Question:
Some of us refer to that reallly special bond as our heart dog. I don't know really a better way to describe the relationship where you feel as if you are two parts of a whole. That this dog knows what your thinking, feels what your feeling, oohh how words just can't do justice.
I thought i would start a thread about your heart dog and ask how did you know when this one was different from the other dogs you had loved and charished through the years. What made you realize that you had been given a very special gift from the heavens above.
I have had three, but i will write only about the last one. EVerytime i looked for Bronki i would find him looking for me. When the other puppies tumbled out the door i would realize there was the white one missing. I would call through the house "where is Bronki?" and hear a thump thump thump coming from under my bed.HE was only 6 or 7 weeks old at the time. IT happened every time after the first occurance, he had found a way to get extra attention from me all for himself:D, it was our private game and i loved it too. AS he grew he did not divide his attention with the other family members, he was always there beside me and i tried in the beginning to get him to play with my son for he was suppose to be his dog but he wouldn't do it for anything. Finally we gave up trying to make something happen that wasn't, this was my dog, and it was his decision. THat began a relationship i will treasure til the day i die. I have never had such a bond with an animal quite like that or a human either for that matter.
Pickie was my first, i was a child and she was a child and we were a magic all of it's own. Charlie, my second was my gaurdian. HE acted like he was there to watch over me, and save my life he did, twice. Each a strong bond but not like it was with Bronx, he and i felt as if we were of one mind.
So i am curious if you have had a heartdog and how you came to know this one was different.
Answer:
Honestly its a close one between our old stud dog Rory and Riot.
I was just younger when we had Rory, he died(PTS) when I was about 17ish, but when I was younger he was ALWAYS with me. He'd herd me around in the backyard when I was younger, along with my sister to keep us "near mom", he was my life size dress up doll - all he did was sit there and take it lol I have a picture of him and I when one day I decided that we needed to "hide out" underneath my bathroom sink, so I pulled everything out of the cupboard and shoved Rory in and then I got in and we just sat there, I talked to him lol
I remember having to bring him to the vets with my mom and dad, I wasn't allow to watch him get PTS, so I sat in the car. It was the oddest feeling. I just *knew* when he was fully gone, something left inside of me. He died of a ripe old age of 16 - JUST missing 17yrs old.
Now with Riot - hes my lost little shadow, whenever I leave home - hes at the door waiting for me, if he is locked in another room (ie. door shut) He'll open it himself, just to come and look for me. When I wasn't here at night, he used to have to get baracaded into my place b/c he'd open the door at night and do his S&R moves lol If I'm at the computer and he thinks its "his" time, he'll come over and bump my arm so i can pet him or play with him. If he knows i'm sick or sad, he doesn't leave an inch of my side - no matter what position he has to lay in.. I'm pretty sure hes been VERY uncomfortable before too lol
When he was a puppy, the only person he'd listen to was me - he'd frustrate my mother to no end lol!!
Answer:
Well...I'll try not to get too mushy. :D
I know, as a matter of fact that Buddy is my heart dog. I don't know if there will be another, but from all the dogs that I have ever had in my lifetime, he takes the cake.
As I was looking at all the puppies at the SPCA, I was drawn to what they called a shepherd mix (pffft). He looked sad in his cage, he wasn't barking, nor begging for attention as all the other pups were. I went to his cage and started talking to him and he looked at me with these gorgeous eyes, I swear I could see into his soul. I opened his cage and all of a sudden he was full of life, he was jumping up and down and pawing at me, he literally jumped into my arms. It was closing time and I begged them to let me adopt him and they agreed to do one last adoption for the day...
That night I drove to my new home 3 hours away and told my hubby all about him and showed him pictures I had taken with my phone. Two days later we went all the way back to pick him up. He has been neutered, but he was full of life and was so excited to see us and meet his daddy!
Two days later, which was Christmas day, it was clear that something was terribly wrong with Buddy. We rushed him to an ER Vet and they gave him fluids because he was dehydrated and the next morning we went to our normal vet hospital and he immediately starting treatment for parvo. Our vet told us that the odds were okay but I sort of prepared myself for the worst...
Well, you all know our Buddy survived!! He was meant to be the heart and soul of this family and I am so glad that his eyes spoke to me the way they did that day at the SPCA. It's been a long and hard road, Buddy is always sick, but bless his heart he brings so much happiness to this family, I don't know what we ever did without him nor what we would do without him by our sides!
He is a faithful companion, he does not judge, he is true to his people. I believe he was sent to us for a reason... we were meant to fight for Buddy...to give him a chance at a life he deserved. All we know about his history is that he was dumped at the shelter and came from a farm. What a loss to those people who gave up such a bundle of love and joy and what a gain to our family!
Ok, I'm stopping now.. before I start to sob or something.
Answer:
Smkie, Summer and BP, your stories are beautiful. Once you've really truly experienced that kind of bond, your life is forever changed.
I'm going to post mine later when Tia is better so I can save my makeup for work (teaching puppy/advanced classes later today...don't want to look like Rudolf).
