A Brief Pre-History of Dash... or why it took me so long to find the perfect Corgi!
In the first few entries, I'm going to catch the world up on Dash's early months! And on my love for the Corgi breed.
I first met a litter of Pembroke Welsh Corgi puppies (about six weeks old at the time) when I was volunteering at my veterinarian's office. As a teenager, I was very active in Girl Scouts - so I could combine my love of animals, aspirations to be a vet, and service hours at the same time.
A breeder brought in her litter for its exam, and possibly shots, and it truely was love at first sight. I don't think Mama dog was even there. Pembroke puppies are adorable - and at that age looked like little stuffed animals. I'm not sure what it was about the babies that melted my heart, but I was lost to the breed forever.
Over the next 25 years I shared my home (well at first my parent's home) with two wonderful Shelties and a Chocolate Labrador. And still longed for my Corgi. After working on my father for several years (along with my sisters), he finally agreed we could have a dog. But as sibling rivalry would have it, he finally decreed that we had to AGREE on the breed and since we were at an impasse - find something other than a Corgi or a Golden Retriever. Thus Duchess entered our home and our hearts. She stayed with with my parents when I left home for college and later grad school. In graduate school, I met Mike. As graduation approached, I was already planning to add a Corgi to our home as we were both dogless at the time. In October Mike called and asked if I minded if we put off getting a Corgi so that he could bring Bixter home. Bixter was the son of Mike's sheltie Amber - and at the time was living with his parents because his sister could no longer keep him. Of course I said yes (is was now 1992). But with a one dog limit at the apartment, my Corgi dreams were delayed.
A few years later, we moved into a rental home, with again, a one dog limit. Though within a year we petitioned to add a second dog - Java, a Chocolate Lab who belonged to friends planning to emigrate overseas. At this time, both Bixter and Java were six years old. We enjoyed 10 more years with Bixter and about nine and a half more with Java before both passed away in 2005 at the respective ages of 16 and 15.5.
Also during this time period, our son Gus was born, and we bought our own house. But again, we delayed my Corgi dream because a puppy and an infant and two senior dogs was not a great mix.
However, just because we delayed the dream does not mean that I stopped learning more about the breed. With the growth in the internet, all manner of resources became available - aside from my dusty collection of books. I joined Corgi-L and got recommendations for what to look for in a Corgi - and even better - a recommendation for a Corgi breeder in North Carolina, where we now live.
I first met a litter of Pembroke Welsh Corgi puppies (about six weeks old at the time) when I was volunteering at my veterinarian's office. As a teenager, I was very active in Girl Scouts - so I could combine my love of animals, aspirations to be a vet, and service hours at the same time.
A breeder brought in her litter for its exam, and possibly shots, and it truely was love at first sight. I don't think Mama dog was even there. Pembroke puppies are adorable - and at that age looked like little stuffed animals. I'm not sure what it was about the babies that melted my heart, but I was lost to the breed forever.
Over the next 25 years I shared my home (well at first my parent's home) with two wonderful Shelties and a Chocolate Labrador. And still longed for my Corgi. After working on my father for several years (along with my sisters), he finally agreed we could have a dog. But as sibling rivalry would have it, he finally decreed that we had to AGREE on the breed and since we were at an impasse - find something other than a Corgi or a Golden Retriever. Thus Duchess entered our home and our hearts. She stayed with with my parents when I left home for college and later grad school. In graduate school, I met Mike. As graduation approached, I was already planning to add a Corgi to our home as we were both dogless at the time. In October Mike called and asked if I minded if we put off getting a Corgi so that he could bring Bixter home. Bixter was the son of Mike's sheltie Amber - and at the time was living with his parents because his sister could no longer keep him. Of course I said yes (is was now 1992). But with a one dog limit at the apartment, my Corgi dreams were delayed.
A few years later, we moved into a rental home, with again, a one dog limit. Though within a year we petitioned to add a second dog - Java, a Chocolate Lab who belonged to friends planning to emigrate overseas. At this time, both Bixter and Java were six years old. We enjoyed 10 more years with Bixter and about nine and a half more with Java before both passed away in 2005 at the respective ages of 16 and 15.5.Also during this time period, our son Gus was born, and we bought our own house. But again, we delayed my Corgi dream because a puppy and an infant and two senior dogs was not a great mix.
However, just because we delayed the dream does not mean that I stopped learning more about the breed. With the growth in the internet, all manner of resources became available - aside from my dusty collection of books. I joined Corgi-L and got recommendations for what to look for in a Corgi - and even better - a recommendation for a Corgi breeder in North Carolina, where we now live.
posted by Kirsten at
3:41 PM
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