Our Dog Hall of Fame

We had dinner at church last night. For some reason, the conversation turned to our history of dogs. The person I was talking to was basically joking around at our expense, commenting that he was surprised we'd been able to keep up with Grant for this long based on our previous experience caring for things. Ha ha, so original. It's not like we haven't heard this joke before. But, it got me wondering if we had pictures of all our dogs, so today I went looking through our files.

First of all, though, let me just say that I have no idea how a puppy this cute can turn into the monster below.

sweet, innocent Norman on his first day home.

one word: slobber. i HATE it. i am still mad at the breeder for vehemently denying that french mastiff's have a slobber problem. i get slimed almost every day and it tests my temper.

kind of scary, right? notice the poor 2 year in the background that got knocked over in his way. norman is all bark, no bite. he is actually a sweetheart. and daily grant professes his love for norman. norman takes a lot of abuse from grant, but is always very kind about it. he is a 'gentle giant'

Winston and Moses. I loved both - Moses was so sweet. Too sweet for Brad, that is why he decided to sell him after 6 weeks. And yes, I had to leave the room during the exchange because I was crying too much. Winston was a little pistol. He was all personality. His sister Lola is still alive and well at the Herridge ranch.

Solomon. We had him for a couple of years until he was stolen by some road workers. He never replaced Samson but he was a good dog, a very good dog.

Be still my heart. I still miss Goliath. Jessica painted a picture the day that Goliath died and it hangs over our bed. He was the thorn in Brad's side, but my little joy. He was the best gift I've ever gotten (thanks to Dolores) and I know I could never have another pug like him.

Not pictured: Samson, Brad's first dog that was fiercely loyal to him. Samson loved Brad probably more than Brad loved Samson. He was a huge German Shepherd, very regal looking. He and Goliath were best pals. They made a funny match, but they loved life on the ranch. They went 'roaming' on a daily basis. I have no idea how many miles they covered each day, but I know they loved it and I loved seeing them run in from the pasture each night.

Not pictured: Napolean, the black pug that I owned for 4 days before returning. Apparently dogs can be hermaphrodites...

WOW. Quite the trip down memory lane. I guess we will always be a dog family, for better or worse!