I'm kind of copping out here - i have 3:

Roach: we had from he was 5 weeks old (family pet) - he was a right wee mongrel but he adopted me, lol. He was a mix gsd, lurcher, deerhound and greyhound. I had the pleasure of his company till i joined the Army then only saw him on leave but he came everywhere with me when i was at home. He died at 7 yrs old as he had a tumour in his head and something had happened and it was injecting the poison straight into his brain.

Kai: My own first dog - rescue gsd. got me through a lot of hassles from the forces. Unfortunately he had to be pts. It took a lot from me.

Monty: My absolute wee angel

Hi,

In a way all of my dogs, whethr my own as an adult or family pets as I gre up, are the best dogs. They all have something special about them that makes them stand out but most memorable are :

Bess. My grandparents GSD who would allow myself and younger brother to ride on her back like a horse. My granddad awoke one morning to find her banging her head against the wall. She died from a brain hemmorhage. I was gutted, even though I was only 4 years old. She was my best friend at the time because that year we came to live in this Country. I didn't have many friends because I didn't speak English.

Sam. My grandparents yellow lab. He was compeltely loopy and had to be where ever myself or younger brother were. he wasn't allowed to go upstairs so we used to sneak downstairs inthe middle of the night and sleep in his bed with him.

Otto : 1981-1983. Our Dobermann. He was very easy to train and I used to love teachinghim new tricks. We had to have him PTS at just less than 2 years old because he badly bit my brother's face and neck.

Barron : 1984-1995. Our Irish Setter. This dog was a compelte and utter numpty in every way. Definitely ack fo the queue when it came to intelligence but would do anything for anyone (p1ss poor guard dog too). I remember he was lying out in the garden and wouldn't move. I thought he was dying. My parents wraped him in a blanket and got him to the vet. The vet examined him and told us it wasn't serious. The dopey dog had put his back out whilst trying to fly. He'd chase birds in the garden and when they flew away he'd launch himself into the air. But whereas birds can change direction in a heartbeat - dogs can't!

Jaikei : 1995/6-2004. My first own dog - GSDx. I bought her from BDH in January 1997 when she was 12-18 months old (or so we were told). I'd had a particularly bad year in 1996 (thanks again to my ex husband) and she was kind of my own Christmas prezzie to myself. She was my life. I took her everywhere with me unless I really wasn't allowed to.
She died in my Dad's arms on Monday 29th. November, 2004, most likely from a heart attack after losing a lot of weight through not eating because of colitis.

Zane : 2007-to date - GSD
Ellie : 2008-to date - GSDxAkita
Yiannis : 2008-to date - GSD
Seto : 1998 - GSD

All the above are my current dogs. i wouldn't want to comment on what is memorable so far as I hoep to have many more happy memories with them

Laura xx

Brandi, (black labrador-rescue) was my very special girl-she didn't have any easy life (health wise) but she always amazed me how well she coped-from being 9 months old her problems started-it was discovered that she had food allergies which were sorted but her main problems arose when we were hit by two young people on mountain bikes coming around the corner on the pavement. Brandi ended up with discs dislocated in her spine and muscle damage. The discs were put back into place by an Osteopath but they kept slipping out on quite a regularly basis and had to be put back into place. Within a short time as a result of this trauma she developed osteoarthritis in her spine and hips. It was as a result of the medication she was prescribed that we found out she was also allergic to all medications-(except one antibiotic) Luckily for us one of our vets was trained in accupuncture-Brandi responded so well to this -she would stand for 20 minutes every 3-4 weeks with needles placed in the strategic points without a whimper or murmour! The accupuncture got her walking and enjoying life for the next 8 years. Sadly she developed a Liver Tumour and Brain Tumour-and I had to let her go over the Rainbow Bridge In spite of the above she enjoyed life to the full-she was a star- such a sweet, lovable and brave girl and I thought there would never be another Brandi (not that I was trying to replace her) but then along came Hatti ............. Sorry for the long post-I feel I have just relived my 8 years with Brandi and of course tears are now rolling down my face

Thanks for all the heartfelt responses - all those trips down memory lane made for some good reading.