There's just nothing like it though is there?;)
Answer:
There's just nothing like it though is there?;)
Nope, not a thing in the world that can be compared to having a heart dog! Well, having a dog in general, but to have a special bond with a dog... every time I think we almost lost Buddy I burst into tears... I love him so....
Answer:
Sam is my first dog that was just MINE! So of course she is my heart dog. I always feel safe with her, like as long as she's with me nothing bad will ever happen. She's always with me and when she's not around me I feel like part of me is missing. It's hard to explain, it comes out wrong when I try to explain it, but is always right in my heart. I would die without her. She is what keeps me going, my best friend,my only 'real' friend I have in this world. She is my soul, my heart, my guardian angel. She has proven her love over and over again. Without her I would be lost. I remember the day I got her she was all alone and her sisters had already been adopted. It was at petco (that is were the rescue came every weekend) Everyone there was playing with the rat terrier puppies that were also there. She was a fluff ball of love and the second I picked her up I knew I would never let her go! and I haven't and never will...
Answer:
Well we had dogs as a child but they were my parents dogs and i was a child......going out and doing "The child thing" :D
Bailey is the 1st dog of my own that i have owned and he is so very special to me :)
Answer:
Sam is my first dog that was just MINE! So of course she is my heart dog. I always feel safe with her, like as long as she's with me nothing bad will ever happen. She's always with me and when she's not around me I feel like part of me is missing. It's hard to explain, it comes out wrong when I try to explain it, but is always right in my heart. I would die without her. She is what keeps me going, my best friend,my only 'real' friend I have in this world. She is my soul, my heart, my guardian angel. She has proven her love over and over again. Without her I would be lost. I remember the day I got her she was all alone and her sisters had already been adopted. It was at petco (that is were the rescue came every weekend) Everyone there was playing with the rat terrier puppies that were also there. She was a fluff ball of love and the second I picked her up I knew I would never let her go! and I haven't and never will...
Awww.... I think we all know that *feeling*... you made me all teary eyed! ;)
Answer:
IF you can't get mushy about your heart dog then what is there to get mushy about?????;) I love the image of the pup and child under the cabinet..:D i could draw that in a skinny minute! My pickie was like that. i would scoot them up to the top of the stairs and run downstairs and hide. they would look for me and i would whistle a hint. Once i hid in a barrel that had grain for my pony in it before (it was empty at the time) and they couldn't find me so they sat down in the middle of the room and howled. My childhood would not have been any kind of wonderful without them. Pickie would drag my clothes to the door when i was gone and lay there with her muzzle on the window ledge until i arrived. They love you in a way your parents and siblings could never do, no judgements, just the real unconditional bond a child so desperately needs. i am sooooo happy Riot that you had that too with your Rory.
Buddy, when you walk through an illness with a dog like that, especially a baby they know you that you are there in a whole different way. My Charlie had picked up some risistant form of hookworm in Arizona. I almost lost him when he was 10 weeks old. The vet took him home (his wife told me all about it) because he so didn't want my puppy to die. When he brought him back he dind't think he was going to make it. I don't know if that was what made Charlie the protective gaurdian that he became, but from the day his health turned around he couldn't do enough to please. I was working 10 dogs a day so he got daily field training right along with them, but there was more here then a well trained dog. He walked beside me without a leash, or a hint of a command, he was always right there. When i was stalked and the man showed up at my home he chewed his way trough a panel door and chased the bad man away, i had no doubt that he would be back..the dog, not the man. If i walked down the street and there was someone in a doorway he would change sides on his own, until he was sure all was fine. WAs this his way of being there for us as we were for him? I don't know. I do know that if it wasn't for him i wouldn't be sitting here putting down words. When i was pg i lived on a farm. It was soooo hot i couldn't stand it anymore and decided to go swimming in the spring water pond. I had swum there on a regular basis, i am a strong swimmer but this time i cramped up horribly. I was swallowing alot of water unable to get myself into shallow water, i hollared and screamed but no one heard me, he did tho. He had been off in the woods on his own when i went down alone but he ran and swam nudging me concious again until i could hold onto him and he got me out of there.
His first year he was so ill. He had to eat boiled hamburger and rice for about a year. WE figured his legs never grew to their full length becuase he was sick for such a terribly long time. I know what you mean when you say Buddy was meant to be here. I really do. I don't know how wer are paired up in the heavens above, but somehow because of my heartdogs i have faith that there is SOMETHING more then our lives here on earth. Somehow that "connection" is the reason i have faith.
I don't know if Vic will be my heart dog. I am more inclined to believe that i am to be his heart person..he has so much post stress that our first year was mainly helping him gain back his faith that he was capable of being loved and to get him to settle down enough to see that. At the same time I am a different person then i was with Bronki. IT was me that was so ill when he came into my life. I couldn't eat, i was in intense and constant pain. A huge part of me thought it was possible i just couldn't take it anymore. No pain medication was enough.I also couldn't keep food down and my wieght dropped to 114 lbs. 20 lbs underweight. The surgeries were both painful and scary. . He was always beside me like Riot is with his love. Vic is comfortable enough to go in the next room and sleep if he wishes. Yet i don't need him beside me in the same way either...he does look at me as if to say "Mom, lighten up, life is to laff, life is to run, don't be down see me? i can clown..see me? I'll show you how." Maybe this dog will help me grow in a new way and see the world a brighter place.
