Artie

By Guest Blogger Trish

About 3 months ago I started getting the stirring that precedes the yearning which leads to the decision to add to the pack.  I started visiting websites for red poodles.  I kept returning to a site for a kennel in Pismo Beach, CA; mini reds and apricots.  Then I saw a posting on the site for Artie, a 2 year old male who had been recently retired as a breeding sire. His age appealed to me because I could start training him for therapy dog work right away.

I corresponded with the breeder about his personality, health and why she had taken him out of her breeding stock.  I told her I was looking for a dog who would mature into a good candidate for therapy work.  Her responses led me to think he might be a good pick.  She decided that if I was going to train him for therapy work, she'd like to give him to me rather than sell him.  

I met the little termite on Feb. 12th, and "little" is the operative word.  At first I thought, no way.  He weighs 11 lbs. and stands about 13 inches at the shoulder (about the size of most cats.)  I always thought Ranger was small at 22 lbs. and 15 inches.  Ranger looks like a giant next to Artie.  But, there is a huge spirit in the little guy, and a people-loving personality second to none. So, I crated him up, loaded him in the car with Ranger and drove back to Havasu.  I think he will be fantastic for therapy work, and much easier to lift onto beds and laps than Ranger is. 

Artie has been part of our pack for almost 4 weeks, though he's had to spend some of the time in a kennel while I made two last business trips.  Artie adds a lot of energy to our home and he's doing his best to keep us young; he's 14 in dog years while the other three of us are over 60.  He's growing his mustache to achieve the soft lamb like appearance of his older brother, begining obedience training and learning that dogs who stay inside the kayak stay drier than those who don't.  I'm hopeful his obedience training will progress well over the summer and he will be ready for therapy dog evaluation in early December.  We feel lucky to have Artie, aka Scooter, as our newest pack member.