Dog person
Mahlzeit
I adopted Mahlzeit (German for “let’s eat!” or, “lunchtime!”) in 2020 one month before Covid hit. He was eight weeks old and around 18 pounds. He was described as a “shepherd mix” and I was expecting him to be a relatively large dog. One DNA test, two expensive knee surgeries, and four-and-a-half years later I can definitively say he’s was 140 pounds of 100% German Shepherd.
He was aggressively snuggly, lazy, and had no territorial or protective instincts. We were camping Malakoff Diggins State Park in California in 2023. A bear wandered through camp. Mahlzeit woke from a nap, looked at the bear, decided this was not his problem, and went back to sleep. The bear walked off.
I lost Mahlzeit in December, 2024. He was a very good boy.
Bucko
I got Bucko, a black-tri Australian Shepherd, in 2009. He grew into an extremely active and happy 55 pound pup who only required 4-6 miles of walking and at least one 30 minute dog park visit per day.
Unlike Mahlzeit (see above), Bucko took his responsibilities seriously. When hiking, Bucko insisted on leading and he always found the way even on the least-maintained Forest Service backcountry trails. He, unlike Mahlzeit (see above), went after a bear at 3 am on a moonlit night in the Sierra Nevada, busting through the tent screen in his eagerness to engage. Seconds later jumped back through the hole he had just made and hid behind me, fur all puffed up in fear. Never saw the bear again, though.
Bucko and I saw the Great American Eclipse in Ochoco National Forest in Oregon in 2017 (see Home page).
I lost Bucko in November, 2019. He was a very good boy.