Friday, February 8, 2013

Friday Favorites

~Rex~

It's Friday!  Time for Friday Favorites and this week I'm going to focus on favorite dogs in my life.  First up is Rex who was one of the smartest and most loyal German Shepherds I've ever known.  He lived on the farm when I was a youngsterI mentioned in a previous Barn Charm post how we used to play games with him.  My younger brother and I would go swimming in the pond and pretend we were drowning just to see Rex jump in the water and swim out to us to try to save us.  Ornery, weren't we?  Once my mother was in the machine shed where my dad was working on a tractor.  She was standing by when he started it up.  Rex ran over to her and grabbed her gently by the wrist and pulled her away.  I saw that for myself. 

~Duke and Lady~

Duke is one of Lady's pups.  I'm showing their photo to tie in with the next photo below.  


Not a very good photo, I only had a little Brownie camera in those days.  That is Duke in the foreground.  Lady had a litter of 8 puppies, as I recall.  Aren't they adorable?  There is nothing cuter than little GS puppies.  They were all given away except for Duke.  Yes, I cried.

 
~Bullet~

When my hubby and I got married we decided we wanted a dog, so Bullet came to live with us.  Sadly, he didn't live too many years.

~Baron with my son, daughter and a friend~

When our daughter was small, we got another German Shepherd.
This is Baron, who was equally as smart and loyal as Rex.  He was
always watching over the kids and followed them everywhere.  When my daughter was very young she was playing near a large puddle of water.  Baron would stay between her and the water.  He wouldn't let her get too close to it.  And I never worried when strangers stopped by our house in the country, as they frequently did to ask for directions, because Baron only had to walk up to their vehicle and bark and no one dared to step out of their car or truck. 

~My son and Baron~

Our son always had Baron for company when he played outside while our daughter was at school.  Baron was a good and faithful dog and lived to a ripe old age.  If I had to choose a favorite out of all of the dogs, it would be hard but I'd probably have to pick Baron because he was so good with my kids.  And to me, too!  I would often walk down the highway and back, about a mile and a half walk, after the kids got on the school bus.    Baron would always go with me. 

~Harley~

Last, but not least, was Harley.  We got him after Baron passed away.  He was two years old and had been hit by a car and injured pretty badly.
Harley had recovered from his injuries when we got him and was a good dog, but he never really grew up.  He thought he could climb onto your lap any time he wanted to.  Do you know how big and heavy these dogs are?  Ha!  I would sometimes take him with me when I visited my dad.  Dad always loved German Shepherds, too, and thought both Baron and Harley were great dogs.  Harley lived to an old age, but has been gone for a few years now.  He was the last dog we've owned.  

I hope you enjoyed seeing my favorite dogs.  There were other dogs on the farm where I grew up, but German Shepherds were always my favorites. 

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a wonderful day and weekend!
Until next time...

28 comments:

  1. You have such lovely memories of your dogs. Good thing you have photos of them too!

    ReplyDelete
  2. We grew up with German Shepherds too. I even remember going to the airport to pick up Helga. Hans was my all time, most ever, never to be replaced dog. =) You brought some good old memories up for me today... They are beauties, each and every one!! blessings ~ tanna

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh Cheryl -- this is such a lovely post -- I think GSDs are the absolute best dogs anyone could have (I have two!) so this was a special post for me. I'm so glad you had these loyal dogs in your life. xo

    ReplyDelete
  4. Morning Cheryl, LOVE your post on your favorite dogs.....Shepards have a place in my heart, beautiful breed.....You made my heart happy, Thanks, Francine.

    ReplyDelete
  5. they are all beautiful, i don't have photos of all the dogs in my life, just the ones in the past 28 years, which totals 4, 2 of which we still have. dogs are amazing and smart

    ReplyDelete
  6. German Shepherds are such faithful, loyal dogs. I had one when I was a child, too. He was a very dear companion to me, but had become a little too "mine" for the rest of the family and had to be put down. I've never really gotten over it. Then my family moved on to collies; I loved them, too. However, I never had a dog as an adult until we took Molly. She's a sweet little love, but dogs are so much more needy than cats. I doubt that we'd have another. I do love my grandbeagle and my grandpuggy, though.

    What about you? Are you thinking of another dog?

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thank you for sharing these photos of, and sweet memories of, these wonderful dogs... Who have been part of your life.

    Sweet.......

