Herbert, otherwise known as "Herb", is my 5 year old miniature schnauzer. I tried to find a rescue schnauzer but none were available so I did a bad thing and bought Herbert. In my opinion it's bad, especially since I adamantly preach to adopt and not to shop.
We bought him from a breeder who has a farm about an hour or two from Johannesburg. The breeder said she had to run some errands in Jo'burg and that I should meet her at the airport and collect Herb from there. Not a few months later and the breeder was shut down for running what turned out to be a puppy mill. Pictures of the place and the dogs showed extreme neglect. It finally made sense why my Herbie was such an insecure dog and why there was such a sadness to him. When you look into Herbs eyes you will be able to see a soul that has gone through hell and survived intense sadness, a sadness which did not diminish his softness. I think if you truly know sadness you will be intensely in tune with it. It's what you know and so you'll see it wherever it is. You'll try to make the suffering in the world go away and in this way your world becomes about suffering. It's what you know.
Anyway, I think it's due to Herb's history of abuse that he is the first dog I've had who outwardly shows his distress when I'm ill or upset. He will literally crawl up behind me and wrap his arms around me.
Herbert's favorite things are:
Tennis balls
Toys
My Labrador, Einstein
Me
Dancing with me
Making one hell of a racket when people and other dogs pass the gate
Being groomed and brushed
Walks
His "pet" hates:
When I swim (he freaks out)
Being left alone
The vet
I hope you've enjoyed getting to know Herb a bit. I'm not quite done- I still need to introduced my cat, pony and sheep at some point. It would be extremely unfair to introduce some and not the others ;-)
Till next time!
