Happy National Dog Day.

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Some history about the day.

National Dog Day is celebrated August 26th annually and was founded in 2004 by Pet & Family Lifestyle Expert and Animal Advocate, Colleen Paige, also the founder of National Puppy Day, National Mutt Day and National Cat Day and many more philanthropic days to bring attention to the plight of animals and encourage adoption. The date of August 26th is significant, as it's the date that Colleen's family adopted her first dog "Sheltie" when Colleen was 10 years old. 
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National Dog Day celebrates all dogs, mixed breed and pure. Our mission is to help galvanize the public to recognize the number of dogs that need to be rescued each year and acknowledges family dogs and dogs that work selflessly each day to save lives, keep us safe and bring comfort. Dogs put their lives on the line every day...
for personal protection, for law enforcement, for the disabled, for our freedom and safety by detecting bombs and drugs and pulling victims of tragedy from wreckage, now they're detecting cancer and seizures...things even humans cannot do. NDD was adopted into New York State Legislation in 2013.[/font]

I know Min and Steel help to get dogs adopted and many more of us have a crush on a dog (or more).  Even more of us share our lives and homes with non humans of one sort of others.  

To celebrate, I thought I'd share my own dog history and I invite everyone else to do the same.  I've had a dog in my life since 1969 when my parents terrier-mimutt got knocked up.  When I reached down to pet the pups one of them clung to my wrist when I pulled out.  I called her Bunny (no snickering) because as a young puppy that's what I thought she looked like and she was super soft.  When she died (auto accident  ) I adopted a young Collie/Shepherd cross named Sandy who lived to 12 before succumbing to kidney failure.  I had Sandy when I met Lia who had Kirscha, an elkhound a couple years older than Sandy.  They both died the same year and we got a dalmatian pup we named Daisy, our first dog together.  (Don't ever get a Dalmatian, seriously.)  When Daisy neared senility we picked up a lab/golden cross puppy I found advertised in the newspaper who we named Sophie.  When she died I made this mosaic.



Sophie made it to 15.  When she no longer cared to eat or sniff around when carried downstairs I let her go.  Before she went we got the dog we'd put Lia's aunt and uncle up to getting in their 80's, an Australian Shepherd named Fletcher.  He was our first herding dog and first male dog.  Total rogue with no idea of what a command was (picture 80 yearolds chasing after him as a pup), but super social skills and judgement.  Fletcher's tribute mosaic.



Before Fletcher died we'd adopted Heidi Rose, an Aussie/Heeler cross I found on line when she was a little more than 1.  She is now 7 or 8.  We have become sold on Aussies after Fletcher but went with a cross because his hair was just way too high maintenance.  You all have seen plenty of her and I haven't had cause to make a mosaic of her pics yet.  Here is one of her with Fletcher.



That brings us to our newest, now nearly 13 months, Smokey.  We were all set to adopt a purebred aussie from N. Ca. Aussie Rescue.  But when they turned us down because we don't let our dogs sleep in our bedrooms, I figured fuck them and went shopping for what I really wanted, an aussie/heeler cross.  Smokey is the first dog I've bought from a breeder.  We are very happy with him, shown here on a trail with Heidi.



Your turn.