided Charlie and me with a continuous source of entertainment and angst. Oh and hair, lots of hair. Those of you who know us are aware that we are not pet people. When people would ask if we wanted a puppy or kitten my response was always “I have a husband and two children. I don't need anything else to care for or clean up after."  

We did have pets when the girls were young. Mostly to help them learn responsibility and how to care for others. We had cats. With their aloofness and ability to entertain themselves, without any input from us, they were the optimal pet. Charlie had a favorite cat as a young boy named Tom. My family had the occasional mutt whose job it was to run varmint patrol and sound the alarm when strangers approached.  

Not so with Hunter. He requires large amounts of attention, but on his terms. While he and cats do have something in common, they both sleep a lot, he needs to be walked, fed, watered, petted, groomed and entertained. You must talk to him and engage him when he wants or he sulks. If you take too long to respond he will swat at you with one of his big paws.

In the mornings if you aren't up and ready to take him out when he is wants, regardless of the time, you get hit with a paw and he huffs doggie breath in your face. One of his very favorite things to do is lie on or lean up against you. This requires you to pet him the whole time. When he is satisfied he will get up and move to the couch, lay his head on the pillow and go to sleep. Then you are free to go about your business until he is ready again.

All that aside, he is a loving animal and while he may not be super excited that you interrupted his nap by coming home, he is always happy to see you if you have a treat ready.  These stories are all based on the reality of taking care of Hunter and how we have to muddle through and learn by trial and error. Charlie and I hope we do a good job so we can give him back in at least as good a shape as he was when we got him.

Thanks for reading!!

Sharon