I had always dreamed of having the perfect dog. One I could take anywhere with me. One who likes everyone and everything: adults and kids, dogs and cats…even the veterinarian. One I could trust to stay with me off leash and not wander away. One who likes to play fetch and actually bring the ball back. One who just enjoys being around people. I finally got that once in a lifetime dog and his name is Duncan.
When I first met Duncan at the humane society, I was amazed at the perpetual motion of his tail. Four years later not much has changed. You can see in this picture that his tail was wagging so fast that it is blurry! Duncan is an absolute joy to have around. He’s always happy. Always willing to do whatever he can to please (even if he’s not sure what you are asking of him and guesses by jumping on the agility tunnel. He’s always right by my side, whether he’s under my desk at work during the day or hogging the bed at night.
A year and half ago I decided that Duncan’s boundless energy and desire to be with me might make him a good agility dog. I had always wanted to try it, so I decided to take an intro course at Waggles. Wow, am I glad I did. We both enjoy it a lot and it has given us the opportunity to meet lots of new people and make some wonderful new friends.
But what I love most about Duncan is his ability to make everyone around him smile!
July 2010: Bob and Kim
Why we Love Avery...
Today we celebrated Avery's second birthday with a special dinner, a quacking stuffed duck and agility practice. As we write this, she's happily passed out and the duck is a little less stuffed.
She is the perfect dog for our family. Whether it be cuddling on the couch, throwing the ball around, or rolling on the floor with baby Max, there's something for everyone to love. She's carved out a comfy little place in all of our hearts.
She's a smart girl and is always excited (and quick!) to learn something new. She loves to work and it has been a wonderful experience providing her with the opportunity to be the best dog she can be.
Working with Avery has taught us a thing or two as well. She has taught us the value of commitment and teamwork, the importance of a sense of humor, and the necessity of patience and a laundry basket with a lid.
It's amazing what she has become in just two short years and we can't wait to see what she holds in store for us in the future.
June 2010: Norm and Von
Why we Love Jette...
"Jette is a five year old Yorkshire Terrier. She was a rescue dog and has taken over our hearts and home.
We love her independence, loyalty, intelligence, inquisitiveness, energy and her ability to “read” us,
Her expressions that convey everything from “you’ve got to be kidding” to “OK, let’s go” simply endear her more to us.
We love her intelligence. She is quick to learn and is always begging for more things to do. She shows this by her intent gaze, body tense and her little short tail pointed straight up. She presents a picture of “what can I do next for you!”
We love her energy. Whether it’s just for a walk or going to agility, she shows boundless interest and enthusiasm in everything she does.
We love her loyalty. It doesn’t matter if it’s been five minutes or five hours that5 we have been gone. It’s always wiggles and waggles (play on words), licks, and smiles. She just can’t get close enough to welcome us. We can’t imagine life without her."
May 2010: Alan
Why I Love Danny...
"My wife, Peggy and I presently share our lives…or more aptly live our lives for our two Scotties - Danny and Cleo. “Dan the Man” is my special boy and I will joyfully share a bit of our story.
I’m a St Johnsbury native and my life with Scotties started at a very young age. I grew up with my parents on a “bit of everything” farm and gas station. We had chickens, the proverbial family cow and work horse, hunting dogs and Scotties. My Dad bred Scotties and to this day I still meet folks whose parents or grandparents bought a Scottie pup from him back in the 40’s. My first contest win was in a parade pulling a foursome of our Scotties in a toy wagon. I guess my love for the breed and light-hearted competition goes back to that prize.
Danny is now eight and among the most wonderful Scotties I have lived with. They tell you nothing is easy about a Scottie…the grooming, the terrier stubborn streak, the feisty attitude, BUT one thing is very easy. They are so so easy to love. Danny is the consummate gentleman. He is both graceful in carriage and gracious. He is flawlessly well mannered in every situation. Untypical of the breed he also tries to please in any task or competition we undertake. He is very much a one of a kind Scottie.
Over the years he has earned his Rally Novice title as well as Novice and Open Jumpers and Novice Preferred Jumpers titles. His agility success is due to the help and guidance of Lori and the Wagglers. It did not come easily. In his early trialing day he was a zooming wonder…how fast can he leave the ring? With time, patience and much help, he finally got the idea that running in the ring was the name of the game. I learned the showman in him needed the roar of the crowd to get him running full-out and our Waggles friends gave that support for which I am deeply grateful.
