T-BONE

T-Bone came into my life after I moved to PA from western N.Y. to get marrried. He came into my life on my birthday as a present from Hubby.
You see, there was this 'void' in my life, like something was wrong, but I didn't know what. That's what happens to you when you've had dogs all your life, and suddenly you don't have them anymore.

Well, Hubby was going to fix that 'void'. He took me to a sheltie breeder. We looked at those cute little bundles of fur. All had the face of an angel.
For some reason, I was attracked to a pup sleeping up against the wall. The breeder must have seen my interest. "Oh, you don't want him!", she said. "He lacks substance, and is a swimmer. We may have to put him to sleep." She went on to explain that the pup never played with the others, and when place on all 4's, he would just sink to the ground and make swimming-motions with his legs.

With a little bit of doing; Hubby and I convinced her to let us have him. Yes, we agreed to have him neutered. And we knew he would run into at least some health problems. But we wanted him anyway!

T-Bone seemed to liven up as soon as we got him home. And Hubby took upon himself the task of 'puppy therapy'. He did this mostly with a California Raisin puppy toy he found at the pet shop. He would play little games of tug-o-war with T-Bone, letting him win frequently to boost his ego. And that "boost" seems to be what he needed. From then on he was: "The little puppy that could".

Arthritis set in at an early age (less than 2 years old). But because of his boots wih the California Raisin, and lots of patience and stanima, T-Bone decided he was going to do what every dog did from then on.

Dog Obedience school thrilled him. Sometimes he was a little slow to move, or a little stiff, but that was the best thing for him. I can't forget the looks he would give me like, "Hey Ma! Did you see that! I did an even better job than that German Shepard over there!". It was as if he would surpise himself! But this sort of thing is what kept him going.

Today, T-Bone will be 11 years old this coming February. He still has some difficulty moving, and you can see some of the 'knots' in his joints from the arthritis. But let a deer wander into our yard, and once more, he's the "little puppy that could".

T-Bones hobbies are watching the dust settle in the house, and watching the grass grow outside. His specialty is keeping the other two dogs 'in line'. He has also been found stripping the leather shoelaces from Hubbys good slippers. And he likes to drive me crazy by barking at the TV every time there's a commercial with a doorbell going off!
(I think he does this just to see me run to the front door!)

Seems like he wants to turn-in earlier these days, and if he wants to, that's OK with me.