THE DOGS

Purebred Alaskan Eskimo Spitz(s)


 


       NELLIE                  MARCO            Ms. ANNIE
Nellie +Marco =Ms. Annie
        "mama"                     "papa"                   "the baby"
 
 


NELLIE


 


Nellie came to live with us in the summer of 1991.  She was born on
a farm in Lytle , Texas about 30 miles south of San Antonio.  She spent
her first 6 weeks or so living under the house at the farm with the rest
of her brothers and sisters.  The day we went to get her, she was carrying a ham bone about a foot long around in her mouth which was quite a site because she herself was only about 8 inches long at the time.  We soon learned that the day before was slaughter day at the farm, and these 'bones' were big treats for the puppies.

Nellie was filthy dirty and at first sight looked like she had dried mud on her ears.  We commenced to giving Nellie her first bath and discovered what we originally thought to be dried mud turned out to be chicken fleas. We had to literally pick each and every one off which left her tender ears raw and sore. Nellie has had two litters of puppies, the first bearing 7 little cotton balls and the second 6 little pups.

Nellie loves to travel and is always ready to get her collar on as she knows we are going somewhere in the car. One of her very favorite things is to go through drive-thru restaurants with McDonalds being her very favorite.  The child's' portion vanilla soft serve is ALWAYS her meal of choice !!

Nellie and Marco have not married to this day, but instead have chosen to just" live together". They seem happy as long as Nellie is in charge.
 
 

MARCO


 


When Nellie was about 2 years old, we started looking for her a 'mate'. Kathy called Dr. Cozad's office (our vet in San Antonio) and asked if they had any leads on a suitable gentledog for her.  The next day we got a call from the vet's office to tell us of a 'stray' Spitz that was being kept a couple of doors down from one of the girls that worked in the clinic.  That evening we went over to check out the possible suitor. Our first encounter with 'the Marco dog' was not very pleasant.  We learned that they had this 'stray' for a couple of weeks and had named him Marco. He had already taken to 'protecting' his adopted family and tried to bite Kathy and was very eager to show his teeth at both of us.  We reluctantly decided to take him anyway and give it a try, as the adopted family had run ads and tried to locate his owners with no success.

When we got Marco home and introduced him to Nellie (who happened to be in season), it was LOVE at first site.  A couple of months later, they had their first litter of puppies.  Marco has been a great dog and with his favorite spot being just inside our bedroom door, you can decide if you want to get bitten if you try to enter our bedroom.  Marco will give you a serious growl with enough time for you to REALLY think about the consequences !!

We have always wondered what Marco's background was as he seems to have been a 'family dog' that we think was lost by someone traveling thru San Antonio.

Marco has been a faithful husband to Nellie and still accommodates Nellie every time she is in season, but currently shoots blanks as Dr. Cozad accommodated our wishes.

Marco is a gentle, loving dog, that has a true knack for singing and loves to have his belly rubbed.  All it takes is the command "Roll over and get your belly rubbed" and he will plop over with all legs stretched into the air. He will even give you a man's "uuuh" as you rub!!  Marco's nickname is 'Fat Dog' as he has gained weight since coming to live with us-no doubt due to his love for ice cream as is with all the dog's.
 
 


Ms. ANNIE


 


Ms. Annie was born in our bedroom in March of 1994.  We will always remember this event as Nellie was very pregnant and expecting any day as we left on our honeymoon.  We told Nellie to please wait until we returned home.  And she was kind enough to accommodate us.  The day after we got home, she went into labor and Kathy had to help deliver all 6 pups as she had a hard time with this second litter.  At birth, all 6 pups were the same size, but as the weeks went by, Ms. Annie turned out to be the runt of the litter.

We held her for a couple of weeks for a "co-worker" of Kathy's who was trying to get the money together to buy this runt, but then we never heard from this "friend" again.  And so we decided (after becoming attached) to keep this little runt of the litter.  She was named Ms. Annie as she was kidded about being an orphan, so the only appropriate name would be Ms. Annie.

Ms. Annie is a mess.  Plain and simple.  After almost losing her to an intestinal parasite in her early years, Ms. Annie has become the 'baby' of the family. She is given special treats and has beef bones slow-smoked with mesquite wood bought and cooked specifically for her on a regular basis.  Most times she chooses to share her 'bones' with Nellie and Marco, but after they tire of chewing on the bones (about 10 minutes), she will confiscate them and claim them as hers.

Ms. Annie will stand up on her hind legs, give you those innocent little 'puppy eyes', and start waving her front legs as if to beg.  This is timed perfectly whenever there is a meal being eaten.  You will find yourself giving up a bite of whatever you are eating (many times after a growl).  She, like the other two dogs, loves her ice cream and will always join in whenever Marco decides to sing a song.

Ms. Annie does get less attention than she used to since we have acquired the 9 birds.  She tolerates the birds but gets extremely disgusted while having to wait for Sugar, the Quaker parrot, to finish eating on a T-bone before Ms. Annie gets it to take outside.  She will give you a genuine look of disgust when this occurs.

So in wrapping up this little history and story of our 'dogs', I guess the best way is to show you what the sign hanging inside our front door says.  Don't say you were not WARNED !!
 


Dog sign