Our lives changed when we welcomed our first dog. It was March 3, 2013. We had been married 24 years and had many cats during those years; we had seven cats at one time. Dogs were part of our childhood, but adulthood seemed too busy to commit to a dog. That is why we had cats. Busy work lives are conducive to having cats; we had many great cats.
Our new neighbor back in 2000 came with two dogs (insert eye roll). We thought they would be barking a lot and pooping in our yard. LOL! Fortunately that was not the case and the neighbor became a close friend and the dogs like our own (those originals and others to come over the years).
Having great neighbor dogs changed our minds over time. And as control over our work lives came into focus we realized we could have a dog. We reached out to a friend that had a dog recue. Those dogs came from West Virginia's high kill shelters in an effort to save them and give them new homes.
Homer was one of those dogs. Found as a stray in WV he arrived at a shelter. He was identified as a sweet doggie that needed to be saved. Our only "requirement" for our new dog was not to be too big, not too small, and "normal". Homer was the ideal candidate.
He was put on a transport vehicle and sent up to NH. We met the transport and picked him up sight unseen. It was love at first sight! Homer came with that name because the shelter thought he was a gentle soul that needed a home. We kept that name.
In the eight years that we have brought Homer home we have thousands of pictures. This gallery of photos is from the first few months.
If on a computer, click a photo to open a slide show.
He has aged well and has great health. His only issue is with hind legs that seem to be getting weak. Dry paw pads, icy weather, and wood floors make for slippery feet. So we tried a paw grippy sand treatment. One week in and it has help immensely. He has not slipped since. The product is Restoring Dog Paw Grip & Confidence in Senior Pets | PawFriction.
If on a computer, click a photo to open a slide show.
JJ the bulldog came to us in September of 2013. We thought having a dog was easy, so we welcomed the bulldog...LOL!! That was an eye opener! It's all good. She has some challenging issues, but overall a great dog.
Having dogs is the reason why we got into RVing. It is a way to travel with dogs. It's not easy, it takes planning. But it has enabled us to travel. Otherwise, we were just not going anywhere. Dogs changed our lives for the better.
We love our cats (currently have two). Dogs are part of the public world, whereas cats are part of your private world. Although we know there are traveling cats, ours are not interested in that.
Homer's exact age is not known since he was a stray. It is thought that we was about four when he arrived in NH. So that makes him roughly 12. We hope he lives forever.
Here is Homer and JJ in the fall of 2013. They are good companions.