See how mushy i can be? i got tears dripping and a big sigh..Thank the Heavens above for my heart dogs. I have been blessed over and over again and consider their envolvement with me to be the greatest treasures of love i have ever received. I love my Mama and my children, and my grandchildren, still they grow up and leave off onto their own lives. I would do anything in the world for them without question. My heartdogs were different, they were a part of ME, and when they left, a part of me left with them. EAch was a healing force of what i needed most at that time in my life. Pickie, the unconditional love (how do children ever grow up with out a dog?) Charlie, the male protective force that was absent in my life, Bronki, my dearest DR BRonki that walked me throught so much pain...and now maybe Vic is here to teach me to laff again. I only hope that i fullfill what it is that they need on this EARth Please let me repay their gifts in kind. Deep down in my Heart i feel that they are ANgels sent here to help us with our journey. Why some dogs i have had and love so dearly but do not feel quite the same way i don't know. STinky Dink was like the CAt that walked by Himself, Mary is my girl, but she is also Aaron's and Jess's and loves all her people equally. She is the mama MAry. like GG is our family leader. I love her but i do not have that "link" that i had with her son. Some people have said that there is no such thing as a heart dog, that it is all in our heads, but i disagree. THere are too many stories, and too many people that claim the same for it to be a figmant of my imagination.
Answer:
out of the three dogs i have had i think one is considered my heart dog. she seemed to come into my life when i need her the most.
lady i got from a friend. her brother would get drunk and beat her and so she wanted somene to take her. my parents agreed. unfortunately thye made her be an outside dog. i'd go out every day to play with her and brush her. she would play with me and it was fun. i love her a lot and will still pet her and play with her everyday. but i'm connected with yoshi a lot more.
yoshi is always with me and when shes gone, like now, i have trouble going through my day because she's not where she usually is. if i'm sick and ican't go outside the yoshi is right next me me the whole time. she always knows how i'm feeling so she knows how to act :)
Answer:
Sam Im the exact same way about Walker. After growing up with j.d. i never thought i could feel that way about another dog. With Walker though during school im drawing or writing his name. All i can think about is getting home to him. He has been there through everything in the past 2 years. The pound lady had to pry him from my hands to drive him back to the shelter to adopt him at the most a 10 minute drive. And i yelled at my mom when we lost sight of the van. And i was 16 lol. They then had to take him to put his microchip in the lady saw how much it hurt me to have him away from me for a minute so she let me walk back there with her. And this was only after i saw him for an hour. I take him everywhere with me. I would only work at the stables and kennels if they let me bring walker. Which i always could since i knew the owners and they all loved walker. When ever im without him its torture. So id say walker is my heart dog.
Answer:
To tell the absolute truth. All of my dogs have been just as special as the other. They were all different and all special in their own ways. Jessie was my silent wise nurse maid and friend with a great sence of humour.
Kim was a saint in everthing she did. She tried her best to always be a good dog, I don't think she ever had to be corrected in any way ever. She was strong and so loving.
Aeron, she is my little princess, such a lady and such a clumsy tomboy at the same time. She is kind and generous with just a little naughty under the surface when she thinks no one is looking.
Lilly. Lilly, you just have to respect the little monster. She lived by herself in the bush for 3 months before she was found, lactating and dying of billery. She pulled through and came to live with me. She grew happy and confident and is now the undisputed queen of the household.
All my angels touched me and continue to hold my heart in their paw, I can't wait for the day that we all get to be together again.
Answer:
My first sheltie Beau, was definitely my heart dog. He was the family's dog, but I was his person and he did everything with me. He slept in my room every night and endured hours of playing barbies and dress up. When I entered the teen years, he would sit quietly while I told him how horrible my parents were acting and how I just wanted to run away. He could always sense what mood I was in, and knew when I needed a friend. He was shot to death by a neighbor when I was sixteen, and I never got to say goodbye. I went to bed that night with Beau beside me and when I woke up he had been shot while going to the bathroom later that night. I think my puppy Andy could be another heart dog but he is only 18 weeks so time will tell...
Answer:
OMGosh what wonderful stories........I have such a lump in my throat..
I cannot write as I am so moved my all your stories....Suffice to say Scrappy is my "heart" dog....... We have such a bond. We understand each other completely..No words are needed.......He just knows me so well.
Answer:
:) I remember when we were moving I had to leave Sam at my grandpas for a few weeks...I totally broke down! I was always moody, and it came to the point where I was starting to yell about everything and was always crying...I was crazy!
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OMGosh what wonderful stories........I have such a lump in my throat..
I cannot write as I am so moved my all your stories....Suffice to say Scrappy is my "heart" dog....... We have such a bond. We understand each other completely..No words are needed.......He just knows me so well.
Your blog is awesome..what a great tribute to your heart dog!