Showmanship is part of his unique personality. He and I do canine freestyle (doggy dance) and he has his Beginners and Novice title in the Sassy Senior division of the World Canine Freestyle Organization. I’m the Sassy senior, by the way. As the first Scottie to title in Freestyle he was features on WCAX, the Bagpiper (the magazine of the Scottish Terrier club of America), a two second cameo on Animal Planet and even was pictured in a Spanish magazine (exactly what they said is a bit uncertain to a monolinguist like me). Freestyle is a very special type of bonding as the moves are complex and a 2minutes beginners routine may have 15-25 different moves. I personally think it the most challenging of dog sports. Danny is by far the better dancer on our team and when I get it right he shines.
To say I love him…this page does not let me start to count the ways. Gentle, forgiving, cheerful, hardworking and totally pure of heart. Oh Danny boy, oh Danny boy, I love you so!"
April 2010: Bee
Why I Love Dolly and Billie-Bob...
"Dolly and BillyBob – I couldn’t have wished for a better pair of dogs to live with us: my husband Mike and I
Both of them are Pyrenean Shepherds or for short PyrSheps ;-) Not easy dogs - intelligent, loyal, sensitive to the feelings of their humans and aloof with strangers and extremely alert to their environment. So that alone, as you can imagine, makes for a very demanding dog to live with in our modern society.
Oh, before I forget - On top of that they do need close companionship with their humans (hate to be alone) and to come right down to it they are a one-man/woman dog or a one-family dog who also needs a lot and I mean a lot of exercise – physically and mentally…
The last attributes especially made them superb working shepherd dogs (sheep, horses, cattle etc.) of the hillside farms of the Pyrenees in the West of France.
Now, what do we love specifically about our PyrSheps? Dolly and BillyBob love each others company and their personalities go extremely well together …They are fun to watch.
I do love to teach and do things together with them. Because of their intelligence I have to be clever about how to convince them to do what I want them to do. Clicker training which has been introduced to me and Dolly by Waggles (thank you!) has been great fun with my PyrSheps and suited their personality to a tee.
Dolly (MX, MXJ, MXF and PD1) is nearly 5 years old and is definitely Daddy’s girl - She loves to be spoiled by him but when it comes to sports I am definitely her favorite.
She and I enjoy doing agility. She can be very serious about her part of it and does not take kindly to me making mistakes – in those instances she complains by barking furiously at me. It’s kind of embarrassing for me that she shouts out my mistakes in this manner to the public! But yes, she loves to chase after me and enjoys our teamwork.
I love her to bits and there is nothing more exhilarating then running at top speed guiding her and she chasing me around an agility course -
BillyBob (11 months old) is our Prince of Fun according to my husband and I have to agree with him - his zest for life, his amusing, cheeky expression combined with his curly tail makes for the most amusing dog we have ever had. It doesn’t matter how you might be feeling, BillyBob will make you laugh. It is impossible to be serious around him. He has even got Dolly to lighten up.
I am sure that I will have also great fun with him guiding him along to adulthood and to competing with him on the agility course.
Thanks for reading and wish us luck for our future adventures – Bee (Dolly & BillyBob)"
March 2010: Melissa
Why I Love Fizz and Willow...
"I fell in love with the Bedlington Terrier breed about 17 years ago when I got my first Bedlington. Bedlingtons are intelligent, inquisitive, opinionated, affectionate and clownish, and Fizz and Willow are no exception.
Granted Fizz and Willow were full on Bedlington “Terrors” when they were very young … chewing and eating things they shouldn’t, escaping under the fence, being mouthy and bossy, creating chaos wherever they went … causing me to wonder why I ever got terrier puppies again. But in the next minute they’d do something hilarious and get me laughing at them. As they get older I know this will never change, but such is the charm of the terrier.
One of the great things about Fizz and Willow is that they have two extremely distinct personalities. Fizz is very funny and hyper at the same time. The zoomies are a natural part of his personality. He just wants to run. It doesn’t matter where or when; he just wants to run. When he runs his ears flap in the wind, his tail is tucked into a hook and he always has that happy dog smile across his face. Willow is the cuddle-bug. Although she loves to run like her brother, she can’t wait to get into your lap and give you a kisses and get belly rubs. She’s quite content lapping your face off!
