For animal lovers

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Gutmutter;2370775;

Uncle David - that old picture of you and Zeus just made tears spring to my eyes... so poignant. Your body language and his face convey the relationship you had with each other. Wow. Really cool picture.

---

Thanks Gut! You nailed it. :)

It also brings tears to my eyes. Turned out to be a tragic ending for the young boy.

The house was on a corner. It was a white house, there was a backyard with a white picket fence, very Americana. It was California so the weather was temperate and Zeus spent most of his time in the backyard while the children were at school and mom and dad were at work. Unfortunately, when the other kids passed by the house on their way home from school they would taunt Zeus. Striking the fence and verbally heckling him.

Despite years of this abuse Zeus remained a mild tempered dog. The only sign of ‘aggression’ was when he would bark at the children as they taunted him. All of the other children who lived in the immediate neighborhood loved him, and played with him when he was out with the boy.

One day two little girls, from another neighborhood, decided to open the gate to the backyard. According to a neighbor who saw what happened, Zeus came out of the yard and jumped up on one of the girls. The neighbor said he wasn’t attacking the girl, just playing. Unfortunately, during the incident the girl’s face was injured. It wasn’t a serious or lasting injury, but there was blood.

The boy didn’t understand why they were taking his dog from him. When the parents told the boy Zeus would never return, that he had been put to sleep, the boy ran to the backyard, lay down in the dirt and wept.

He wept more fiercely then than he does at this moment, but with no less sadness.

I miss Zeus!

Oh David! :crying How horribly sad!:crying

Oh thats a horible story...I would die if my parents did that to me.:crying

My parents hate it cause I refer to them as Dempseys grandparents! I just think its funny:laugh
I dont know what I would do without that dog thats my favorite part of coming home, cause I know hes at the top of the stairs with his whole body wiggling and squirming waiting for me to get to him.

My poor dog is such like a baby

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by queenb

My condolances to all doggies getting bathed anywhere. I always wondered why they hate it so much when they are happy to jump right in any lake, mud puddle, or whatever. Maybe it would work to take the dawgs pond swimmin' and sneak a bar of biodegradeable camp soap along? :lol

---

My parents used to bathe me, my brother and the dog in the lake. I think we've moved on to spoiling pets now - our dogs would have a fit if we tossed them into the lake with soap - lol - and my parents now take their dog to a "groomer".

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by myrosiedog

I don't know why dogs are so playful and happy after a bath. I certainly don't step out of the shower and go tearing around the house like a crazed lunatic, jumping on and off the furniture and tossing the towels around and rubbing myself on the carpet! :lol

---

Me either! It's like the Talladega 500 around here after Henry and Simon get bathed. Trouble!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by queenb;2370772;

Oh, they have all kinds of animal deodorants at Petco and Petsmart! I've even seen dog and kitty toothbrushes in there! !

---

We bought Henry a toothbrush and bacon flavored toothpaste. He wasn't happy (to say the least).

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by tv_luver

My parents hate it cause I refer to them as Dempseys grandparents! I just think its funny:laugh

---

Instead of calling them Dempsey's grandparents, try mentioning Dempsey as "your granddog" when you talk to your parents. Worked with my parents!

Wow ! I stopped in here on a great night ... er morning! The photos are all just wonderful ! All of them.

One could just melt into Zeus' eyes. How can children taunt animals ... and especially Zeus ? Those two girls probably grew up to be Thelma and Louise !

Unk: Your boys have grown up to be very handsome! I love that they always hang out together!

UncleDavid: Aw. That is such a sad story about Zeus. :(

tvlover: There are no grandchildren in my family so whenever Mom or Dad come by my house and see the Gracie and Mr. Tootles, I call out that Grandma and Grandpa are here!!! And I always call my kitties their grandkittens! They like that one.

All these wonderful pictures!

Uncle David, that picture of you & Zeus is priceless, as Gutmutter posted it shows the bond, and his tragic ending brought tears to my eyes as I read it.

Unklescott - The boys sure do look like they've matured well even *cough* cough* if they don't act it.

I just discovered, while searching online for the pound to get Tootles City license, that I can have up to SIX cats and THREE dogs!

Woo Hoo! What to do....what to do....:lol

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Uncle David;2370888;

Thanks Gut! You nailed it. :)

It also brings tears to my eyes. Turned out to be a tragic ending for the young boy.

The house was on a corner. It was a white house, there was a backyard with a white picket fence, very Americana. It was California so the weather was temperate and Zeus spent most of his time in the backyard while the children were at school and mom and dad were at work. Unfortunately, when the other kids passed by the house on their way home from school they would taunt Zeus. Striking the fence and verbally heckling him.

Despite years of this abuse Zeus remained a mild tempered dog. The only sign of ‘aggression’ was when he would bark at the children as they taunted him. All of the other children who lived in the immediate neighborhood loved him, and played with him when he was out with the boy.

One day two little girls, from another neighborhood, decided to open the gate to the backyard. According to a neighbor who saw what happened, Zeus came out of the yard and jumped up on one of the girls. The neighbor said he wasn’t attacking the girl, just playing. Unfortunately, during the incident the girl’s face was injured. It wasn’t a serious or lasting injury, but there was blood.

The boy didn’t understand why they were taking his dog from him. When the parents told the boy Zeus would never return, that he had been put to sleep, the boy ran to the backyard, lay down in the dirt and wept.

He wept more fiercely then than he does at this moment, but with no less sadness.

I miss Zeus!

---

That brought tears to my eyes. The bond between a child and pet can be so strong.

When I was a young teen I had a german shepard, Sarge. He was a wild, wooly beast. A chicken killer. But the love of my life. When my parents divorced we had to take him to the pound. It tore my heart out to leave him there. Looking back I have no doubt they put him to sleep. An older, intact male with agression issues was probably not adoption material. He was a true and faithful companion to me. He was always there for my tales of woe.

Then when I was even younger than that, I had a half poodle/schnauzer mix. She was a doll. Pansy was her name. She had puppies. Rachel who we found a home for. The others we all kept. Prince Tom, Jimmy, and Lobo. All of those dogs I loved so much. They all ended up getting run over. We lived in the country on a busy stretch of blacktop. Jimmy though, was killed by my alcholic stepdad. One day he was sick of his yelping and threw him outside. The throw killed Jimmy. :( Such a sad time. My mother was so busy working, trying to keep a roof over our heads. Stepdad passed out on the floor, pretending to be Edgar Cayce (sp) yup that was my childhood.