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Harley |
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Harley came into our lives in August 2004, at that time he was better known as Blizzard. My husband, Michael and I had been looking for a dog for a couple of months and a Dalmatian was about the furthest from our preferred breed. However, it didn't take us long to fall in love with him and realize he was the one we had been searching for. Harley was being fostered by our neighbors and they would walk him and their Dalmatian Molly each night. I would watch him out the window thinking what an unusual Dalmatian because he is so heavily spotted. I also got a kick out of his cocky little walk. He was definitely proud to be walking the neighborhood. Soon we began going out to the street when they would all walk by and was impressed by his gentle, friendly nature. We also found out Harley lived with not only another Dalmatians but with cats. That impressed us both because we have two cat ourselves and needed a dog that would not chase them. We worked out the details and brought Harley home, but we were a little unprepared for the initial meeting of Harley and the two cats, Zoie and Hunter. They hissed and ran, Harley chased them under the bed. It was a mad spin out of all trying to gain traction on the hardwood floor. We did some considerable back tracking at that point, took very small baby steps in re-introducing the cats to Harley. Over a period of 2 months we succeeded, they are friends now. Zoie our female cat made friends quite a bit quicker than Hunter, the male. Zoie will now sleep with Harley, rub on him to the point he will get up and walk away from her. He gives me that look of "Oh mom do I have to put up with this?" We still have days where Harley may get slapped (both cats are declawed) because he is getting a little too nosey, and when that happens I get "that look" again. We get a kick of the noises Harley makes when he sleeps, he is such a big moaner and groaner. He is also a late sleeper, Michael and I both are early risers, but Harley stays curled up in his bed until we make him wake up for those necessities before we are off to work. Harley was everything we were hoping for, he is a wonderful companion to have around. Harley and his family have another big adventure coming their way, a move to Seattle, Washington. I have been transferred and will moving after the first of the year. We are really excited as Seattle is such a dog friendly place, so much more so than Decatur. I wanted to send you a couple of pictures of Harley. I also wanted to mention that Harley was re-tested for Heart worms and this came back negative. We were very relieved. He continues and I imagine will always continue with the heart worm medication. After our move to Seattle Harley became a big brother, this time to a 3 year old Australian Cattle Dog, Callie. Harley loves his toys but not a big player with Callie, she tries, but he just won't join in. Both Harley and Callie love to spend time in Brich Bay in our RV - they do love the good life. Life is good thanks to places like Dalmatian Rescue. |
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