A Positively Fabulous Birthday Present

I never thought that I would want another dog after we had to put our family pet down after 17 years of companionship, but now that the weather is grand and I have the exploring bug once again, I realized that I need a companion that will appreciate my need to explore, walk slowly while investigating nature to photograph and be there with me when I venture down lonely country roads.

For my birthday, we adopted Tucker, a two year old, grey and white husky with brown eyes and a tail that curls.  He is an excellent walker and doesn't pull, unless he sees cats.  He doesn't seem to bother too much with our house cat, Painted Smile. So far, he doesn't seem to mind other dogs near by!

He enjoys nature just like I do, and even stops to smell the flowers!

Here he sits proudly beside the cactus that he found and sniffed as we watched the South Saskatchewan River rise before it flooded.

He is quite quiet, but at times can be a bit goofy, just like me too!  He chases his own tail first in one direction, then switches to the other direction.  I sometimes do that too!  Just kidding!

When he wants to go outside, he makes funny noises, "Arooo" and moves his head to one side, pauses,  makes the noise again and looks the other way.  When we don't respond to him right away, he growls a bit or even grabs the couch pillow and pulls it off my lap.

If we are in bed, he makes the funny noise too and does the head thing, but if we don't respond, he will jump up on the bed to get our attention.

He also will nudge me on my elbow with his cold nose if I am working on the computer or am drawing to get me to take him outside.  The other day he went to our ceramic container by the back door, stuck his nose in and pulled out his ball, then took it to my husband.

On Canada Day, he came with us to watch the fireworks, and wasn't bothered at all about the banging.  He even laid in the tall grass and slept through most of it.

Two nights ago, he accompanied me on a walk through the abandoned Police Point Park.  The park is mostly shut down due to the extensive flooding it endured last week.  There is so much mud everywhere. This mud is on top of the paths and is about 10 cm thick. Tucker didn't mind the mud, in fact he laid down on it!  It probably felt good in the 38 degree Celsius heat!

So far Tucker has been a lot of fun and very gentle and adorable!  You are asking, "Why did his owners give him up for adoption?"  Well, the owners only had a four foot fence, and Tucker did not feel compelled to stay behind such a low fence.  Let's say he is a frequent flyer.  He was caught by the by-law officer and taken to the SPCA many times.  Finally, the owner was told either he heightens the fence, or he should consider giving up the dog.  It is obvious what he decided.  Their loss is our gain!

As I am writing this, Tucker is sitting on my foot and cuddling!  I have to say that my furry birthday present has been an absolutely fabulous treasure thus far!