Enjoying all the Dogs

Our host family has three dogs:  Krusher, Sky and Amber.  They have completely different looks and personalities.

Krusher is a 2-year old German Shepherd.  As the largest dog of the three, he is of course our favorite.  Krusher was the runt of his litter, and his owner could not sell him as a puppy because he was quite sickly.  The owner gave him to Stevan, assuming he would die within a few weeks.  He was shocked when he stopped by Stevan's house a few months later and asked who the large German Shepherd was.  "Why, that's the dog you gave me," Steven replied.

Krusher is too large and rowdy to allow him to roam around the house.  So he lives in his own large private brick courtyard.  He is very excited to see us every time we come in or out of the house.  We have taken him for 3 walks since he has been here.  This is a special treat for him, because he is too large and unwieldy for his host family to walk him.

Krusher happily snoozes in his own private courtyard 

We have taken Krusher on walks to open areas in parts of the neighborhood that some people consider to be borderline dangerous.  But it hasn't been a problem in the early afternoon.  One time a friendly neighbor on the next street invited us inside his home to meet his own female German Shepherd and other dogs.  Through closed doors, that is. We decided to be adventurous, and had a positive cultural interaction.  Krusher liked her, and luckily refrained from eating the cocker spaniel when he snuck into the house.

Lynette, Sarah and I gave Krusher a bath one time.  It took all three of us.  Krusher resisted mightily at first because of the water spray, but finally relaxed and enjoyed a good smelling full body massage.

Rowdy Krusher is treated to a patio massage

Sky is an impish, energetic Jack Russell Terrier.  She likes doing the boxer-esque wiggle butt, and is quick to flop on the floor and ask for a tummy rub.  Sky is not shy about asking for your food.  She has a really funny, likeable personality.  We now understand Eddie from Frasier better.

Sky is in an unfamiliar stationary position

Sky more typically looks like this

Amber is an 11-year old Maltese/Terrier mix.  She is a totally chilled out ball of white fluff. It is usually hard to get much reaction out of her, except for the time that John tried to use her as his couch pillow.  Amber let John know in no uncertain terms that his behavior was totally unacceptable.

Sky more typically looks like this

This would not be complete without briefly mentioning the three favorite dogs on the work site. First there is Whiskey, a dog adopted by former volunteers who nursed him back to health. Sarah was quite fond of a dog she called "Mommy," who in spite of a serious injury always wagged her tail for Sarah. And then the puppy, who nipped at our heels to try to engage us in play. We will miss all of these dogs.

Whiskey hanging out in front of the library