Hunter is the most recent dog to join the family. When I say join the family I'm not speaking of him living under our roof here at the farm. Our oldest son Robert has wanted a dog for a while now and he finally found a dog to his liking.
While our children still lived under our roof the million-dollar question was, "Can we get a dog?"
I'm not sure how we never ended up with a dog, but I guess it was due to the fact that caring for four children was about all we could handle. Our steadfast answer was, "Once you move out and get your own place then you can get your own dog.
Meet some of the luckiest canines in the world. Luckiest because they ended up with wonderful owners. The responsibilities that come along with owning a dog are similar to rearing a child. Not quite as intense, but their welfare falls directly on your shoulders. They have become such a big part of the family it's hard to imagine living without them.
Pitbulls have gotten a bad rap over the years for their aggressive behavior. Riley was one of the gentlest dogs I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. I use the verb was because she passed away a few years ago. She is still greatly missed and brought up in conversation when dogs become the theme of family conversation.
When it comes to naming one's new puppy, many names are thrown out there, very much like trying to come up with a name for a newborn child while still in the womb. Some names fit the bill right from the get-go, while other names take a while to grow on you. For some unknown reason, Hunter's name seemed to fit him perfectly right from the beginning!
If you're still with me I'll explain. This is the footing at one corner of our home. Once I noticed it I realized that the groundhog that I'd seen around lately may be responsible for digging this hole. Not a situation that any homeowner would want, an animal living under your home. I was a little reluctant to fill it in, knowing that if I did the varmint living beneath the house would just dig it up again or worse yet, dig another hole to get out.
I'm not one to terminate the life of most creatures, but whatever mammal had made my home his home, had to go. I thought about putting some poison down the hole, but with our son and Hunter coming to the farm for a quick visit, I decided I would not take any action until they left. The last thing I wanted to do was have Hunter chowing down on what was intended for the intruder.
If you tend to get a little squeamish when seeing the demise of a living creature you may want to skip the remainder of this post. As the title of this blog states, HUNTER, THE NAME SAYS IT ALL.
He stopped just short of that. For the entire time of his stay, he went to the corner of the house several times an hour. I must admit, I was cheering him on. The last thing I needed was to have an entire family of varmints taking up residency. The morning before they were getting ready to leave Hunter came bounding up towards the front porch with his prey in hand mouth.
At the command of his owner, he laid his catch at our son's feet. My instructions to do the same fell on deaf ears. We disposed of the carcass by putting it in a bag and then into a garbage can.
The dog, Canis familiaris, is a direct descendent of the gray wolf, Canis lupus: In other words, dogs as we know them are domesticated wolves. Over time these dangerous carnivores have evolved into man's best friend.
