The best "worst dog ever" ever...

A lot of people have dogs or had dogs growing up. I didn't have dogs growing up. My dad said our yard wasn't big enough for a dog...but seriously, how big does a yard have to be for say, a Chihuahua (I had to ask Abby how to spell that! She actually failed and spellcheck picked up the slack) Anyway, the point is...I think my dad just didn't want a dog. They have one now, my mom and dad, thanks to me. I picked out a clearance puppy and, along with my siblings and dad, gave it to my mom last year for her birthday...that'll teach him!

But the point is, I didn't have a dog growing up...and I was seriously jealous of all dog owners. But, after not having one growing up, it became the more natural thing than having one and it took me many years of home ownership before I realized that I could actually be in charge of that decision, sort of...You see, I'm married, and apparently it is common in stable marriages to ask your spouse's opinion on such matters as getting a pet...who knew?

Our first pets were cats...two of them...Thunder and Lightning. They were okay but cats only provide so much "pet fun" before they are just something you are cleaning up poop and hair (and sometimes worse) after. We had the cats for about a year and Kevin had eased into being a "pet owner" when we watched the movie Shiloh...never do that...that movie makes Beagles seem like really cool pets. So we got a beagle and we named her Casey (Cole, Abby, Samantha and Erin...the "Y" was just because Case was a stupid name for a dog.) Everything was okay (sort of) until I got pregnant with Travis. I couldn't handle taking care of a dog and also there was nowhere to put a T in that name and still make it a good name for a dog. So she went to live elsewhere.

About a year and a half after Travis was born my oldest (and by oldest I mean most long standing) friend in the world lost her husband in a car accident. It sort of threw me for a loop because I couldn't save him for her. I couldn't fix it. So for some crazy reason known only to God I did two things. I got pregnant again and I got into rescuing dogs (and cats and anything needy I could get my hands on). Things got a little out of hand for awhile (if you ask Kevin he would say a lot out of hand...but we didn't ask Kevin). Eventually, I decided that I wanted the perfect dog and I started doing research on what that perfect dog would be. I became enthralled with the border collie because they are so smart and smart='s perfect...right?

We found a border collie breeder in Richmond, Virginia...in hindsight, I wonder why I didn't just find one around here...but that would take a lot of fun out of this story so I guess I'm glad I didn't. We picked our dog out through pictures on a website. He was born in early June 2003 and we were allowed to pick him up about five weeks later (too early). I loaded the kids in the van to go get him. We took a friend of Samantha's with us and also picked up a stranger in West Virginia who had purchased a dog from the same breeder a year before. Looking back, this was an extremely odd decision...and she was just plain weird...I would not do that again.

We drove straight to Virginia and stayed in a hotel near the highway were the snipers of 2002 had taken some victims...that was an odd, yet interesting factual tidbit on our trip. I remember driving by signs for Washington D.C. and other historical landmarks without ever considering a stop...I'm a much different person now. We picked up our dog and one other dog that we were bringing back to Michigan so another person could take her home. The lady we were picking up the dog for was named Judy..so that is what we called the spare. We named our dog Levi and he rode almost all the way home from Richmond, Virginia on the back of my neck as I drove.

Kevin wasn't really a fan of the "idea" of this dog. Kevin is a type A guy...he really likes his "ducks in a row" and he has often thrown around terms like "financial security" and "being responsible" with our money. I think God has a super huge sense of humor when I think about Him making Kevin fall in love with me:-) But anyway, he didn't like the idea that we were paying $500.00 for a dog and driving all the way to Virginia to get it. It took Kevin about 24 hours to fall for Levi. He really is that cool of a dog.

From the start Levi was well behaved. He never chewed anything up. He liked to play and it may have taken us all of a day or two to house train him. So, folks aren't lying when they say border collies are smart. He did run out onto a couple of soccer fields in the middle of games. Including a college match at SAU...Kevin was, in fact, mortified by this fact...stuff happens!

As Levi aged though we noticed he would not do "dog things". He won't play fetch, well, he will chase a ball or Frisbee, but he won't bring it back. He just knocks it down and then looks at us like we are some kind of imbecile for just tossing something away when, clearly by the way we are begging him to bring it back to us, we wanted it. We also noticed a pronounced limp in his rear, right paw. After several vet appointments and a trip to MSU for x-rays, we found he was actually missing a toe bone and was likely developing severe arthritis due to the rubbing of bones together. It doesn't really stop him from chasing the kids, any kids, trying to keep them in a circle. He just pulls up his foot and keeps on running. I can only imagine the pain he is in but he never even acts grumpy.

When I contacted the breeder to let her know Levi had a "genetic fault" she gave me the option of returning him and picking out another dog. This was NEVER even considered. How can you not remain faithful to an animal who remains faithful to you.

So he is 7 years old now. He has horrible breath, his hair falls out in clumps and he has doggy dandruff. His foot has only gotten worse. He can't even go for walks with us because it just seems so painful. He is still the coolest dog in the world. He plays hide n seek, and is the best soccer goalie in the house. He puts up with all the different animals and people we have brought through the house in the past 7 years and occasionally tries to play with us just to remind us that he still knows he's supposed to be a dog.

"Dog people" tried to warn me away from the Border Collie breed; "You know they need a job or they become destructive", "You know they will nip at your children when they run". Dogs are individuals just like people. Levi would be appalled that he is associated with a high maintenance dog breed. He would be sure to show you that he has risen above his station in life. Maybe just because, even though he wasn't perfect, or even what we expected, he was accepted for who he was and loved unconditionally. Hmmmm...maybe there is a lesson in there...

I'm including some of my most recent favorite pictures of Levi because I like pictures. I would post some of the old ones too but he looks pretty much the same only bigger!