The Big Game

So today is the big game.  No, not the SuperBowl. I'll watch that but I really don't care for professional football. I'm talking about the Puppy Bowl on Animal Planet.

What started as a way for alternative programming on a lesser cable channel, has turned into big business. These puppies have all been rescued from shelters and then people adopt them. Information is given during the broadcast about how you the viewer can adopt an animal also.  Hundreds of dogs have been adopted through the Puppy Bowl.

And really, who could not resist the cuteness factor of puppies romping around playing with toys, rolling all over each other and just being puppies.

I can personally speak about the wonderful dogs that can be found at local shelters. Two of the three dogs we have had since being married have come from the local shelter.

Our firstborn, Bear, came to us when she was four weeks old. She was an adorable ball of fluff that looked like a stuffed animal, more than a real live dog. She was an Alaskan Husky mix and an extremely smart dog. She loved playing in the snow. She had a tendancy to escape and one time she was missing for four days. Luckily we found her but she was very mad at Dan because she blamed him (eventhough she did it to herself). After that we got a second dog, Dusty, to keep her entertained and let her feel like a mother. Dusty was a beagle mix that we bought from someone. She wasn't very smart but certainly loveable.  Bear developed epilepsy and it only got worse after Whitney was born so we had to give her away to live on a farm. She liked to run the cattle (maybe a little too much) and she enjoyed fishing because she would put her paws on the fish on the bank to keep them from getting away.

Abby showing school spirit

Our third dog, Abby, came from our local shelter also. It had been a couple of years since Dusty had died and Whitney really wanted a dog. She even came up with a powerpoint presentation on why we should get one. So Dan went to local shelters to see what was there and found Abby. She was about a year old and there she was standing in her pen with all the other dogs barking away and she was quiet. Not a single sound out of her. She knew a couple of commands so we knew she had been someone's pet and probably got lost. I thought she was funny looking and she is but in a sweet way. First people told us she was probably an Australian Sheep Dog with Beagle mixed in, but I didn't believe it. Then I found German Short Haired Pointers that had the same markings and tail so I knew that had to be it with some Beagle mixed in. She isn't as big as a pointer.  But she is probably the best dog you could ever want. She doesn't bark unless she is scared (a noise in the dark in the bushes will usually spook her), she doesn't lick you, and she thinks everyone is her friend. Her only problem is she sheds but if that is the worst thing you can say about a dog, she is the best one in the world.

Abby likes to sleep