My husband and I love living with dogs and we share the sentiments in this poem by Ogden Nash.

The Dog

by Ogden Nash

The truth I do not stretch or shove
When I state that the dog is full of love.
I’ve also found, by actual test,
A wet dog is the lovingest.

There isn’t anything that speaks to my soul the way that walking with my dogs on the beach or in the woods does. Being outdoors while walking our dogs give me a sense of calm and peace that I never feel anywhere else. I love watching our happy dogs sniffing the ground and wagging their tails. That kind of happiness is contagious. It makes me forget the troubles in the world because of joy in being in their presence.

We are lucky to have 4 dogs this week, as we are looking after my step daughter’s dog, Kassidy. All of our dogs are rescues. We know that there are many dogs out there that need homes and we prefer to adopt those dogs.

Here are our beasts:

Kassidy is the youngest of the pack at only 10 months. Kassidy thrives on being petted and hugged. She loves to run and play and never seems to get tired. She is the most affection of the pack and will cuddle up to us while sleeping or watching tv.

This is Kassidy in the field by our house.

I adopted Zara 7 years ago from Spirit of Hope Dog Rescue (where we also got Kassidy). Zara is the leader of the pack at our house. She controls the other dogs but all is well at our house as long as none of the other dogs challenge her. Zara will control them with barks, growls and baring her teeth. Her short little legs mean that she can’t keep up with her younger, faster siblings, but they know that she has is the growl of authority.

Otis is 22 months old and is our newest dog. He was originally a street dog in the Bahamas and was rescued by a group that took him, along with 75 other dogs, to Toronto. From there, he was adopted by a couple in Winnipeg and had a lovely home until health issues forced the couple to give him up. Otis is very shy and slow to make friends but once he is your friend, you have a friend for life. Otis is loving our home as he has so much room to wander and sniff. He also loves the beach and playing with other dogs!

Maddie, at 14 is the elder of the pack and has slowed down a lot. You won’t see her in the running or walking pictures as she doesn’t join us on walks. She has had many health issue; one of which meant she had to lose an eye. She continues to have mobility issue but she does the best she can.

Here are some of the pictures I have taken of our dog pack.

The dogs had so much fun on the beach last night when 3 other dogs showed up. Have a look!