    "Auntie"

    ReplyDelete
  8. They are never forgotten are they? What a beautiful crop of dogs you were lucky to have shared life with. Lady looks so much like my first rescue Dutchess. Baron's protective nature reminded me of my neighbor's St. Bernard that made my life as a toddler miserable as he overly "protected" me. Think parents love those protective dogs more than the kids do.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Lovely post Cheryl. I especially enjoy the loyalty and protection traits you have mentioned here with respect to your kids. Kids growing up just miss something if they don't have a loyal dog. I see those litte kitties poppin up there.. :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. love hearing your memories. so special. enjoy your weekend. take care. ( :

    ReplyDelete
  11. that pic of baron w/ your son and the kittens is priceless! beautiful and faithful dogs, all of them.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I am a little shocked I thought you were a cat lover! Here you have ha so many dogs - you are a big dog lover. And boy they were all so cute. I love dogs too. sandie

    ReplyDelete
  13. How neat.... I have always heard that German Shepherds were SMART dogs... Wow--now I know for sure.

    Do you miss having GS's now? Since you have had one most all of your life, I can't imagine being without one now....

    Great photos. Beautiful dogs.

    Hugs,
    Betsy

    ReplyDelete
  14. I was so excited to see a dog on your post! And surprise, there's a bunch of cute pups!!! I love all these photos! Dogs are the best! I do love all animals, but dogs are different and special. :) Do you ever think about getting another?
    Happy weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Nice little story and pictures. Very sweet. Though I never owned a dog I do know that German Sheperds are very special. Eva was my in laws dog. She saved the whole family from a fire before she went for her pups.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Cheryl, I did so enjoy this...I have never had a German Shepherd but have known some I really liked. Sometimes when I can't sleep, I go back through the dogs I have known...and there are a couple of them I would give anything I own to have again.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I had a German Shepherd when I was 11 years old. Her name was Shiela. lol Not a dog name, but I liked it. She was MY dog. My mom made me give her away after having her for about 6 months. It broke my heart. We gave her to some people at our church who lived on a farm, so I'll bet she was happy there, but I missed her.

    We have three dogs now, and I love them so much. They are half cocker spaniel and half lab, half cocker spaniel and half beagle and full blooded beagle. My favoriter is the half lab-half beagle. He is so loving. He lays at my feet while I cook and puts his paw on my foot to make sure I don't leave him. lol.

    ReplyDelete
  18. You had some wonderful dogs, Cheryl. I love the photo of Baron with your son and daughter. So cute.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Reading about your Baron reminded me of my sister's GS. When my niece was a toddler, they lived out in the country and had a long driveway. Their dog would "herd" my niece back toward the house if she even started toward the highway. (Of course, my sister was always watching!)

    ReplyDelete
  20. Aren't pets special. My husband's family talks about their German Shepherd, Greta. She was a childhood pet for him and his brothers. I think she lived for many years.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Cheryl, love your photos and memories of all of your precious dogs.
    I wish I had pics of all of ours.
    Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

    ReplyDelete
  22. The story about Baron staying between your daughter & the large puddle brought tears to my eyes, how do they know to do that? That's so awesome!

    I've always thought they were the most beautiful & smart looking dogs, but I was always scared of them. When I was little, my babysitter had one that was mean & I was never allowed to pat him. My uncle had one that was mean, too, & almost chomped my hand off one time.

    However, my cousin's husband is a cop & they have 2 that are part of the K9 unit & they're very nice dogs, very protective, like you described.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Maybe I should get one to put in my backyard, seeing how my place has been broke-in to twice in 4 years!

    ReplyDelete
  24. such a brilliant post, cheryl!
    love hearing your precious memories..
    i wish i had photos of all dogs in my life.

    have a blessed sunday~

    ReplyDelete
  25. it's wonderful that you still have pictures so many pictures of them!!

    ReplyDelete
  26. We had a german shepherd once- for a short time. It belonged to my husband's father and when he passed, we inherited the dog. She was just the sweetest thing.

    ReplyDelete
  27. I loved your dog stories. It brought to my mind all of our dogs through the year. We had a German Sheppard when my family was small. Here name was Heidi. I didn't think she would protect anyone. She had been abused before we got her so she would back away.
    One day a goat went after my three year old and she immediatly went up between them. It was amazing. I then knew she would protect our family. Our dog now is mainly for my dear husband. We both love him; but he loves my husband. He has been such a fun dog. We got him after my other little dog was hit a few years ago. We also lost a dog we got to be with this one; but she had heart problems and died. We really do treasure our little Sammy. Thanks for bringing back memories. I have had several wonderful dogs over my life time.
    Blessings and hugs!

    ReplyDelete
  28. I'm just catching up.

    I love GS. They're so smart. I've been thinking about getting one, but have never let one own me --only Boxers.

    ReplyDelete