I was in a new home, in a new state, 3500 miles away from anyone I knew, with no job yet. What better way to occupy my time than with a puppy?
From day one I wanted a Golden Retriever but Andy saw Goldens as the "all american dog" and didn't quite know anything more than that. He thought that everyone who owned one, had them for the simple reason that they are a popular breed. He didn't understand the love and affection that a golden retriever brings into your house!
I on the other hand, knew all about that. While my mom never let us have one, my grandparents always had at least one Golden at a time, while I was growing up. My mom and I lived with my grandparents just after I was born and Max, became my first best friend.
I'm told that right after Max met infant me, he slept at the foot of my crib and never left until I was out. I'm also told stories of me crawling under the breakfast nook counter, where Max was happily napping, and pester him. I'd stick my fingers in his ear, lift up his cheeks to check out his teeth and of course, I tried to get him to let me ride him like a horse. Max put up with my infant and toddler self. He let me mess with him, he let me pull his tail and he even knew better than to jump on the couch when I would persistently yell " 'mere Max, 'mere!". A silly as it sounds, he took care of me! He loved me!
I wanted that same feeling for our children and knew how great of a companion my own would be.
On to Hunter.
Andy caved in. He decided that since he was going to be leaving soon he would make me the happiest girl in the world by buying me this guy:
(Just look at that sad puppy dog face begging for you to take him home)
In the week that Andy was home and we had Hunter, he fell in love with our new little furball. Here's a picture of Hunter helping Andy build my Ikea dresser (side note: while I love my dresser, I can't wait until our house is void of all ikea furniture. We're progressing in that direction slowly!)
Hunter was a mischievous little puppy. Actually, he was just like every other puppy in the world, curious of everything. Like these flowers I wanted to plant...
And dirt...
Now, at 2 years old, he is calm and laid back. He's grown into his ears and he's selectively smart too! I can be getting ready to go to the dog park (getting ready as in grabbing a jacket, changing sneakers to dirty ones), before saying anything, and he is going crazy. He knows he's going somewhere. He'll run up to the basket with his leash and nose it until you get his collar out and put it on him. He also does this thing where he will turn around after going up two or three steps just to check that you are still right behind him. "Yes, Hunter, i'm still here...go up the freaking stairs!" (that's what I mean by "selectively smart").
Now for a fun fact:
Did you know that dogs can have allergies just like humans? Food allergies, pollen allergies, seasonal allergies, they get them all!
Now for a fun fact:
Did you know that dogs can have allergies just like humans? Food allergies, pollen allergies, seasonal allergies, they get them all!
Our Hunter is allergic to chicken. We have to read the ingredients on every single treat we buy because even if it says "beef" or "oatmeal", there is a 95% chance that there is chicken or poultry in it. No chicken fat, no chicken meal, no chicken anything.
The poor guy breaks out into a huge rash all over and itches for days upon days. He breaks the skin and bleeds everywhere he itches. Of course, dogs aren't the cleanest so his open sores get infected and its just a never ending cycle. I feel awful that it took us as long as it did to figure this out. I just thought he was an itchy dog! But now he eats a limited ingredient dog food, his treats are monitored carefully and he is a happy itch free dog.
Hunter is a scaredy cat dog though. It took him over a year to realize that he like swimming. He barks at plastic bags blowing in the wind, he freaks out anytime anything new comes into the house.
Just today, I decided to put together the stroller (yes yes, i'm 2 months from my due date but I was sick of the box staring at me) and Hunter was having NONE of that. Once the wheels were attached, I chased him around our living room with it laughing at him trying to hide under the table. I'm a terrible dog mom aren't I?
We love our chicken sh*t dog.
In fact, Andy loves Hunter so much, he decided it was time for us to get a second Golden Retriever around May of last year to keep Hunter company.
Oh and yes, our dogs have middle names. Hunter was given the middle name Gatherer by Andy's sister while she was up visiting in 2009. Andy and I loved it and so it just stuck.
The poor guy breaks out into a huge rash all over and itches for days upon days. He breaks the skin and bleeds everywhere he itches. Of course, dogs aren't the cleanest so his open sores get infected and its just a never ending cycle. I feel awful that it took us as long as it did to figure this out. I just thought he was an itchy dog! But now he eats a limited ingredient dog food, his treats are monitored carefully and he is a happy itch free dog.
Hunter is a scaredy cat dog though. It took him over a year to realize that he like swimming. He barks at plastic bags blowing in the wind, he freaks out anytime anything new comes into the house.
Just today, I decided to put together the stroller (yes yes, i'm 2 months from my due date but I was sick of the box staring at me) and Hunter was having NONE of that. Once the wheels were attached, I chased him around our living room with it laughing at him trying to hide under the table. I'm a terrible dog mom aren't I?
We love our chicken sh*t dog.
In fact, Andy loves Hunter so much, he decided it was time for us to get a second Golden Retriever around May of last year to keep Hunter company.
Look at that face...doesn't he look like he's begging for a brother or sister? hahaha....not at all.
Oh and yes, our dogs have middle names. Hunter was given the middle name Gatherer by Andy's sister while she was up visiting in 2009. Andy and I loved it and so it just stuck.
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