Some Dogs Just Can't Be Replaced

If you're a dog person like me, you probably can't imagine your life without a dog in it. I often like to think back over the years about the different dogs I've had, and how unique their personalities were. There's almost always one or two special ones, though, that stand out above all the rest. I've had two such special ones in my life thus far - a yellow Labrador Retriever named Pat, and a German Shepherd named Hunter. This little tribute is to my German Shepherd.

I had wanted a German Shepherd since I was 8 years old. The movie "K-9" ignited my passion for the breed, and I have been a German Shepherd enthusiast for the past 24 years. Getting my very first Shepherd puppy was a really exciting thing for me. I had planned for the event from the time I was 8 years old, but it did not become a reality until I was 21. I had the name Hunter picked out years before he was even born. I spent years browsing good breeders until I found exactly what I was looking for. I travelled all the way to Virginia to pick my precious puppy up, which was a 12 hour drive.

Hunter screamed about 11 hours of the 12 hour drive back home, and I wondered what the heck I had gotten myself into. Thankfully, he settled down once I brought him inside, and fell fast asleep on the bathroom floor. From that point on, he became my best friend and the most loyal dog I'd ever had. He had a passion for chasing tennis balls and carrying sticks around. He also had an affection for cats, and all of my cats loved him, including the little kittens.

The thing I loved the most about Hunter, though, was that he changed a lot of people's minds about German Shepherds. My mom, for one, was always afraid of the breed, because she thought they were "mean" dogs. Hunter was one of the most gentle dogs she had ever met, and he showed her that it's not the breed - it's just bad owners that give the breed a bad name by not raising them properly. I was very proud of him for showing people just how sweet a Shepherd could be. Dogs like him will never be forgotten in our hearts.