We currently have two dogs, Elvis and Princess. We didn't name either of them, but their names certainly fit their personalities. Elvis was given to us by a family that was moving and unable to take him along. Princess was collected from the animal shelter shortly before Amber passed away.

Elvis (aka Big E)

Elvis is our eldest dog though he's only four. I don't know for certain why his previous owners named him Elvis, but he sure likes to howl at every opportunity. He's a purebred Golden Retriever, but he doesn't really like to retrieve. He spends a lot of time sleeping though we finally broke him of his habit of sneaking up on the couch for a nap.

Elvis is very even tempered and has an intense desire to please, like most Goldens. He puts up with a lot of stuff from Princess, our youngest (see below). He has a big heart and likes to ham it up whenever he feels he has an audience, like here for example!

The biggest problem we have with him is his desire to roam. He just loves to see what's around the next corner and given the slightest opportunity he will bolt for parts unknown! Combine his wanderlust with his horrible sense of direction and you have a dog that gets lost every time he gets away from us. He doesn't get away very often, but when he does, it takes forever to find him. When we finally manage to track him down, he seems very relieved to see us. We're sure he knows he's lost and has no idea how to get home.

Despite his "big dumb oaf" act, Elvis is really very smart. Here he is with Cheryl attending obedience classes. He has since graduated and is now working on his Canine Good Citizenship (CGC) Award. He often serves as the "example" dog during training classes and really enjoys his school time, probably because it always involves an audience!

UPDATE!!
On July 11, 1997, Elvis successfully completed his Canine Good Citizenship Test and is now an AKC certified Canine Good Citizen !!!

Princess (aka Peanut)

Quick! Look! Princess is sitting still!

Princess is a "genetically diverse" breed, otherwise known as a mutt. I doubt her previous owner named her Princess because it fit her personality, but she certainly is a princess...a Canine American Princess! She is spoiled, rude, inconsiderate, self-centered and demanding. She also seems to win everyones heart almost immediately. She wants everyone to love her so badly that you can't help but like her even though she makes an immense pest of herself in the process.

Here Princess is practicing here telekinetic powers by attempting to move her squeaky yellow football with her little dog brain. So far, she has not been very successful, but she does keep trying. She just loves to play fetch and will continue until she passes out from exhaustion. We believe that if we x-rayed her head, we would find a tennis ball where her brain is supposed to be.

Princess not only outruns Elvis, but she outswims him as well! He doesn't seem to mind too much, but if he doesn't get to at least play with the ball, he will begin to bark in frustration. Poor guy! We always make sure he gets to catch a little by faking Princess with a false toss to one side and then pitching the ball to Elvis. He just wants to feel like he's contributing and pretty soon Princess has swiped the ball from him.

Of course, after too much humiliation, Elvis will begin to try and act as if he didn't really want to get the ball, he just happened to be swimming there. Here we see him pretending he wasn't interested in the ball after Princess has snatched it away (once again) just before he got there.

Amber

Amber was our first, and best, dog. She was very special to us and while we dearly love our current pets, there will never be another like Amber. Below are two photos from the day we got her way back in February of 1985.

The pictures below were taken shortly before she passed away in February of 1995. In the photo on the left, Amber is posing for an artist who Cheryl contracted to make a portrait as a birthday present to Jay in June of 1994. The photo on the right shows her playing with a toy she received for Christmas, 1994. She wasn't eating well at that time and we soon found out that she had advanced lympho-sarcoma, cancer of her lymphatic system.

We did what we could for her, including chemotherapy, but she grew steadily worse becoming unable to stand on her own or to eat and would often cry out in pain. In February 1995, we made a last trip with her to the vet and held her as the injection was made. We brought her home and buried her beneath an oak tree that she had often sat under for shade. She was my best friend for many years and a loyal companion. The portrait of Amber that Cheryl had made for me turned out to be a very timely gift and will always be one of my favorite and most treasured gifts.

Jake (aka Weasel)

Actually, the name and alias should be reversed! We seldom called him Jake. When Cheryl and Jay met, Jake the Wonder Cat was a mere kitten living with Cheryl. Though declawed, he loved to go out and Cheryl couldn't bear to make him stay in. In November of 1994, just a few weeks before Amber became ill, we found him beside the road where he had been hit by a car. He didn't appear to have suffered and we buried him at home near a bush he liked to sun under.

The winter of 1994/95 took quite a toll on us.

Any comments? Please let us hear from you!

Click here to visit our Boating Page

Click here to visit our SeaCat Page

Click here to visit our Home Page

Click here to visit our Fishing Page

Our SCUBA Page