Sex: Male
Birthday: 6/25/94
Died: 11/18/09 (15yrs old)
Location: SE Michigan
Links: Gabby’s Page, Photobucket, Youtube
The idea of a pet
In the spring of 1994, my wife Cathy wanted a puppy companion. She spent most of her time confined to our apartment because of her broken bones. I spent most of my time working or sleeping. I wasn’t thrilled about the idea of having a dog. I was more of a cat person. I half-heartedly entertained the idea of getting a small dog like a toy collie since we lived in an apartment. My wife surprised me when she said, “I bought a puppy.” I never agreed on the idea, plus she took a cash advance on my credit card to make this expensive purchase. At the time we were seriously in debt.
Meeting Gabby
We drove out to the breeder in a rural area of Southern Michigan to pick up Gabby. Cathy had already picked out Gabby on a previous visit. We looked at the puppies. I picked up a female puppy. She was adorable and tolerated being held. But my wife said that wasn’t Gabby. I picked up Gabby who wasn’t as adorable and didn’t like being held. Gabby squirmed in my hand and cried to be let go. I read somewhere that such behaviors were unfavorable in choosing a puppy and I told my wife so. She said the other puppies were already sold. We took Gabby home. Gabby cried terribly for the first couple of nights. He missed his mother and siblings. Later we found out Gabby was infested with fleas and worms which casts doubt in the care of his previous owners.
Gabby as a puppy
Gabby could barely walk when we got him. He wobbled around the apartment tripping over his own feet. Weeks later when Cathy had major surgery I had to take care of Gabby. As I spent more time taking care of Gabby we really bonded. I would look forward to playing with him when I got home from work. As soon as I got home, Gabby would greet me at the door by jumping on me and peeing on the floor. Soon, I was taking him for walks outside. As Gabby grew months older, he became steady on his feet and was running everywhere including the woods behind our apartment.
More to follow…