When Choosing a Furry Companion

 

When choosing a Labrador, or any other furry companion, make sure that he (or she) has the standard described below....

- The Labrador does not walk; he/she trots! With a certain air of confidence and looking at the world from its immeasurable "height" while thinking ... “at what are you looking? Have you never seen such a beautiful creature as I am?”

- The Labrador does not run, but sprints like a rocket; he does not jump, but flies and bounces like a rabbit, or does zoomie helicopters!

- The Labrador doesn’t play. For him, a game is something to be taken seriously. Very seriously.

- When the Labrador sleeps, it cannot simply be said that he sleeps. He spreads on the sofa, becomes catatonic, reaches Nirvana ... and snores like a tractor!

- The Labrador never begs for food. He simply makes a gentle munching sound that announces what his belly demands. He stares at you while ribbons of drool run from his marshmallow mouth, accompanied by high-pitch sounds like a verse by a tormented poet.

- The Labrador does not need to talk. He commands telepathy, hypnosis, ultra-sensory perception .... and paws, should you fail to understand the previous prompts.

- When he eats, the Labrador does not just consume his meal. He/she devours it, gulps, swallows, gulps, and then looks at you as if to say, “it tastes fine, where’s the rest of it?!"

- The Labrador does not pass gas ... he /she gasses you to death!

- The Labrador does not wag its tail, but he waddles, or more precisely, "he shakes his behind"! It doesn't follow you .... the Labrador is the most obsessive of stalkers. The Labrador never follows you; he tracks your every movement with the precision of a secret agent.

- The Labrador has a relationship with you that is not simply one of affection ...no, he is not close to you. He is a part of you. The Labrador does not run towards you, but he invests you! He claims you in an exuberant fashion!! When you pat him, he’s in ecstasy and slips effortlessly into a land of contentment , usually at your feet.

The Labrador worships, adores, idolizes and loves you as only a Labrador can. That is his sole purpose in life.

The exact same can be said for any furry companion

Fly high Ruby girl

Yesterday morning this old pup grew her wings and did zoomie helicopters across the rainbow bridge. While Ruby's mind was that of a young pup, her heart and body weren't able to keep up

Ruby came to us as a rescue pup, we were to be her 5th owners in 12 months. But from the moment O and I met Ruby, I knew that we were going to be her furever family. We were told by her previous owners that Ruby was not great with children, that she wasn't great with other animals, and that she was a very boisterous dog. They couldn't have been more wrong.

Ruby and O were inseparable from the moment we brought Ruby home. If we couldn't find O inside, chances were that O and Ruby were making mischief in the backyard or they were curled up on Ruby's bed or in Ruby's kennel with O either reading Ruby a book or telling Ruby the most marvellous story.

When L arrived, Ruby knew that he was her special boy. Ruby has always instinctively known just how to calm L, and O, when they needed her most. She was definitely an untrained assistance dog.

Ruby's best fur/feather friends in Perth were a rabbit, a quail and our lorrikeet! When we moved back to Queensland, she became firm friends with Whiskers (Grandma and Dudduds old pup,) and she loves Henry. Ruby used to love watching all the native birds come and go from the garden. Popeye still calls out to Ruby, but drops food for Henry!

Ruby was as stubborn as bull Terriers come ... she'd stand at the back door barking and as soon as we'd ask "are you barking at us?," she'd turn to face the fence as if to say "no, I was barking at the fence." And dog door, what dog door. If you stare at the back door long enough, it will magically open for you!

She loved zoomie helicopters and her toys, her cauliflower ear is because she'd shake the bejesus out of her toys so much that they'd smash into her ear. Ruby believed in going through things, rather than round them. Ruby had our lorrikeet Popeye calling her, just so that Popeye could drop all the seed that she didn't like eating over the edge of the cage for Ruby to eat.

Ruby loved sharing her food with L, literally. We didn't buy dog biscuits that Ruby liked, we brought ones that L liked!! And whenever we ate outside, Ruby knew to sit next to L because he'd take a bite and then give Ruby a bite of food.

Fly high Ruby girl, you were the bestest bull Terrier girl ever.

Just a dog named Ruby.

This is a story about a dog named Ruby - a stubborn but caring English Bull Terrier.

