We got Prince in June of 2001, when he was around 1 1/2 years old. He's a tall, skinny boy (er, it) who weighs between 60 and 65 pounds.
The background: We lost Bogie, at the age of 15, on April 27, 2001. Niki followed him within 5 weeks, at the age of 14. Sampson was devastated because he had never lived without those two around. We had planned on getting another dog - but certainly not as soon as we did. Our vet called us a week after Niki passed away to ask us to consider adopting a dog from a family that could no longer keep him. With Sampson nearly catatonic because of his loneliness, we took the request seriously.
I called the owner, and talked to her quite a while about Prince. It turns out that Prince had been acquired from someone else when he was approximately 8 months old (actually he had been abandoned by his previous owner). He seemed to be of German Shepherd descent and was a good-natured dog. There were two reasons that the family could not keep him:
- He's a runner. He has to be kept on a cable, leash, in a pen or in the house. When he is constrained in this manner, he is a perfect gentleman - but give him a chance out the door and he is gone. They had spent a couple of thousand of dollars having his right front leg reconstructed after he got hit on the highway not far from their house. They had also paid several fines for the dog running loose. The woman tried to keep him in the house or tied up, but the youngest child had a habit of letting the dog out unfettered.
- Not enough time. The family consisted of Dad (who was gone 5 AM until 8 PM), Mom and five children ranging in ages from 3 to 15. Mom was always busy with functions for the kids and did not feel that they were being fair to Prince (score a point for Mom). The 3 year old would not only let Prince out to run, he would climb on his back and try to ride him like a horse. Mom tried to be vigilant - but with 5 kids it?s tough.
The Wonderful Spouse and I discussed the issue and we decided we would go meet the Prince the next weekend. I called the family back and decided on a day and time.
In the end, The wonderful Spouse did not go with me - secure in the knowledge that I would bring the dog home, even though I claimed this was a scouting party. Well, apparently Prince's owners thought that I would take him too as they had packed all his toys, food and bedding - then bundled themselves off with the younger children to somewhere (I assume so that the children would not be traumatized by seeing the dog leave). They had left their 15-year-old boy to introduce me to Prince and help me load up.
Right away it was apparent that the Shepard was actually a mix - our best guess is with Greyhound (do we care that he's a mix - no, most of our animals have been mixes). He is tall and lean, with thin leg bones and a high tuck in the belly. His face is fine and delicate and the ears are tucked back (not straight up or floppy, like most dogs). And boy can he run!
I got Prince home and introduced him to Sampson, who perked up right away. Prince is not a dominant dog, and he was happy to let Sampson take the alpha position (not that Sampson ever really enforced it). It took literally no time for Prince to fit in with the family (Ok, so he liked to chase the cats - they needed exercise anyway, and he wasn't trying to hurt them). He instantly understood that the inside birds are off limits (one flew into his mouth one day, as he was yawning, the look on his face as he tried to spit it out was priceless - and yes the bird was fine). He is a very smart dog!
Since Bogie, being a Siberian Husky, was a runner, we are both set up for and experienced with runners. If Prince gets off the cable (I tell you, this dog is SMART - he can unhook the clip), we ignore him and he sticks around our house until he's tired of not getting any attention - then he comes up to the porch to be let in.
Prince has the prettiest "sit" that I have ever seen (don't know who taught it to him - but they did well). He is also very careful, almost dainty, when taking treats out of the hand. He is a delightful dog that is a little hyper - but is genuinely looking to please (especially since we now have a special clip on the runner that he can't get out of - yet). He loves playing with squeaky toys, but rarely likes to play fetch.
The part that was hardest to deal with, when we first got Prince, was his being very hyper. That is a big reason that we took Mischief in - but that is part of her story, which will be told later.
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