Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Ziggy (The dog, not the cartoon)








discover your dog breed @ quiz meme



Well, it was quite appropriate when I took the above quiz to see what breed of dog I would be IF I were a dog and it was determined I was a German Shepherd.  The first dog I had was one I shared with my husband-to-be, Mr. Tennis while we were still in college.
 
Mr. T was earning $$$ by working as an on-campus janitor at the University of Florida and would often be roaming various buildings at night performing his duties.  One night he called me and told me to meet him at one of the buildings.  He took me to a stairwell where someone had abandoned a box of puppies, ten in total.  It was a Friday night and those puppies would not have been discovered until Monday if not for the janitorial staff.  They had put a call into Animal Control and Mr. T said, "quick, let's pick one"!  We stood them up one by one and they were trembling and scared except for one brave boy who trotted right over to us.  He was the one!


We didn't even know what kind of dogs the puppies were.  They were pretty small and fuzzy.  Ziggy was named that night for the cartoon character on the cards Mr. Tennis and I used to exchange.  Mr. T and Ziggy were inseperable from then on.

Pretty soon it was obvious what type of dog Ziggy was going to be:

Ziggy, about 3 months old, 1979


Me and Ziggy behind Mr. T's apartment in Gainesville. Ziggy about 5 months. 1979

And we should have guessed because he was a quick learner during the obedience classes he took with his master.  He went everywhere with us and quickly learned key words such as "law center" (where he would go chase and retrieve frisbees):


UF Law Center, 1980

 "Boat" (at Gramps' lakehouse, where you were hard pressed to beat Ziggy into the boat),


Trout Lake, Gramps' lakehouse, Gramps' boat, 1983

Keeping Grandma Hughes safe at Gramps' lakehouse, 1985


 of course "walk" which we would spell until he figured out that and we resorted to calling it a "W".  And yes, he figured that out too.

Ziggy saw us through our college days and trips to the beach, a local lake, or helping out with a pre-exam munchie attack:


Crescent Beach, FL 1980

Lake Noonan, Gainesville FL, 1980


Studying for last exams before graduation, March 1981

 Zig was there to help with pregnancy advice when I was expecting The Writer in 1984:

Port St. Joe in FL panhandle. Hot, hot, Labor Day weekend. 6 months pregnant.

 And a welcoming presence after The Writer made his appearance:


Backyard of our first house two weeks after The Writer was born. January 1985.

He hosted two cats in our home.  The first, Cheetah, was his buddy.


The unlikely buddies, Cheetah and Ziggy, Briercliff house 1982.

Ziggy passed away at the age of 12 and it left a huge hole in our family.  Even Cheetah mourned his loss and would go looking for him.  One night we were watching a movie that had a scene with a German Shepherd in it.  When the dog barked, Cheetah came running into the room and put her paws up on the screen trying to reach her old friend.

What kind of dog are you?  Click on the link at the top right on my blog and take the test.  Let me know how it turns out please!  I am linking to Angela's blog for Tuesday's Show and Tail.

19 comments:

Jules said...

I would be a Chinese Shar Pei! I guess it's a fit, but I just don't know...some of it's personality quirks just don't fit me as I don't see myself as standoffish or a snob. Hmmm...LOL!

German Shepards are great dogs! My sister has 8 of them, LOL!

ClassyChassy said...

Chinese Shar Pei! I see there's 2 of us so far!!! Loved this post about your dog - a wonderful tribute to a great pal!

Anonymous said...

26,182 got the breed "Shiba Inu" like you. Ruff!...I'll need to google "Shiba Inu",not sure if I know much about this breed,hehehe.

Ziggy was a beautiful dog/friend.
These photo's are so sweet.Glad you had Ziggy for 12 years.Our dog(Dale) is 9...she is getting slow.

Thank you for visiting Lazyonloblolly.
Jo

Decor To Adore said...

It would appear that I am a "Westie" which I find very funny. When we lived in Germany our neighbors Charlie and Jean adopted a Westie and named her Laura. For a good month whenever Charlie was calling that dog.....

Loved the family portraits.

Doris Sturm said...

Oh, what a lovely story and what a great tribute to your beloved dog, Zig. I too have fond memories of my first dog when I was a girl growing up in Germany many moons ago and yes, she was a German Shepherd too...thanks so much for sharing Ziggy's story. It made me cry because it's just not right that dog should only live so few years when they become so close to us...

p.s. I would be a Bulldog...and I'm shocked!

Lisa @ Two Bears Farm said...

I'm a German Shepherd too. I love all the old pictures. Ziggy was such a handsome dog.

Anonymous said...

Loves the pictures. It's almost like a time machine.

jp@A Green Ridge said...

Ziggy was beautiful! I've always loved and admired German Shepherds, so that means YOU!!! I was surprised to discover that I'm an Alaskan Malamute! Move over Jack London!...:)JP

Angela said...

Ziggy sure was a beautiful dog! I can tell he was a real part of the family from looking at all of the different pictures you shared with us today. I had a part German Shepherd part Collie growing up. He lived to be 19. I got him when I was 2. He was the best guard dog and so protective of me too.

Tuesdays' Show & Tail!
Angela

Unknown said...

How sweet, I had a german shepherd for awhile growing up and loved him. Brady was one of my best pals. I will take the quiz and post it on my blog!

Linda @ Itsy Bits And Pieces said...

Ziggy was a great dog! Pets add so much love to our lives! I was a Shiba Inu on the quiz, too...

rottrover said...

Beautifully written. I'm off to uncover my K-9 identity...

rottrover said...

so I'm a golden retriever...it's so funny...my dogs who are not "playful" in the lab sense are all in love with Joe, the 7 year old golden that we meet on our walks. all of them, totally smitten. So do they recognize me when they meet Joe? Or do they recognize Joe's energy * when they hang out with me??

*just watched a Dog Whisperer episode....

Mr. Connor said...

St. Bernard ! Ziggy was a pal and a great dog. He did love excitement ! Like the story and pictures .

eggzachary said...

I'm a Siberian Husky, hmmmmm.

Orlando Grandma said...

I attended Ziggy's graduation from obedience school before I went to yours and Mr.T graduation. I loved your blog about
Ziggy's life with you.

Sammy said...

oh my!!!! soooo sweet! i miss him just by looking at this, and i didn't even know him!

Sammy said...

also...i am a border collie :]

The Thuglets said...

What a lovely story about Ziggy!

Germans Shepherds are one of our hoomans other passions. Have you met our Mr Darcy..which reminds us maybe it's time we let him post again.LOL

Big Nose Pokes
The Thugletsx