Baby Roxy (and other dogs of our lives)

Right around the time we got married we both decided it was time for a dog. We both grew up with dogs and love animals. Then came the great debate, what kind of dog do we get?

I grew up with two wonderful, lovable and feisty Shelty collies. My brother, Jay, and I named our dogs Putter (after the golf club and influenced by my father) and PJ (which, so creatively, stands for Putter Junior even though she was a girl and Putter was a boy. Whatever. We were kids). PJ arrived several years after Putter, much to my Mom's chagrin, on one of the last days of Summer Break. My Mom, being a teacher, just looked at my Dad with that " what were you thinking??" look. We kept PJ and although she was more of trouble maker than Putter, we loved them both very much. Our dogs were not your

average Shelties. They were much cuter, not overly temperamental as some collies can be and bigger than the average Shelty. They were fun to play with and they would circle and herd us when Jay and I were children playing in the yard. We lost Putter in the Fall of 1997 to Leukemia and PJ in the Fall of 2006 in an accident. They were great dogs and I will always hold a spot in my heart for those two adorable Shelties. *note: Putter is the black and white dog and PJ is the tan and white dog.

In the Spring of 1997 my family, excluding me (I was a Freshman at KU), was at a track meet for my brother in Berthoud, CO. They met a couple who was moving away and had to find a home for their puppy. Here, at this track meet, they found and brought home a cute, furry, ball of a puppy that we later named Aspen. She looks like a bear and people are often scared of her with her blue Chow-like eyes and large size but once you get to know her you just can't stop loving her. Plus, she will never hurt you unless you try to eat out of her dish - ask PJ.

Brian grew up with many, many dogs. I can't even keep them all straight. I think all in all they had five or six dogs. Please hold. Yep, six. First was Eli, a Springer, next came Emily, the huge Mastiff and and there was a pound mutt who, in Brian's words, "crapped on my homework". After that were two Springer Spaniels, Lily and Hazel. Last, and certainly not least, was dear, sweet Spud. Spud was the cutest, cutest yellow lab I had ever met. He was the picture perfect postcard of a puppy (say that five times fast). Of course, I didn't grow up with Spud, I only got to meet him in his later years but what I did know of him I loved. He always wagged his tail, always stole napkins from the table, always liked to get his rear end rubbed and always greeted you like you were the best person to walk in the door that day. What a lab he was. Sadly, Brian and my in-laws lost Spud last Fall at the ripe old age of 16. He had a great life and we will always love him.

So, back to us. What kind of dog do we get? Brian wanted a lab. I wanted a smaller dog that didn't shed so much. I lost. After a little research we ended up falling in love with the Bernese Mountain Dogs and so our search began. Now, finding a Berner in Colorado is not the easiest thing; they are very popular, aren't over bred and the people that breed them are a little bit elitist. Plus, the rumors of puppy mills and sick puppies had me really freaked out. The last thing I wanted to deal with was a cute puppy off the Internet that was going to cost us $1000's in vet bills down the line. We met a few breeders, saw a few liters, went to a dog show (that actually might be a post on its own) and finally, after about 9 months and a never ending waiting list from a breeder in town, found another breeder in Vail who a) had puppies and b) had available puppies. We were thrilled!

Our baby Roxy was born on October 15th, 2008 in a litter of nine. We met our baby Roxy, formerly known as "red" in the litter, the last weekend in October. I could have taken all nine of them home right then and there. Her Mom, Lulu, was a great looking dog with a nice even temperament and seemed to be holding up well despite the nine puppies trying to feed from her
constantly. Poor girl. We decided on "red" and "yellow" and six weeks later, on December 13th, brought home "red". We named her Roxy.









Roxy is growing up fast! She was 17 lbs when we picked her up (see above) and at six months she is 58.6 lbs (see her graduation picture). She is learning quickly and has also learned to ignore quickly. She is a bit stubborn but overall she is just the sweetest little (or not so little) puppy I could ever ask for. She eats a lot, runs a lot, poops a lot and loves attention. My favorite part of the day (with the exception of Saturdays and Sundays; must she really wake up at 6:45a every day?) is when I wake her up in the morning and she does her big stretch and yawn and then runs toward me like I am the most important person in the world. This is clearly why the yoga pose is called "downward dog". I love it! My second favorite part of the day is when Brian gets home. Roxy and I might be in the family room or kitchen but when she hears that door it is like winning the lottery for her. She runs to the backdoor, tail wagging and just wants attention from her Daddy. We love her to pieces and can't imagine what our life was before Roxy!