Appaloosa!

OH MY GOSH!

FIRST OFF, I LOVE RIDING HORSES.
SECOND OFF, MY DAD HAS EXCELLENT CONNECTIONS!
THIRDLY, I MIGHT GET TO GO DOWN TO FORT WORTH, TX IN NOVEMBER AND RIDE HORSES TO KEEP THEM IN SHAPE DURING THE INTERNATIONAL APPALOOSA HORSE SHOW AND BE A VOLUNTEER! PRAY IT WORKS!!! GUYS, THIS COULD BE AWESOME

My Bubba Dog

Bubba got put down today. We think he was going senial because ever since about 6 months ago he's been so paranoid and afraid of absolutely everything in his old age to the point of him breaking down the fence whenever he wasn't totally comfortable with something. He was 11, German Shepard/Lab mix; sweetest puppy ever had. He was afraid of lightning and thunder, camera flashes, and swimming, vacuum cleaners and brooms, bigger dogs and tiny animals like mice and rats. He had the most primitive and awesome howl any dog could make. I'd watch him howl when he'd hear a siren and he looked so magestic with his tail arched and his head pointed up. I loved hearing him howl. He was a juvenile delinquint in his younger days and was at his best around age 6. I taught him how to shake hands (finally) at age 8 and remembered it perfectly, I was so proud of him, he totally put down the myth of not being able to teach old dogs new tricks.
He chased cats all through his life, but finally, around his 9th year he stopped caring about them as much, which was nice, seeing as how that's when Sweetums came into our lives. When he was taken in today he passed a cat and didn't even growl, just sniffed at it and walked on in.
Tara taught him how to go down a slide, it was one of the only semi-brave things he could do. We'd hide from him on our walks and he'd be exploring, realize we weren't around, look around whipering and be so relieved when we'd pop our heads out from behind a tree. He was such a good, loyal animal, he'd kill for any one of us, no doubt about it.
I had to get something from outside on the deck and I went out there, expecting him to run up and slobber on my leg, but he didn't come. It was then that I realized my puppy had left and wasn't going to be scratching on the fence or barking at 6 in the morning or be found in my front yard, wagging his tail at me when I'd be trying to get him in the backyard. Yep, Bubba's gone. It's all starting to settle in and now I'm more accepting than sad. Yes, I am sad about it, but I think it was for his benefit. He probably was in pain and very confused since it's so common in dogs his age and of those breeds...Good, ol Bubba...I'll never forget him.