Doggone it (part 2)

Continuation of the last thread...

#3 - My third dog was the first one that I got on my own and she was totally different than any of my previous canine experiences. After I got out of the Army, the wife & I moved to Dallas, bought a house, and I decided that I had to have a dog. Tried to do all of the research on dogs and worked with the local Humane Society and was intending on getting a "manly" dog like a German Shepard or Retreiver. When we went to the pound, no Shepards were available, but there was the most affectionate 9 month old female purebred Weimareiner named Velvet that was 40 lbs and full of energy (or was it hormones?). Needless to say, we kinda were drawn to her spirit and adopted her out. She was a beautiful silver-gray color (hence the name Velvet) dog that was pure energy. Turns out she was wound a bit tight and was a handful to maintain. She was a very loving but insecure dog. I had built her a dog house out in the yard and erected a shelter to keep her out of the sun but she wanted to be with us all the time and wound up parked on the back doorstep waiting for us to let her in. Now, we tried to keep her in the house, but her energy levels turned out to be a bit destructive. Even after penning her in the kitchen, she pretty much chewed through several plants and one piece of furniture when we were not around (like at work) so that relegated her to the yard. Even in the yard, she wound up eating all of the azaleas I planted and would chew on the door frame of the house while waiting on us. I finally built her a pen in the back yard to roam, but even that did not seem to slow her energy. I tried to walk her twice a day, but, unlike my earlier dogs, she was not good "off leash". She tended to run after anything that peaked her interest and I would have to chase her down across the neighborhood. She even chased down a kid on a mini-bike and almost caused him to flip the bike (funny, but not to him). I got a bit of a reputation as the crazy guy trying to chase down this ghost-like dog. She had a sleek-grey coat with fiendishly yellow eyes and looked like she was possessed when running. Whenever you put her on the leash, she would pretty much drag you down the block until you would establish who is in control (dominance issue here). My wife could not handle her when walking around block and so it became my job to take her for her walks/runs. I even resorted to walking her with my bike so to wear her down a bit, but I don't think it put a dent in her energy level. She wound up chewing through my fence, eating two lawn chairs, devouring several bushes, gnawing through a doorframe, chewing up the wiring harness under my boat trailer and uprooting a brick sidewalk (don't ask). In spite of these "minor" flaws, she was a very gentle and loving dog who wanted nothing but to be with you. Really. Any time we had company in the back yard, she would try and climb up in your lap. Cute for a Poodle or Pomeranian, but somehow, a fully grown 85 lb Weimareiner (all bone & muscle, no fat) climbing up in your lap loses its appeal. I wouldn't call her psychotic, but I did sometimes feel that there was a wee bit too much inbreeding. Had her for four years before I landed a new job in south Texas and could not take her with us (new kid, no one to take care of her and we could not keep her in our new place) so we turned her back over to the Humane Society. Our deal with the Humane Society was, if we ever have to give our dog up, we would turn her back over to them and they would place her with another family. So, with much regret, I turned her back over to them and left them with a heavy heart and large donation. They have a great facility and outstanding people and they wound up placing her with another family. Word to the wise, folks - Weimareiners are fairly high strung dogs and need lots of love and attention. They are beautiful, gentle and very attentive dogs, but prone to high energy and needs a big yard to roam.

At this point, I figured I had my run with dogs and did not plan to get another one. Needless to say, life is full of changes and you should never say never....