Dog Spot
This spot is in memory of Rooper and Ubu. Our 2 dogs that we have had from 2001 to 2014/2015...
Shannon grew up wanting a dog since she could remember but being part of a very large family meant that the energy went towards taking care of people rather than adding more mouths to feed. Within a year after graduating from college, Timothy agreed to go to the Humane Society to check out a possible dog that was available. After visiting that dog and immediately recognizing the incompatibility, they checked out the other available dogs. There were two puppies left from part of a litter of four, which had been dropped off during the night and left in a box on the steps of the Shelter. They were adorable and since they were brothers, it was decided that they shouldn't be separated. So both puppies came home. That was the summer of 2001.
Since Shannon's idea of names is Doggie 1 and Doggie 2, Timothy took it upon himself to give the dogs proper names. Ubu is named after the black lab on TV that you see momentarily at the end of a program and you hear someone say, "Sit Ubu, sit". Rooper is a character in Bruce Lee's film Enter The Dragon. We spelled it with two o instead of one though.
They have very different personalities but neither of them claimed complete dominance, which lead to many "discussions" that brought to mind the animal show Wild America. Ubu, having a much more happy go lucky, laid back personality usually let Rooper rule the yard unless he decided he did have an opinion about things. Rooper's much more serious, gotta be the boss and hold a grudge made him the dominate dog most of the time. Rooper was much more protective and wary of men than Ubu which Shannon appreciated when she was home alone during the day. However many a meter man was sent running out of the yard upon seeing two 60-pound dogs roaring around the corner. Not that they ever hurt anyone, they just sounded ferocious.
They are usually Shannon's constant companions, unless Timothy is eating. Then they are raptly attentive to his every move as he is much more generous with the handouts than Shannon is. They are now elderly gentlemen and have a hard time getting around like they used to but still very much are devoted to being petted, fed scraps and generally being with their people.