Some of you know about a month ago our youngest son lost his beloved pet. He took such good care of Chippy that when he asked for his own dog, a little dog, we said he could. After a couple of trips to our SPCA, our son found this little guy. He's a Manchester Terrier and just the cutest, sweetest and funniest little guy. He's a bundle of energy and love and has taken to Stephen. Stephen is definitely his boy. The doggie's name is Sten. This is the second time we actually found, and adopted, a pure bred from the SPCA. The first time is when I found my Siamese cat, Chester.

Once he figures out what all the media attention is about I'm sure he'll be a good friend. Nice pictures.

He has very soulful eyes.

It's hard to tell his size from the picures, how tall is he?

Not very tall Helice. He's a little guy who doesn't weigh more than 20 lbs. He's about 15-16" tall tops. He loves being held and cuddled, when he's not running around the house or jumping up and down or going up and down the stairs repeatedly. He's also a thief. He takes things from all over the house and puts them either on his bed or in his doggie crate.

He looks very sweet and innocent, but I bet he isnt. I am glad your son has found a new friend to care for. All children need a dog of their very own.

Our son, so far, is taking excellent care of Sten and they've really bonded. One night our oldest son took Sten to bed with him and Sten started to cry. As soon as our oldest took Sten to Stephen, he settled right down and stopped crying. Where Stephen is, Sten is.

No, Sten is not all innocent. Sweet yes. He's quite a thief. He steals my stuffed animals. He steals our clothes, jewelry, socks, video games, you name it, he takes it, if he can't carry it, he pulls it.

Heheee, I just knew it, he has a cheeky innocence.

Wonderful!

"Cheeky". Tutti, that is THE perfect word to describe Sten.

Yesterday, I was having some cheese and crackers when the little thief grabbed the crackers still in the cellophane and tried to make off with them! Yes, he eats crackers! LOL! He's such a strange little guy, but so lovable!

Crackers! Our little Cassie once got hold of a partially empty roll of Ritz crackers. We spied her out our the corner of our eyes, gingerly holding the roll by the empty paper end, swinging from her teeth, as she attempted to "tiptoe quietly down the hall* where she thought she she eat them safely under some bed.

She was actually tiptoeing, and rolling her eyes over her shoulder... the perfect little burgler.

It still makes me grin to remember it, even though it was years ago, and Cassie is gone now.

She was also famous for stealing packages of almonds from our overnight guests' bags. And toothbrushes. She would rummage though suitcases and bags left open and steal only toothbrushes and almonds (which our friends were fond of). After a while, they began bringing a separate packet of almonds just for the dog, and hoped they could keep hold of their own. And I always had to make sure I had several brand new toothbrushes in a drawer, in case the guests foolishly left them in their open bags on the floor. The dog would show up with minty fresh breth at some point in the evening and we'd all groan "Not again!"

I didn't know terriers were fetchers...and stealers. LOL!
What type of dog was Cassie, Helice? That's so funny! I wonder why almonds and toothbrushes? Only their little minds know.
I have no idea why Sten takes the things he does. Food, clothes, stuffed animals, etc., I understand. But he also takes jewelry, video games, CD's, DVD's, wrist bands...he even tried dragging Stephen's book bag to his hideout. He has other storage places too.

Sangye, is Sten tall enough to steal candies and chewing gum from pockets?

I guess it would depend on how tall the person is Elena. LOL! That I would worry about as all that's bad for a dog. If he stood on his hind legs, maybe. But, since we know he's a thief we're all very vigilant in checking his three hiding places. He's also not a dog that will go somewhere in the house where no one else is. He's a people dog and will always choose a place one of us is at. Sten is no more than 15 inches tall tops.

Gorgeous dog SD. Condolence on your loss.

Once a dog has touched a small childs heart, that child is changed forever.

The idea of NOT having a dog, especially several with room to run, and especially mutts mixed into our lives, is heaven! We find we make plans according to our dog's needs. So who really owns whom? Ownership is hardly relevant. It's a given. I always feel as if I'm my dog's pet.

We hung a wooden hand-carved sign, by our main door. Says simply ... "The House of Ted"

.... (sorry cat lover's, no offense intended. We love all animals, just for being honest, fun loving and loyal, unconditionally)

I'm certain that if we had the power to change just ONE thing in this silly world, it would be to extend a dogs lifespan, to match our own. Even then, accidents do happen. Such is life.

The loss of a favorite dog is a horrendous experience, and life altering as well.

Perhaps, they are even teaching us something then too?

Sten has soulful eyes, Sangye. What a sweet pup...

Very... my thought is, that it is to live each day to the fullest... be grateful for something every morning.

Pets have no hidden agendas, ya know. They just enjoy being around us. They give so much for so little.

Still thinking about putting myself up for adoption. One of my co-workers just got herself a dachscie, and her hub brought it up to the building for us to drool over. Such an adorable dog.