Fizz and Willow brighten every single day. I love coming home and having Willow climb up into my arms to give me a million kisses while Fizz grabs a chew toy and wiggles into my lap. Seeing Fizz’s joy at racing around the yard as fast as he can or Willow prancing around the living room squeaking her toy for all it’s worth makes my husband, Dougie, and I smile every time. They also love everyone they meet, especially at Waggles. They act like happiness ambassadors to the world and always manage to get people smiling.
Fizz and Willow are teaching me and my husband patience, reminding us to have fun, and bringing joy and love to us every day. And that is why we love them."
February 2010: Nicole
Why I Love Honey...
"Honey started out as my first and only foster dog. When my friend Sam asked me if I’d like to foster her until she found a home I didn’t say yes right away and Honey hopped up into my lap as if to answer for me. I took her home and didn’t expect to hear back from Sam for a while but 2 days later she called to say Honey had a potential adopter interested in her. I immediately started crying at the thought of letting her go, after only 2 days! I didn’t know it was happening at the time but in those 2 days she became my dog.
One of the best things about Honey is how she makes people happy. Her favorite thing in the world is meeting new people by going up to them with her big brown eyes, pitbull grin and tail wagging like crazy. Almost everyone ends up smiling and petting her, often giving her kisses as well. She likes going to the dog park and always looks like a puppy when she plays with the dogs but she prefers getting love from the dog-owners while their dogs play. She makes people smile even when they just see her from their cars while she’s walking. Honey loves life and can’t help but spread her happiness to anyone near her. She is a wonderful ambassador for her breed and I’m incredibly lucky to have her in my life"
January 2010: Jennifer
Why I Love Hagrid...
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I met my first Leonberger almost 20 years ago. The veterinarian that I worked with for many years is friends with the President of The Leonberger Club of America and she was visiting Vermont with some of her dogs. It was love at first sight. They were majestic, sound, expressive and kind. I promised myself that one day I would co-habitat with one. Throughout the years I always found a reason not to have one…they were too big, probably didn’t live very long etc. I was happy with my Lab and Lab Mix, as well as numerous foster dogs that blessed my house. Then, 2 years ago, my mother died unexpectedly and I thought to myself, “why do we put things off when we never know how long we’ll be here?” I contacted the woman I met many years ago and 10 months later a dear friend of mine flew to MN to pick up my boy (I had just blown out a knee). Hagrid is a delight and everything I hoped he would be. He’s devoted, sweet, willing to work, gorgeous, a natural therapy dog, a clown and my best canine friend. I work in outpatient psychiatry and Hagrid has accompanied me every day since he was 9 weeks old. He takes his work very seriously and never acts up there. At home he gets in touch with his puppy alter-ego more AND he has a Jack Russell to influence him. Hagrid spends his days at my feet. However, if one of my patients gets very upset or scared, he immediately wakes and goes to sit by them. I can’t imagine how many disappointed hearts there would be if he wasn’t at work with me. Hagrid is now 19 months old. We have dabbled in the show ring and practice rally obedience. He was able to get 2 legs of his RN title at the October BOTC trial. He continues to grow by the day, both in his stature and his soul. I am very fortunate to have him in my life and now I fully understand the quote that the owner of Hagrid’s uncle has on her website…”discover Leonberger’s..a life-long love affair.”
December 2009: Amanda
Why I Love Rusty...
"Rusty came to me by chance, from a friend who purchased him as a puppy. He was my Tech. Project for Senior year, to raise a puppy. I was just 'borrowing' him in a way, but our bond grew very strong, we were meant to be. My friend saw this and let me have him. My life has been forever changed.
He's one of those once in a lifetime kind of dogs. It wasn't always a walk in the park, and even now he still causes trouble, but what kind of terrier would he be if he didn't. He was quite the handful when he was a puppy. He was possessive, stubborn, aggressive, bossy, you get the idea. Now he's a wonderful boy, everything I could ever want in a dog. I never gave up on him and he never gave up on me, through all the bad times. Now there are mostly good times, he's still a terrier terror but I love him for it. We grew and learned from eachother. He taught me more than I could ever have imagined he would. I love him for who he is and what he has taught me. I know I wouldn't be the person I am today if it wasn't for him.
Most of our growing happened at Waggles over the past couple of years. Since we have been working with Lori our relationship has really blossomed. We have learned how to better communicate. I am forever grateful for what Lori has done for us, she took us under her wing and taught us to fly."
