Lady was a stray Husky/Shepherd mix (?) that I found near the High School when I was a teenager. A few days later, she started showing the symptoms of Parvo, and I learned about the responsibilities of caring for a dog when I had to give her around-the-clock doses of Pepto Bismol, carry her to the car for her daily veterinary visits for fluids, and clean up all the messes associated with that awful disease.

Lady saved me as much as I saved her. She was my constant companion and protector during high school, and gave me my first experiences with training a dog (unfortunately with “old” methods). My mother cared for her while I was away at college, and later, she helped teach my son to stand and let him use her for balance as he learned how to walk. She was infinitely patient with babies and children. She lived a long and happy life and left us when she was 15.

Cleo was the neighborhood stray dog. My ex-husband and I kept seeing her around and asked about her, and learned that someone had left her when they moved away. We decided to give her a home.

Cleo was probably a West Highland White Terrier/Shih-Tzu mix and was a complete lap dog. She and I went through basic family obedience classes, and she gave me an opportunity to start learning about modern training and operant conditioning.

She was mostly my ex-husband’s dog, and he took her with him when we separated. She lived until she was approximately 16. 

Cody was supposed to be a service dog for a friend of mine. Unfortunately, the rescue was not honest about him, and he turned out to have significant fear issues, probably from a lack of socialization when he was young.

Cody is the biggest dog I have owned. His DNA test said he was mostly Anatolian Shepherd and Lab. He was super sweet and was a “normal dog” while he was in our household.

Unfortunately, Cody had an undiagnosed autoimmune issue, and we lost him unexpectedly to thrombocytopenia at only 4 years old.