Shortly before L was due to arrive earth side in 2012, Daddy Superhero spotted a notice on his then work online notice board of an English Bull Terrier for sale. He has always had English Bull Terriers as family fur members, so we just had to have a look. The Bull Terrier was a rescue pup and in her first year of life had been through four owners, this intrigued us. We were told that Ruby had only just turned one.

I took O along with me (because Daddy Superhero was working) to meet Ruby and her former owners and immediately fell in love with this goofball puppy. We were told by her then owners that Ruby was stubborn and hard to control (ummm, she's a Bull Terrier, aren't they all stubborn??) and that she wasn't great with children. Her then owner explained that they were Ruby's fourth owner but she was just too boisterous and stubborn for them and Ruby's previous three owners. This really broke my heart, this beautiful brindle English Bull Terrier had been passed from owner to owner because they didn't understand the nature of the breed.

When O and Ruby met, they sat down on the grass side by side and O started giving little sticks to Ruby. Ruby took every single stick very gently from O's hands. O was only two and a half years old! Not good with children? Really?

O and I decided on our way home that we just had to have Ruby as our family fur member. So after speaking with Daddy Superhero, Ruby was collected and brought to her forever home.

 

From day dot, Ruby acted like she had always been with us and she was just marvellous with O. They became best buddies within days of living with our family. Whenever O was outside in our back yard playing, she would usually end up sitting on Ruby's bed or in Ruby's dog house getting puppy cuddles. When Ruby sneaked inside, she would end up in O's bedroom. They were the best of friends.

Ruby did think that she was part dog, part rabbit and part lorrikeet though! She would happily share her dry food with our pet rabbit and when Cutie (the rabbit) was out of his hutch, Ruby would go into the hutch to eat the dry rabbit food and rabbit poop!

Then L arrived earth side. Ruby was equally as loving and caring with L as she was with O, she had a new hooman child to look after. From the very beginning Ruby has instinctively known when either of the little superheroes has needed assistance. 

If either of the little superheroes were having a rough day, Ruby was there comforting them. Ruby used to sleep under the window of L's then bedroom.

 

The big boisterous, stubborn English Bull Terrier was the calming family fur member that both little superheroes needed. Back in Perth we used to say that Ruby was an untrained assistance dog. Ruby would never pass the public access test because she loves meeting new people and can't help herself when it comes to food, but she always knew exactly what to do to calm her hooman children.

And if there was any mischief being had, Ruby was usually in the thick of it!!

Ruby used to let the little superheroes get away with things that others wouldn't. Ruby would let L take food from her mouth. Ruby would let both little superheroes sit on her.

 

  

Ruby even featured in a photo shoot that the little superheroes were asked to appear in. The photographer wanted little superheroes and their pets!

When we made the decision to move from Perth to Queensland, it was a no brainer, Ruby was coming with us. We had to make the incredibly difficult decision to rehome our pet rabbit, both little superheroes were just devastated but unfortunately rabbits cannot be kept as pets in Queensland without a lot of modifications to their hutches.

The look on both little superheroes faces when they were able to give Ruby pats and cuddles at our new home in Queensland was wonderful. Ruby was exactly what both little superheroes needed to make our transition into life in Queensland easier.

This year Ruby turned twelve years old. Due to where we are now living, Ruby lives with the little superheroes grandparents. As L says "Ruby old now so she live with Grandma and Duddud cos they old too!" We visit Ruby several times a week and she does come for the occasional sleep over but her old bones struggle to get up our stairs.

We discovered late last year that Ruby has the same heart condition that our previous Bull Terrier, Ranger, suddenly and unexpectedly passed away from shortly after O was born. Ruby's heart is literally too large for her body and her system struggles to cope. Ruby is on some pretty strong heart medication to help slow the heart disease down and we know that one day, we are going to make the incredibly difficult decision to let her go peacefully.

She and Henry are great mates and while Ruby still believes that she is a puppy, her old bones struggle to keep up with Henry's energy.

While we had a Bull Terrier named Ranger when O was born, Ranger unfortunately passed away within a few month of O arriving, so Ruby is the first fur member that O can remember. When we visit Ruby, she follows O around because in Ruby's mind, O is her hooman child. When the day comes that we let Ruby go, both little superheroes are going to be hit hard but especially O. 

This stubborn bull terrier who we were told was not great with children and who had a rough start to life being handed from home to home, has proven that she is the best fur friend that we could ask for. And Ruby still knows exactly how to calm both her little superheroes.