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The Dogs
We love the dogs! Their lives are intertwined with ours ... we travel together, we eat together, we play together. Buddy joined us on 31 December 1999, the same day my father died ... we believe he was sent to us by my father to help me get through the difficult time adjusting to life "as an orphan." Buddy has lived up to his task. He was given the name my dad had as a child. Klondike joined us on 27 July 2008. He is still a puppy but looks up to his "big brother" and is trying to follow the example of the "big red dog."
Buddy the BlunderDog! The delinquent of his obedience class, Buddy has a lot to learn about proper behavior, but, when he wants, he does a decent "sit," "stay," and "high five." What more can we ask? Buddy is part Chow and part Coyote. Since he adopted us, walking onto our property of his own accord, we cannot tell if there are other dog types mixed in, but he is a Spitz-type dog.
Klondike, the super Klee Klondike is an Alaskan Klee Kai - aka, miniature husky (also of the "Spitz" family - see link below). We sought him out by looking for a dog that had the same personality as Buddy, but in a small size (he probably will not be more than 20 pounds at his adult weight). He is still young, so we aren't sure about all his characteristics, but he won our hearts at first meeting, so we are hopeful that he will grow into the predictions: loyal to "his people," a good watchdog (but poor guard dog), likes children, intelligent, and quick (to learn and to escape). He doesn't bark as much as he "talks." To learn more about Alaskan Klee Kais, go to http://www.alaskankleekai.com/spurlin/index.htm. So far, Klondike has gone through "puppy class" and graduated at the top (OK, only one dog showed up for graduation, but he went through the "tunnel" - with a little bribery from Butch & the treats that were laid out) and was given a "good down" (command) on his diploma. He has learned "sit" and "down" very well and is working on "leave it" and "stay." I think it will be a lengthy training. He has grown quite a bit since these photos were taken (he weighs about 8 pounds now). His fur is taking on a darker hue and we will post more recent pictures as soon as he sits still long enough and we have a camera on hand at the same time (these are more difficult to orchestrate than one might think). We still need to take a family photo of the 4 of us, but here are the dogs in shifts: "Do they get along," you ask? Well, check for yourself: Dogs playing "tug of war" - YouTube, 29 August 2026 Dogs "sharing" food - YouTube, 29 August 2026
Photo credits: Buddy by Pam McComb-Podmostko -http://www.pmccomb.com/Site/Welcome.html Klondike by Gary Friedman - http://www.friedmanarchives.com/ Learn more about Spitz dogs: http://www.boxcarbailey.com/spitzbreeds.htm