Brinkley... The Best Valentine Gift... Ever!

Just before Valentine's Day this year, I found out about a dog that was being neglected and needed a good home. I saw his picture and my heart melted. I just knew he was supposed to come to our home. It had been almost three months since we had had Lorenzo put to sleep. The day before I heard about this dog and saw his picture, I had just been telling someone that we were not ready for another dog yet. When I knew that this dog was to be ours, I called Steven and asked him if I could get a dog. He agreed right away, no hesitation.

Before going to pick this dog up, we had a long conversation about the problems that he may have as a result of being neglected and maybe even abused. We went that night to pick him up. He was hyper and out of control. The man put a chain on him to walk him to our car and the dog nearly dragged the guy to the car. My eyes were as big as saucers. The man's wife sensed there was something wrong and asked me if we were still willing to take him. I could see that they had not taken good care of him and although I could see he was going to be a big undertaking, I knew I could not leave him with them. I told her we were taking him.

They had been honest with us on some things but not on others. They had told us he had not been neutered and that he had had no shots. He was nearly 2 years old already. They said he was potty trained... he was not. They said he was leash trained... I could tell when he was being walked to our car, he was not leash trained. They did not really say that they had neglected him but said that they just did not have time for him.

The first four to six weeks were really tough. We got him potty trained and leash trained. We have him in obedience classes. We got him his shots and got him neutered. He is still pretty skinny but his ribs are less visible now. We gave him a bone the second night we had him. It was not until his fourth week with us that he began to chew on the bone. We still have a couple of hurdles to jump, like his aggression toward other dogs. He really tries to do what we ask of him. He really is a good dog.

He is so precious. He gives hugs and kisses. He likes to snuggle with us. In spite of his 75 pound frame, he thinks he is a lap dog. He has fully accepted my parents as his second set of parents. He loves to go visit my parents and really enjoys playing in their back yard. He likes to play with his stuffed animals, chew on bones, and play ball. More than anything, he loves to play ball. If you show him a treat and a tennis ball, he will choose the tennis ball. He has amazing focus when the tennis ball is out. He is so completely obsessed with the tennis ball that we have to put it up and out of sight if we want him to do anything else. He is curled up next to me as I am typing this. He is such a Love! He really is the best Valentine gift we could ever have gotten!