I’m new to this blogging experience. My generation wrote with pencils and a yellow legal pad. But I’m excited to give this technology a whirl and since this is a forum for The Salida Dog Club, I will happily focus on dog related issues.
Finnegan
My husband and I live with our dog pack Murphy and Finnegan and three cats. Murphy is our beloved senior dog with whom I watch TV. Unlike my husband, Murphy and I share the same taste in programming (Animal Planet) and the only male with whom I might share the remote. I’ve convinced myself that he will live forever and if he doesn’t, someone needs to lock me into a padded cell.
We adopted him from Mountain Shadows when his family moved away. I still wonder why anyone would have given him up. He arrived at our house pretty much the perfect dog, smart, mellow, a very handsome shepherd collie mix. Not much training necessary, we just added food, water and lots of love. He became a Canine Good Citizen, then passed his Therapy Dog test, and did service work in Longfellow School as well as Columbine Manor before retiring. Many days I struggle to be his intellectual equal. Some days I am not successful.
Finnegan and Murphy
I wondered whether Murphy might want a full time companion to enhance his golden years so I decided to bring home a fat bellied Sharpei Shepherd puppy that my friend had been fostering for Ark Valley. It was love at first sight for me, though his foster mom described him as eerily mellow and wondered whether his IQ was a bit challenged. A nice calm pup sounded like the perfect solution. But my husband, who did not want another dog, shook his head and declared that the woeful looking pup looked like a lot of work.
At ten weeks old Finnegan came to our home and began rocking Murphy’s world, which up to that point revolved around backyard squirrel chasing, barking at the neighborhood skateboarders, and napping under the maple tree.
Lori Hardin and Finnegan
Finn’s baby mellowness was nowhere in evidence when he chewed my eyeglasses and phone line during his first week with us. The second week he ate the wireless router for our new lap top. As he grew larger he decided to re-landscape the lawn by tearing up the newly planted sod and flipping it around the backyard. Driven by apparently irresistible smells, he burrowed holes, deep ones. He demanded complete control of our household. If we ignored his demands he barked incessantly in our faces.
Now I know this must all sound like a bad thing, which it wasn’t. It is now two years later and we realize that Finnegan brought new life to our older dog, and cracked our stale routine. His zest for life was quite contagious and I am happy to report that he even won over my husband.
Lori,
What a super job you did! You’re going to be a hard act to follow but I’ll give it my best shot.
Seeing your blog I can now get a sense of how each of us blog writers giving an introduction similar to yours could then lead to future blogs.
Thanks, Laura
Thanks Laura,
I think an introduction is a good thing so the audience knows a bit about us first, before we write anything else. I’m so glad we’re Trey’s first blog group. He’s very nice and helpful. I hope that Debbie and Judy get going with theirs as well. Can’t wait to see what you’ll come up with – I’m sure it will be great!
Lori
Lori:
You’re article was so well written and enjoyable to read. I am still smiling about many of your comments.
Great pictures also.
Robbie
Lori,
What wonderfully entertaining writing. I like the idea of doing an introduction to the “family” to acquaint the readers with our doggie backgrounds (and sometimes cats, or horses, or burros, or birds, or who knows what?). I’m ready to learn how to do this. Can I use one of my dog’s photos instead of mine for the bio? LOL Well, actually, I’m serious. Sort of.
Nice job, Lori!
@Judy – Part of the rationale for showing author information is to encourage connections between people in the community. But we do plan to set up an associated photo gallery for the blog which includes more photos of our furry friends.
We’re very happy to have members of the Salida Dog Club writing on the Citizen, and look forward to more dog-related stories, photos and discussion.
Arf!
Nicely done, Lori! And thank you for adopting from our shelter and Mountain Shadows. We support the efforts of the Salida Dog Club in finding creative ways to enhance the Chaffee County experience for all of our dog lovers (and other pets, too!) and hope that this forum gives them all a LOCAL outlet for meeting and collaborating to make the dream of a bonafide dog park a reality.
Kudos to all and let those puppies “keep rockin’!”
Thank you Michele for everything you and everyone else does at Ark Valley!
Finnegan is a grand addition to our household – it’s never been the same. He continually teaches us that sometimes it’s a very good thing to have your life “rocked,” if nothing else, to avoid the ordinary. We love him and Murphy dearly.
Lori
Lori…wonderful writing. Your story puts tears in my eyes and reminds me of my part in fostering Fin the pup. Now I know just how worth while it was. Kudos to my two good friends for your nurturing of this fine four legged best friend of man. JD