Catie was driven up to us from Medford, OR in early November, 2005. I knew
that we had made a great decision from the first moment that I heard her
tail whapping against the wall of her plastic crate when I got to see her
for the first time. My fiance', Sarah, had initially lobbied for "hound
free" furniture but Catie firmly established herself as a couch hound by
the second day! Neither of us had the heart to remove her.
Catie wakes me each morning at 5:30 for her morning walk. She eats
breakfast once we return and then takes her position on the couch to sleep
until I return from work in the mid-afternoon. We go for another walk in
the afternoon where she enjoys meeting other dogs and children and she
especially enjoys chasing squirrels and cats up the nearest tree. She also
likes to scope out the local trash collection bins for any sort of goodies
that might have fallen out. Dad tries his best to keep her from eating
these things but she is too fast, sometimes. As a reward for not eating
what she finds outside, Catie gets plenty of dog bisquits and rawhide bones
to snack on at home. She has become quite good at shaking hands in order
to earn a treat or two, also!
On weekends, Catie visits with her cousins, Casey and Rylie, a pair of male
golden retrievers, and/or cousin Calvin, a yellow lab. They love to chase
each other around until the older dogs (they're all older than Catie) get
tired and need to rest. Catie then sits by me to "protect me" from the
other dogs. She's very protective of her dad!
She is very playful throughout the week as well, tossing her stuffed duck
and hedgehog and mint flavored tennis ball around in excitement upon my
return from work. We play fetch inside for a few minutes which always
cracks me up. Seeing her legs and tail flailing all over as she tracks
down the ball is a sight that I can't hope to describe.
Once she's tired from her walks and from playtime, Catie settles in to fall
asleep with her head in my lap in front of the TV. She may rise if dessert
is present later in the evening but she'll otherwise sleep through until
it's time for her to wake me up at 5:30.
Needless to say, Catie is the most wonderful dog that I could have ever
hoped for. I grew up with some truly fantastic beagles and bassett hounds
back home in New York but none of them has surpassed the magnificent dog
that came to us in November. I wouldn't trade her for the world.
Mr. Ethan Lamb
