National Dog Day

I thought that this year for National Dog Day I would share my and J.'s three dogs we've had over the years. (This won't include Aster or Olive as they are/were TM's and A.'s dogs.) 

Our first dog joined us before we had children (if you can imagine we existed in such a state). Her name was Simone and she was a Bouvier Des Flanders. She was a great dog, but did become a wee bit overshadowed as children joined our family. Sadly she passed away when we were in Vietnam adopting TM and my dear sainted mother had to manage it all. (Sorry, Mom.)

Here she is as a puppy.


As a slightly older puppy,


And as a full grown dog.



You'll immediately notice the hair. As much as I adore Bouviers, I learned the hard way that a dog that needs regular hair maintenance is probably not a good match for me. 

There were several years where we had many young children and didn't have a dog. Then, around the same time that G. and L. moved out of their cribs, a neighbor was fostering some puppies and suddenly I needed one of those puppies. That was when Gretel joined our family. Long time readers will remember Gretel. 


She was an excellent family dog and spent much of her life being dressed up by children. 





Gretel was also really excellent at proving blog fodder. If you haven't read about The Mystery of the Missing Soap or The Adventures of Gretel-locks, you really should click the links and read them. 

Sadly, Gretel passed away at the age of three a month after we brought Y. and R. home and two months after my father passed away. It was not a good time. I needed a dog, so J. humored me and we all headed to Felines and Canines to see if we could find a dog that would fit our family. 

Enter Kenzie.










He's out old man now, but he still very much enjoys walks in the forest preserve and when all of his kids are home. 

Dogs are good. 

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