On top of the mountain

 

If you like hiking and have a dog then Garland Ranch in Carmel Valley is the place for you. If your dog responds to voice commands it will be ok to go leash-less. I think Carmel, CA. may just be the most dog friendly place on earth.

Anyway, I found this picture of Woody (on the left) and Sunny (on the right) from on top of the highest mountain at the ranch and thought this would by a nice segue into giving you the "how the Sunny story began" post as previously promised.

Well it is fitting for Woody to be in the picture because it all really started with him. You see...Woody is my daughters dog who arrived as a gift from some dude. Because of what I believed about Pitbull's at the time based on all the media attention about dogs mauling and killing people, I tried every possible negotiation tactic I could come up with to convince her to get rid of him. I finally realized I wasn't going to win this one when she said "I can't get rid of him, it's to late, I love him...I'd rather live on the streets in a box with him then get rid of him". what's mostly scary about that is I know she meant it.

So we found a new house where we could all live and what the heck, I always wanted a dog anyway. There is a lot I could say about Woody but the short story is he turned out to be an incredible loyal friend. He is an amazing athlete that would just run for hours non-stop...just pure energy, he love's running with logs, and I mean logs, as well as swimming in the waves. He is also incredibly smart seemingly understanding some 70+ words and commands and he is a great protector of my daughter. Woody has been a great ambassador for his breed changing many peoples attitude once they get to know him.



Anyway the time came when my daughter and Woody were ready to move out we'll you may have guessed it, along with my daughter being gone I missed Woody terribly. Of course having another kid real quick wasn't going to happen but yes...I could find a replacement for Woody, yes a dog just like Woody...A Red Nose Pitbull...pure energy!!!...extremely smart!!!, loyal!!!, loving!!!, yes!, I'll shop for one online!

After weeks of research I found him in Philadelphia, PA. The breeder checked out, they had a good track record and references, have been breading Red Nose Pitts for years and temperament is a huge priority, I found him...his name is Browny. Well that's what his papers said anyway.

So Browny arrived after a horrible 11 hour flight from Philly, through storms, freezing cold and well less then careful handling and care from Delta staff. After all that of course he was going to like me, although believe it or not, I was concerned about that.

So he arrives on a stormy night after 12:pm and I've got a frantic message from the breader, "I hear the storms have screwed his flight up and I'm really worried about Browny, she says. Please call me at any time as soon as he arrives so I know he made it safe. Please call no matter what time it is." Wow, they really loved him, she actually picked the phone up at 3:30 am est. :)

So after weeks of stormy weather and rain the little guy from Philly parted the clouds, it was a Sunny day in March. And that's how he got his name.

We'll as far as the attributes I was looking for...lets see...

* Pure energy: Um, not exactly the way most people would describe him.

* Extremely Smart: Well again, this wouldn't likely be the first thing you'd think of mentioning when talking about Sunny.

* Loving: I actually think clingy or as someone one described as a Velcro dog is a better description

* Loyal: Ok I'd definitely give him this one...hey 1 out of 4, I'll live with that.

Great ambassador for the breed : This is a big absolutely, anyone who knows Sunny knows what a great dog he is.




I think I'll expand a bit on the next post about the before mentioned attributes as they relate to Sunny.

Here is the update on Sunny's condition so far today

He's had several small seizures lasting from 5-15 seconds but has great energy level. We went for a 20 minute walk on the beach in the morning and now at 3:pm he's had enough of me petting this keyboard and wants to go out again, so as promised he's going to enjoy his remaining time with us.

Alvin and Sunny