Twelve and Two!

This month the boys turned twelve and two!

Scout, the short-haired cutie on the right, pre-dates Dan and has been by my faithful friend for twelve years. Darby, the long-haired fur ball on the left, is the baby of the family and he, too, is a mama’s boy.

What’s the difference between twelve and two?

Not too terribly much, except maybe a little glucosamine and the need for a few more dog naps throughout the day! You can read about some of Scout and Darby’s antics by reading the “Get the Puppy” portion of my April 2010 blog post.

As you know, I adopted Scout and his twin brother, Bandit, in September of 1998, and the two of them were quite the pair. Unfortunately, we lost Bandit to cancer in March of 2009, but Scout is still going strong.

As puppies, Scout and Bandit were a handful. The two of them munched a few pairs of shoes, chewed up a bit of linoleum, and put teeny tiny teeth marks in the legs of my kitchen table and the outer edges of my bookshelves. They also dragged mops and brooms out the dog door and perched themselves atop the dishwasher door to sneak a few licks of food from the plates and bowls!

As young adults, Scout and Bandit loved taking long walks and car rides to Grandma and Grandpa’s house where they spent quite a bit of time, as I was taking college courses and working towards my bachelor’s degree. Scout and Bandit also loved their stuffed hedgehogs and enjoyed playing catch and keep away. They also liked to wrestle with one another and always slept curled up together, side by side.

At age five, Scout and Bandit accepted Dan into our family and we began to travel together, visiting many of New Mexico’s state parks and camping. At age eight, Scout and Bandit went to school and learned a few new tricks and took their first and only agility class at age nine. Sadly, we never took any photos of them during agility class, but the memories remain fresh in our minds. Bandit was quick and nimble on the A-frame, Scout was fast and confident on the teeter totter, and Dan and I have never laughed or enjoyed ourselves so much!

Dan and I adopted Darby in August of 2008 and he, too, is quite the dog. Much like the rest of the gang (including Daisy), Darby has left teeth marks on the furniture and destroyed a few things around the house. Darby has, however, managed to leave the linoleum alone, but he did take a nice big bite out of the door jam and completely chewed off the corner of my armoire! Darby also likes to drag his blankets out the dog door and will gobble up anything that hits the kitchen floor.

Darby and Bandit were also the best of friends. They played chase and fetch together while Bandit was well and then Darby happily trotted alongside Bandit in his stroller and slept curled up next to him every night while he was sick, bringing him toys in the morning and playing gently with him until the end.

Darby also loves to wrestle, pester his sister, and take car rides to Grandma and Grandpa’s house where they feed him people food. He also likes stuffed hedgehogs, but prefers to shred and eat them rather than playing nice with them like Scout and Bandit! Darby travels well and he and his siblings have visited many different places, including the Petrified Forest (Darby’s very first family road trip) and, most recently, the Grand Canyon.

As you might remember from my April 2008 blog post, Darby’s life got off to a bit of a rough start, but, despite his troubled beginnings, he has overcome many things and turned into an amazing dog. Darby started school early and has successfully completed two different obedience classes and began taking his first agility class this month. Much like his brothers, Darby seems to be a natural on the agility course and he has already mastered most of the equipment, including the tricky weave poles! Here are two photos from Darby’s agility class.