Anyone that knows me even a little bit knows how much I love my dog Finnegan. When Rob and I got Finnegan we were just getting over the heartbreak of losing our first puppy Mulligan. Mulligan got very sick a few weeks after he came home with us and died two weeks after. Three months after Mulligan died we picked up Finnegan. He came home with us on my birthday and I was madly, deeply in love from that moment on.
Growing up I never had a dog so I have always been surprised at how much my life began to revolve around Finnegan. Finnegan is always under my feet. He sleeps with me, he follows me into the bathroom, sits next to me on the couch, sits under my feet at the dinner table. When I get in from work without fail, Finnegan is there shaking his butt and trying to kiss me. When I go out the my car to get something and come back in; Finnegan is there waiting for me at the door and looking for a kiss. When I am happy he jumps around with me and when I am sad he lays beside me. When my mother was in the hospital two years ago and I didn’t want anyone to see me breakdown crying; I hid in the utility room crying. Finnegan came and found me, he kissed my whole face till I stopped crying and started laughing
When Finnegan first met Derek then Hayley he sniffed them every so gently and then would lay next to wherever they were.
He took to his role of guard dog immediately and even on walks he won’t let any stranger or dog near “his kids”
My children adore Finnegan. They play fetch with him, pet him, tried to ride him like a horse (we tell them stop) and Finnegan is amazingly gentle and loving with them. Derek was even born on Finnegan’s first birthday! When the kids were at that tough age where they would pull his hair or hit him instead of pet him; Finnegan would just get up, go across the room and lay down away from them. When they were infants and would cry he would go running.
The reason I started this post is because today I read a horrific story about a man shooting to beautiful Bernese Mountain Dogs in Chester County, PA. The puppies were 1 and 2 years old. They were part of a family that has 3 kids. The pups got out of their house or yard and when this man saw them he did what he says he does, as he stated, “I shoot first and ask questions later” WTF is wrong with our world. There was a fence between the shooter and the dogs. After he shot and killed the first pup he shot the second as she was running AWAY! Since when is this OK. Thank goodness charges are being pressed against him but seriously what is going on, when is enough…enough!! Who is going to explain to those children where their puppy siblings are? How do you tell children a man shot their dogs because they were running about and couldn’t find their home. Why is a man that says such things as “I shoot first and ask questions later” allowed to have a gun at his home? WHY??!!!
I can’t help but think what if this were Finnegan. What if this were my pup, the one I call my son from another mother.
Please check out my friend Lisa’s post
Sarah, as a dog lover, this made me cry. I can’t imagine the pain those poor owners feel after losing their two dogs. Your pictures are beautiful, and I love Finnegan!! Our society would be so much better with more dogs and fewer guns …
Oh Lois, I have been crying all day for those poor dogs and their families. I can’t imagine how hard it must be to go to sleep in their quiet house without their beloved pups. Enough with the guns, it’s just enough already. We have lost too much
Great tribute to your love for your dog 🙂 Did I tell you I had a dog named Finnegan as a child?? Weird! I love seeing how good Toby is with Lilly. She can do no wrong with him, he is such an angel…around her!
The more I think about that guy and people like him, the more scared I get. Shoot first, ask questions later. As my friend Heidi asked on my post, what if it was a wayward girl scout selling cookies?