Well I suppose since I took such a significant hiatus from this blog that I should mention that our beloved Viper, pictured above, had to be put down the day before Thanksgiving 2015.  Of course we all were devastated, particularly me, as I did not know what an amazing role he played in my life.  Yes, he was technically Scotty’s primary dog when we were showing, and a spectacular show dog he was, but he was also my constant companion, particularly after Scotty went into the Marine Corps.

At the time of his death, we already had two other dogs.  The first dog, Maggie, is a miniature tri-colored Australian Shepherd, who was a very intentional pick.  You  may wonder why a family that had a long history of raising, breeding, and showing Golden Retrievers might not get Ben another Golden, but it was about me.  Viper followed me everywhere, and I knew another Golden would just hang with the pack, so since Ben got along so well with Scotty and Kenzie’s new dog Bentley (who is a full-sized Aussie) we looked into a smaller version of this breed.  It was a good choice because to this day they are inseparable.

Of course that left Amanda kind of alone.  Viper followed me, Maggie followed Ben, and although both dogs would patronize her, she was, for all practical purposes, dog-less. This led to the acquisition of C. S. Lewis, or Lou, or Sweet Lou, or Lou Bear, or one of the hundreds of names he goes by.  He is actually on of Maggie’s siblings from the following litter, and he is what in the breed is known as a Blue Merle.  He is a looker, and Scotty when home created Lou an Instagram account called Blue_Eyed_Louie or Lewis the Aussie  https://www.instagram.com/blue_eye_louie/  He is ridiculous as he has over 2500 followers.  Of course as he is my wife’s dog, he should probably have more.

But I digress.  After Viper’s passing, I became terribly depressed.  I just really struggled with the loss not just of my best friend and constant companion, but of a dog who really did provide me the lion’s share of my emotional support. I do not want anyone to believe that my wife or family does not support me, because in all honesty they do.  But after the second or third time of ruffing up my wife’s hair and telling her what a good boy she was, it was clear I was not doing as well as we had hoped.

Of course AngelCreek, our kennel and show name, had a history of only Goldens, so I think it was quite a shock to my wife and children that I would be considering another breed.  I am not an old guy, so I do not consider this my last dog decision, but in all my life I had not ever had a dog like Viper.  I considered Goldens, but decided in only a short time that staring at a new Golden and crying all the time may not be the best way to move forward, unless you consider institutionalization a way forward.

So we talked quite a bit about a lot of breeds, and for many reasons settled on German Shepherds.  When we used to show, German Shepherds were always close by and I enjoyed watching the breed and was impressed with the people who showed them.  I was not fond of the slanted back of the show dogs, but the loyalty and intelligence of the dogs themselves.

So in time I found a breeder and a dog, Abigail is her call name.  And like Viper, who was really “Charisma’s AngelCreek SnakenShake,” Abbey has her real name “EngelBach com Gizewski,” or in English, “AngelCreek com Gizewski,” Gizewski being the name of the kennel from where she came.

And I thank Abigail every day for not being Viper.  No dog could ever be him for me, and she was never intended as a replacement.  She is a mixed line of both show and obedience lines, and up until my trainer died recently, was receiving much of the training that a police dog was.  It is all intentional.  Viper would wait for me to come home and go sit out with me in the yard.  Abbey will have none of it, and needs training and activity.  It is a sweet deal for me, and my only complaint is that my wife can call my fierce-looking tough-guy dog right over for some “belly-rubs” and she leaves me.  We are working on that.

But I am enjoying the challenges.  Abbey keeps me moving as much as she can, challenges me, and knows when I am struggling.  She does not deal with me like Vipe did, but is every bit as effective.  Viper would be with me in the moment, Abbey gets me out of the moment.

I have had some incredible companions over the course of my life, and they have never disappointed me.  So I though I would bring you up to date on the ones with me now and allow those who knew Viper to hear about him from me.  They have not just been our dogs, they are our family.  And I am thankful for them all in my life.

Peace!

Tommy+