Blogging my dogs

My niece, Channing, with Brandy

According to Carol of She Lives, today is "Blog Your Dog Day." And since this is Monday, and no pearls of wisdom seem to be falling from my mouth (or keyboard), I will oblige.

How did someone who has never been a dog-lover end up with not one, but TWO dogs? Well, chalk that up to my love for my family.

I know it makes me seem like a cold-hearted witch, but I just never grew up being a lover of dogs. Yes, we had the occasional dog, but they were pretty much my brother's domain. I really didn't have a lot to do with them. And since we usually lived places where the climate was generally warm, said dogs lived outdoors, heightening my lack of proximity to them.

But several years ago, when my husband and kids came home with an adorable German Shepherd puppy, how could I resist those pleading puppy dog eyes? (Or those of my husband and kids?)

She joined our family in April--the height of thunderstorm season in northern Illinois--so we named her Stormy. She has been a very good dog for us. She was house-trained in no time at all; she's generally obedient and docile, but I'm pretty sure she would kill for us. She's also a very beautiful dog.

Her only faults are that she barks too much and she sheds like there's no tomorrow. Because of the shedding, she is mostly an outside dog.

Then there's Brandy, who you see above (unfortunately, I don't have a pic of Stormy on the computer.)

Brandy has been with us since Thanksgiving of last year. We picked her up from my sister Beverly when we spent Thanksgiving with her in Wyoming. Several of my family members from Texas were there as well, and that's why you see Channing holding Brandy.

Brandy is one of the cutest dogs I've ever seen, and has a sweet, jolly little personality. I have never EVER seen a dog love her toys as much as Brandy does. I find it very endearing that Brandy doesn't shed at all. However, she has been very challenging to potty-train. Even though she's well over a year old, she still has the occasional accident, which drives me nuts.

Although sometimes the responsiblity of taking care of two animals gets to be a bit much (although I must say, Justin and Elizabeth take care of most of it when they're around), I really do like both our dogs. They're both special in their own way.