NEVER...EVER...GIVE UP HOPE : Dogs - H is for Hiding Behind the Tree

"Please, please help me find a home for this dog," my friend pleaded with us. I listened as she explained that her neighbor was keeping their dog chained inside their garage and decided they didn't want her anymore and were going to have her put down.

I certainly didn't want or 'need' another dog but curiosity got the best of us, so we told her we would have a look and maybe find a suitable home.

She was literally chained in a garage; no windows, no lights, no bed, no water. She was on a short leash and there was a circle of poop around her. When she saw us, her eyes said it all. "Please help me. I will love you. Please!"

I took one glance at my husband and knew what we had to do. We asked the owner if we could find a home for this red Doberman so they would not have to put her to sleep. They were happy to be rid of her. She was only NINE MONTHS old. Her name was Sinker or we called her, Sinky.

Within minutes we assessed that this was no average dog. She was intelligent, beautiful (after a nice long bath) and incredibly gentle.

Sinker was with us for 13 years and was an incredible baby-sitter for our son. If he was playing in the yard and got too close to the road she would literally, GENTLY, grab him by the seat of his pants and pull him back.

She may have been named "Sinker" because she would eat everything but the kitchen sink. She loved corn cobs but her favorite was standing on her hind legs and eating every plum she could pick off the tree, pit and all.

As with most Dobermans, they have a tendency to chill easily as they have a large body and not a lot of fur so it is important they be kept warm. When we would leave home for the day, we always made sure she was wearing a sweater while she waited for us outside.

Dogs can get embarrassed too!

Our mailman stopped in to see us one day and he was laughing so hard he could hardly tell us what had happened. He had delivered a parcel the day before and when he pulled into the yard, Sinker ran and hid behind a large tree. He knew her and tried to beckon her to come out but she would peek around the side of the tree and then hide again. He said "It was so obvious that she was embarrassed by that ridiculous Argyle man's sweater vest she was wearing. She looked stupid and she knew it."

Dobies are one of the most loyal breeds and will go to any length to protect their masters. They have a way of intimidating unique to them. We lived on a cul-de-sac and on weekends teens would drive there to 'party'. Even though we were inside the house with Sinker, she wanted to get outside and chase them away. We would open the front door and give the command. She wasted no time in running to the end of the driveway and jumping on the hood of their cars and barking at them through the front windshield. She could look pretty ferocious and you never saw cars move so fast. It was our form of old-people entertainment! And the neighbors were very happy that she was the Clean-up Committee to keep these party animals out of the neighborhood.

It was so difficult to have to say good-bye to her after 13 years as always. I ask..."Why can't dogs live as long as we do?"

B is for Babe
D is for Dyeing Hair
E is for Emergency
F is for Flying Snakes and Flying Dogs
G is for Galloping down the Highway