On 5/25/2017 8:18 AM, PAS wrote:
On 5/24/2017 11:06 PM, gray_wolf wrote:
On 5/24/2017 9:28 AM, PAS wrote:
On 5/24/2017 7:42 AM, wrote:
On Fri, 19 May 2017 14:19:44 -0400, PAS wrote:

On 5/19/2017 1:29 PM, David B. wrote:
On 5/19/2017 6:13 PM, PAS wrote:
[....]
My wife and I have been, thankfully, spared the loss of a child. But
we have lost some dogs over the years. My wife was not always the
dog lover I am. We got our first dog when our youngest of two sons
was an infant so she had her priorities and it wasn't a new dog, that
was mine. Fast forward about 26 years and we got a dog after going
about five years without one. My wife named her Maya and she was an
awesome dog. She was a bear-coat Shar Pei which you don't see often

As a puppy: http://www.pete-the-greek.com/Pets/Maya/i-WNFH8Rd/A

Full-grown: http://www.pete-the-greek.com/Pets/Maya/i-fp8xSGf/A
Wow! :-) I've never seen such a dog! Thanks for sharing the photographs.

Maya died two years ago at the age of 5 1/2. To say my wife was
devastated is an understatement. She was attached to that dog in a
way I had never seen. There are days where I still find her crying
over Maya.
I'm saddened to learn of your loss. I, too, have cried over the loss
of my pets over the years. They do, as you know, become a part of you.

They certainly do become part of us. We have two now, Bella and Bubba.
Bubba is from the same litter as Maya was. Bella is six months younger
from the same father but different mother. We haven't had Bubba since
he was a pup, we only had Maya at the time. Bella came six months
later. A family on Long Island not far from us bought Bubba. Three
years ago they decided they had to give him up. The couple who bought
him had a baby at the time and three years later had another one. Her
mother was going to care for the two children while the mother went back
to work but she was allergic to dogs so they gave him up. When you buy
a dog from the breeder we got them from, you agree that if you decide to
give up the dog for any reason then you must give the breeder first
opportunity to take the dog. The breeder is in North Carolina, quite a
distance from Long Island. The couple was being difficult and they were
adamant that they would give the breeder one week to come and get the
dog or else they would send him to a shelter. She was upset about this
because she couldn't get to Long Island within a week - she has a family
and a job and what-not to attend to. She asked us if we would take
Bubba until a suitable place was found for him. We agreed immediately
and after having him for a day, we decided we would keep him. He's a
timid dog but a good boy. I wonder what causes him to be so timid
because he avoids being pet most of the time, as if he is afraid. I
wonder how he was treated by his other family.

Stunning Shar Peis you have! I love the asian breeds Shar Pei, Akita
and Chow Chow. I've had Chows for the past 30+ years

A fellow hobbyist photog I know has a champion Chow-Chow he calls Gus-Gus and
he's a beautiful dog. On a shot where we met for the first time, his wife
came along and they brought the Chow-Chow they had at the time. Those dogs
have a reputation for being nasty but their Chow-Chow was a friendly
laid-back dog. Chow-Chows are on some insurance company lists of breeds that,
if the home owner has one, the company will not provide homeowner's insurance
for. I've met a few Chow-Chows and none of them were nasty.



The name Gus-Gus sounds familiar. Do you recall the breeder's kennel name?
There were some ill bred Chows in the '80s when they were very popular.
They are not a dog for idiots. They need to be socialized from a very young age.
At times they have been the 'bad dog' of the press along with the GSD, Rott,
Dobe and
the current Pitt Bull. They don't accept abuse willingly and demand respect. I
never met one that was aggressively mean. Typically they weren't friendly to
strangers if I wasn't around. They weren't generally fond of salesmen at the
door either.



I do not know which kennel Gus-Gus came from. Shar Peis are typically not
friendly to strangers either. Our first one was like that. If you came to our
house and knocked on the door, you would have thought that she was a vicious dog
the way she'd jump on the door and bark and snarl. But once you walked into the
house, she would walk away and not come near you. Our others were much
friendlier. The two we have now get very excited whenever anyone comes in the
house.


A couple of my Chows were pretty aloof. We were friends but they didn't care what
anyone else thought. They could be real snobs. The others enjoyed my friends coming
by for a visit. None would jump on you, lick you or make a big fuss over anybody.
Unlike most dogs they don't have a need to please people. If you are fortunate
to really
connect with a Chow it is a very special thing.