The Dogs of Campbell Town Part Deux

Dexter with Molly in the background

Our dogs at Our Little House are an important part of our lives. No decision is made that doesn’t also affect or take them into account.

Since our pack has changed somewhat since I introduced you to them, I thought it time for a reintroduction.

Our once Fearsome Four has evolved into a Stunning Six. If we thought it was crowded in Our Little House before, now it’s positively cramped. It’s a nice, comfortable sort of cramped, though, with just the right amount of space for everybody and everydog.

Sade usually lays on the deck. She's pictured here with Chloe and in the background, Emma, who disappeared nearly 2 years ago

Sade, our pittie we saw dumped and picked up on the day we moved from our house in the city to Our Little House is now the top big dog of the house. She no longer roams the woods as she once did, but sits sentry when she is outside, warning us of the occasional car.

Molly, our red Doxie, is still hanging in since being diagnosed with an enlarged heart last summer. Although the smallest of our pack, she makes it known she is still the boss of everyone.

Molly

Dakota, our Beagle/Doxie mix spends most of her days burrowed under the covers, but she can also be a fearsome guard dog, particularly when she hears or sees birds.

Dakota watching birds at the window

Since we lost Emma, our German Shepherd/Rottweiler mix, we’ve taken in Chloe and Abbi, both were scheduled to die at the shelter. They brought us to five.

Abbi

The most recent addition to our pack is Dexter, a beagle Dale found wandering along the blacktop. It’s very common here for people to drive far out in the country, drop off their pets on the side of the road, and never look back.

Dexter is the only male in the pack, and yes, the ladies love him.  It didn’t take him long at all to be accepted as a brother. They sleep and play with him like he’s always been here.

Dexter is quite the emotional type. He’s a very loving dog, but he’s also very clingy. He needs a lot of attention, though less so now than at first.

Like most of our dogs, Dexter has had his share of “adventures.”  Not so long ago, he returned from his outdoor escapades limping and lethargic. His fur was matted with blood. We cleaned him up and found a couple small holes in his skin. It looked like he might have gotten tangled in some barbed wire.

Later that night he got sick. We took him to the vet as soon as possible, where they shaved his fur and  we found out it wasn’t just a couple small holes. There were many. It’s likely he got into a scuffle with another animal. The vet also discovered Dexter had mange. Luckily none of our other dogs were affected, but that’s a risk you take when you take in a stray.

Dexter’s completely healed and mange-free now. We don’t let him wander outside alone anymore. The bigger dogs, Sade, Abbi, and Chloe are free to do so, but Dexter is smaller. There are a lot of large animals in these mountains that he wouldn’t frighten a bit and wouldn’t be able to hold his own against.

For a dog with such short legs, he’s a powerful jumper. It shocked me the first time he jumped from the couch to the chair and landed in my lap. Now I’ve grown to expect it from time to time. It warms my heart to see what a happy and confident dog he’s become. Dexter has truly taken his place as part of the family.

Walking through Our Little House is more like playing a game of Twister now than ever before and people always looked shocked when I tell them we have 6 dogs in 480-square feet. “Inside?” they sometimes ask. “Most of the time, just like any member of the family,” I will reply.

I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Tell us about your furry family.