Well I guess since this blog is going to be about us and our dogs I should share some pictures of our babies! I will try to post a blog about each dog since they have their own story, personality and pictures so here goes....
Zeus' Story:
When Steve and I were dating we both talked a lot about how much we loved dogs. We both grew up around dogs and loved to visit and play with our family and friends dogs. We always knew we would be a doggy family. (We never really predicted it would be this crazy however!) Steve grew up in a family with multiple dogs and I grew up in a one dog family. Steve would often tell stories about his favorite dog growing up, Iris or as they affectionally called her, Virus. Steve told the story of when he was about 12 his family found a miniature pincher with a collar and leash attached running around on their street. They looked and looked for the owner but never found them so Virus became part of their family. Steve says that at first Virus was very standoffish and scared of people. They think she was probably abused and abandoned. But Steve said that he would put Virus on his lap and hold her and pet her while he watched TV or played video games with his friends. He said that eventually she became a very cuddly doggie and also very smart. One of his favorite stories is that his parents got some kind of contraption that was supposed to dispense the dogs treats. There was a pedal (shaped like a dog bone) that if they pressed on it with their paw, they would be able to get the treat. Now, no dogs in his house could figure this out so the treat jar stood their full for months. One day, I guess Virus decided she was tired of all this smelling treats in her vicinity and not being able to get to them so while the family was gone, she knocked over the entire treat jar breaking it into pieces but releasing all the treats. By the time Steve's family got home she (and probably all the other doggies) had gobbled up all the treats!
So the point of this story is that Steve loved Virus. She was a mini pincher and he had the idea that mini pinchers are the best breed of dog and getting one would be the perfect thing to do. He often talked about this with me and told me that a mini pincher was the kind of dog he most wanted. I had never met a mini pincher in my life but thought they were pretty cute.
Now, I grew up with really only 1 dog. We had another dog until I was about 4 but I don't remember anything about him. The dog I had growing up was named Sunny and he was a cocker spaniel. Now, don't get me wrong I loved that dog. But he was pretty annoying. He would go crazy if he saw another dog. He would try to attack them and bark his head off. It was so bad we couldn't take him to the park for walks. Also, Sunny was pretty much my mom's dog. So I really didn't have any attachment to that breed.
So when Steve and I had discussed getting a puppy he mostly wanted a mini pincher. We were living in an apartment in Kirkwood for a while when we were dating and I thougt this would be a great opportunity to get a puppy! Honestly it was more like we couldn't stand not having a dog any longer...We loved dogs and wanted one so badly! So I had done some research at the humane society and hadn't really found any mini pinchers under 2 year old. Then one day, I was driving by a VFW hall and they had a sign "puppies". So being the responsible and planning ahead type person that I am...I went in to see the puppies what this "puppies" sign was all about.
As soon as I walked in the door the first set of dogs they had were the tiniest cutest miniature pinchers. They had about 5 of them. There were only 2 black ones with brown on their belly, which is what Virus looked like. I knew Steve wanted a male so I picked up the only black male and that was it. He immediately started licking my face and squirming all over the place. I guess you could call it "puppy love" but I fell in love with this dog in about .2 seconds. I knew I had to take him home! So I surprised Steve with the doggie that he had always wanted! I will put up some pictures of Zeusy the first day we had him. He was so tiny!!
He looks so scared! He was very timid when we first got him. This is our first family photo!
He was so small when we first got him that he could fit on Steve's chest or in the crook in his arms. Too cute!
Here he is having our first meal in the apartment. It took some coaxing to get him to eat but he finally did. Poor little guy!!