I couldn't actually pick one, as they have all had thier special qualities.

Suki my first BC, was a true companion, she never left my side and during school days, she would trot up the road at 3 o'clock and be waiting by the school gates to walk me home. My years with her I will always treasure as she taught me alot
Toby (BC) had his life cut short by my EX hubby (another story) but his gentleness and tolence with the boys when they were small, plus the kitten sitting he did for our cat...was outstanding
Stafford and Sally (SBT & JRT) typical terriers with beautiful natures.
Meg my lifelong 23 year old a real soulmate, who displayed the beauty of knowledge
Reah a real fighter against the odds
Skye well just being a pinky delicate girl
and Bruce the comedian

Everyone had or have thier special ways

Marius, without hesitation it is him.

My gorgeous Smiley-Weiler



He came into my life when I was at my lowest ebb and changed it for the better. I had lost my Mum & Ozzy within hours of each other on the same day, 31.01.07. Ozzy bit Sid that day, we will never know why, perhaps he picked up on my grief, or maybe it was an underlying problem he had that surfaced who knows. It was an unprovoked & deliberate bite & we had no option but to have him PTS.

It was the hardest day of my life and I couldn't cope. I spiralled into a depression which I couldn't shake myself out of. Sid was working away a lot & spent many hours crying each day. It was a very dark place.

Because my head wasn't right, I couldn't face having another dog & I was adamant if we ever did get one, it wasn't going to be another Rottie, because of what had happened. I had lost my faith in the breed, which I never would have thought could happen (Ozzy was our second Rottie, Brandy our first lived to 10.5yrs & was an amazing character!). Sid however, he felt the opposite - he was determined to get another Rottie to prove to both of us that it wasn't the fault of the breed, just the action of an indivdual dog. More importantly, he knew I needed some sort of distraction to jolt me out of this black hole I had ended up in.

Eventually, he talked me around & we contacted a breeder we knew who didn't have any current litters, but recommended someone who had used his stud dog & had a current litter. We travelled all the way to Lancaster for him. It was the best journey we could ever have made.

Marius makes me beam with pride, he has the softest nature you could wish for. He adores people & dogs - getting down on the floor to small dogs & puppies and allowing them to get confident with him. He is very well known locally, even the neighbours kids tell their friends not be scared as "it's only Marius"! LOL He has helped to change so many peoples opinions on Rotties and I am so glad I didn't turn my back on the breed. Sid was right.

He has a huge personality, yes he has his faults he hates traffic, has an obsession with pulling off branches/stems from my garden & has done since he was a puppy! He gets too overexcited when he sees his best buddies Max & Marley. But, these little quirks are all part of what makes him so special.

I always feel a part of Ozzy lies within him, like a second chance was sent. I wrote a poem a long time ago about it that some of you won't have read. I think it says it all.

http://www.dogsey.com/showthread.php...t=tribute+ozzy

I'll have to stop typing this now as I'm getting a bit choked up, which is what always happens when I think about that day

I adore all my dogs past and present but the most special dog of my whole life was my whippet Hula . She was not the best behaved dog in the world but somehow I understood why she did the things she did and I think she was more in tune with what I was thinking too

Yana, my little Yorkie girl is always remembered as my best ever dog! I loved that girl to bits and we had such a special relationship. She was quite disobedient, never had a single clue she was a dog but had such character, she was loved by all that knew her. Such BIG attitude for such a little lady!


My favourite little girl that is living is Tiani - very "Yana" - she's got all Yana's Princess attitude but more obedient (which is probably due to the fact that I have more experience with dogs and have not let her get away with all I let Yana get away with )

awe AM, I still get all teary eyed when I look at ozzy or read threads about him, xxx

Thanks Shona, that was lovely of you to say xxx