Karma Dog

Aspen was a sweet, lovable friend of mine. He joined our family when
one of my neighbors moved. We found out that he had left a dog tied up
behind his house. At first, we made sure the dog had water, food and
put down some straw to keep him out of the mud. Eventually, we made a
call and told the owner — Aspen had a new home.

Covered in ticks, dirty and in need of a manicure, Aspen was brought
to his new home and joined our pack. By his hesitancy and shyness, we
figured that he had never been inside a home. That was confirmed when
I heard a dog peeing. Turning around, I saw Aspen — leg lifted —
peeing out an open window. Right idea, wrong execution.

At his first vet appointment, we found out he had heart worm. I just
couldn’t put down the dog without trying to save him. Thankfully, he
survived the treatment and began his new life at our home. Eventually
he came to realize that a hand reaching out to him was for giving a
pet, that a hug wasn’t something to be scared of and that being part
of a pack (we have three other dogs and me) was a good thing.

Aspen lived with us for over three years. During that time, he
received the life and love that was denied him at his old home. His
howl all made us smile and when we finally had to put him down, he
left with our love and my daughter’s tears on his fur.

I miss him dearly.

David Gough

Took this photo of Ely (Blue Heeler/Border Collie) while climbing in Moab, UT. He hunkered down in the grass and was equal parts...

Aren't I adorable?

Don't you feel bad that I have to sit here ALL alone?

My colors do pop nice against this foliage

I'm sexier than Kate Moss, right?

And finally, I couldn't be more comfy, so don't feel bad...unless you want to. He's a bit neurotice, but I guess we are too, 'cause we couldn't love him more if we tried!!!!

Nicole M

Salt Lake City

See  more of Nicole's wonderful photography at http://www.nicolemorgenthau.com

You know how some people say they have "the greatest dog in the world"? Well believe it or not, I had one. Her name was Daisy and she was a mutt. I say that in the kindest way. Over the years we decided she was a Spitz type breed - maybe Husky with Golden Retriever, and Collie mixed in. As a puppy she looked exactly like a Golden, but by the time she was a few months old, her ears pricked up (of course not at the same time) and we had a beautiful apricot colored Husky-type dog.
I wasn't the only one to notice how pretty she was. On our walks, people would admire her. "Beautiful dog" they would say, "what is she?". I always had the same reply - Husky/Retriever/Collie. But that was only my best guess.
We met Daisy on a fluke. I wanted to get our little girl (she was all of 2) a puppy for Christmas. Now that I look back, I wanted a puppy for Christmas. I had a small Poodle growing up - she was a nice dog, just not the dog I thought I should have. I wanted a dog that would wrestle, play Frisbee, retrieve anything that was thrown and generally run around a lot. I wanted a dog that would go hiking, accompany me on errands and visit friends and their dogs. I lived in Colorado and having a dog that traveled well was important to me. It would be fun - driving around in my convertible, cd playing, our hair (or fur) flying in the wind.
The first day we saw Daisy, she was with a litter of 9 that came from 5 different sires. Her brothers and sisters ranged from terrier mixes to spaniel mixes and everything in between. She was a cute ball of golden fur. My first question - how big would she get? At that first meeting I thought she would grow to be a 65lb. Golden Retriever. Floppy ears, sweet face, the works. But I was wrong, she was so much more.
It was a Saturday and we were making the rounds to the local pet shops looking for a puppy to adopt. After three stops, we decided she was the one. After all - every store we visited, Daisy was there along with her brothers and sisters. Her caretakers were making the rounds too. We figured it was fate, so on went the collar and out came the checkbook. We had our dog.
I always described Daisy as having manners. Because she did. Even as a small puppy she would patiently wait by the door to go out. No loud barking, she seemed fine with waiting her turn, not wanting to disturb you. She didn't jump, drool, lick, or bark excessively. How polite we thought. I got use to having a well mannered dog, and so did my friends. Wasn't everyone's dog like this? I'm sure part of this was due to the fact I worked out of my home. We did everything together, she was my companion. Our days included a long walk with an off leash romp near a stream. Definitely a "dog's life". Daisy was content and so was I.
Yes, Daisy was my best girl. She was smart and gentle and a joy to have in our family. She lived until she was 11. Not long enough for any of us, especially me. Now my daughter is a teenager, my son is 10 and we have decided to take a chance on another rescue dog.
After looking on-line at shelters all over the country (is Sacramento to far to go for a dog?) I decided to work with a Collie rescue group in Ohio (only three hours away!). They had 7 Collie puppies they were rescuing from a shelter in Kentucky (the pups originally came from Arkansas)-and two were headed to Ohio - did I want one? They sent a photo and we were in the car the next day to get our new pup.

Echo is a year and a half now, he is sable and white and looks more like a Farm Collie than a huge fluffy Collie. He's small as far as male collies go - only 45lbs. - the same size as Daisy. He's a stinker - a barker (by design), likes to jump (often with all four paws in the air), a nipper (herding is in his blood), a licker (is he part cat?), has a potty mouth (toilet water - yum!), is afraid of the lawn mower, vacuum and blender, loves to nip at bare feet, is relentless when he thinks it's playtime and not quite as polite as my girl, but I guess there's time. What he is -  is sweet, full of energy, great on a lead, super at playing fetch, has mastered a few tricks, great with the kids and is learning agility.
Daisy was my best girl and I hope I had something to do with that. So now it's Echo's turn - who knows maybe someday Echo will be my "best boy".

The charcoal drawing of Luna when she was a puppy was drawn from a photo of her I took outside in the snow. I remember her looking up at me and waiting patiently while I took the picture. She is a very patient and mellow dog. We got her when she was 8 or 9 weeks old from a friend of a friend whose dog had puppies. Before we went into their home to meet all of the puppies, my husband Peter said he was just going to meet the puppies and observe them to see which puppy to choose. As we were driving home with her, Peter said he knew right away Luna was "the one" because when we walked into their home, all of the other puppies were running around all over, but Luna came over and licked the snow off of his shoes.

Last year I did a painting of our other dog Oreo for my son Christopher, so I wanted to do a painting of Luna for Peter. The painting of Luna was done from a photo that Peter took of her in the backyard. He had taken quite a few photos of Luna and chose the photo that he felt best caught her personality. Sometimes Luna is shy and doesn't want to go into the yard and play with Oreo and Peter, but when she does go running down the stairs of the deck and gallops over to Peter to play... it makes his day.

— Mindi Schappach

 This beautiful girl is the love of the Zeigler's life and we can see why!

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