Bff, that was truly one of the most beautiful posts I have ever seen here. You touched my heart immensely my friend and I thank you for that.

As I sit here typing this, our daughter, who is home sick today, is asleep beside me on our bed. On her is Sten. His head is resting on her chest and his one front leg and one back leg are on her belly. He knows she's not feeling well, IMO, and is comforting her.

Our cats do this too. They know when we're sick, sad, or just need love and they are there.

When Stephen leaves for school, Sten cries. When Stephen comes home Sten rejoices and follows him everywhere.

I think animals are always teaching us, especially our pets. They teach unconditional love and forgiveness. These two lessons are the most important ones in the world.

To have a pet in your home who loves you is the highest compliment one can ever get.

I so agree that if we had one wish, it would be to extend the life of dogs to match ours. But you're correct too in that even in death they teach us. Chippy's death taught us all something. Sten's arrival in ours lives is a teaching and a blessing, perhaps given to us by Chippy, mainly to his boy Stephen. Chippy wanted a dog to be Stephen's dog, the dog would think of Stephen as his boy.

Ever read Dean Koontz? He is a very big dog lover and dogs often appear in his novels and are also often central characters. When a dog is adopted by someone, or a family, who truly love that dog and will always love the dog, that dog has found his or her "forever home". When Sten arrived I said to him, "Hello Sten and welcome to your forever home."

Sten had quite a journey to get to our home that started down in West Virginia where he was picked up as a stray and taken to a shelter that ran out of room. Our local SPCA was contacted and they took in about seven of their dogs, one being Sten.

I cannot imagine life without my furry friends. I know when we lived in the apartment, I constantly ached for the companionship of one of our furry friends. Within a few weeks of moving into our home we adopted Chester, our Siamese, and Sadie, our German Shepherd mix. Both were and still are such immense blessings. We opened our home to two more cats, Sten, a Japanese fighting fish, Chippy, Hal and Tara (our rats who have passed on), more rats and several hamsters. All are and were loved immensely.

And yes, Sten is a very fine looking dog, I think. Thank you Bff!

Thanks WD! Yes, he has very soulful eyes and he is so sweet.

You're also right in that they have no hidden agendas. They're here to give us love and loyalty unconditionally. We're all blessed to have them in our lives.

It makes me ill, literally, whenever I hear of an animal abused. There is an ad running on the TV with singer Sarah McLachlan speaking for the SPCA with the song, "Arms of the Angel" playing in the back. I get misty eyed or cried every time I see. I want to adopt every animal they show in the ad.

Now, see, I get angry every time I see that same ad, because I find it cheesy and manipulaive. The animals shown in that ad are, for the most part, just chillin' out in cages, they aren't "suffering" or "lonely". The music played over the ad suggests to you an emotion you should feel as you look at the critters the camera pans over so-slowly.

Animals are *not* like us. They don't feel as though they are in prison when they are kenneled. They might appreciate a chance to stretch their legs, but they don't resent being kenneled or caged like people would, and the playing of sad music while showing you close-ups of the large (presumably "sad") eyes of kenneled and caged dogs and cats is an eggregious manipulation.

See if that ad still makes you misty if you mute the sound and play some clown music, or som KennyG for the background.

Yes, I am sympathetic to the plight of homeless animals and abused animals. Of course! But geez! Don't try to get me to *cry* using cheesy tactics inorder to get my cash!

How do you feel about the starving kids with sad puppy dog eyes in africa ads?

*sheesh*


Very cute puppy Sangye.

The ones advertised by Sally Fields, or the ones advertised by the plump old guy with the white beard?

Listen, small one... there is no advertising that is *not* meant to manipulate you to give up your money. It's up to *you* as the giver to do some research to find out how much of your donated money willa actually get to the intended recipients. Some charities keep 50% - 99% of all donations, and filter only a little bit of token cash to the intended recipients.

You need to look at *all* solicitations for the poor and needy with a canny eye, or you might just be filling the pockets of crooks, instead of feeding starving orphans with large, hollow eyes that spoke to your soul on late-night TV.

Some so-called "religious" charities have been the worst crooks. EVERYONE wants to help starving children (Well almost everyone), that's why it's so easy to steal from people by showing them pictures of starving babies and playing heart-wrenching music. It's a scheme to rob you AND the kids... get it?

You already know you want to help starving babies get food, right? THen do something pro-actively about it. Look up charities that help who you want to help, and check out the percentage of collected donations that actually go to the stated cause, and when you find one that sounds good and honest, give THEM your money. Don't wait to be manipulated by TV ads.

Rant over. We now return you to Sven's soulful eyes.

Thank you stone.

I still feel bad for all the animals at the SPCA. I can't help that. It's a sad place to be for me sometimes.