Monday, March 3, 2008

Family Dog





Some of you may not know that we added an addition to our family about a year and a half ago. This post is dedicated to her...Madi. I always loved dogs... maybe its because they are one of the few animals I'm not allergic to, but owning one definitely has its ups and downs. When we decided we wanted a good family dog we found a couple in Spanish Fork that had a litter of full bred white labs. Adam and I did not tell the girls we were going to get one. We wanted to surprise them. There were only two puppies left in the litter and Madi was the one they were thinking of keeping. She was sweet even then. She kept running up to Adam and laying between his feet. She was the whiter of the two and had a shorter muzzle and cuter face. She was just so dang cute!! I couldn't stop smiling on the car ride home with her. A soft furry cuddlie puppy. She ran crooked and was terrified of stairs. But puppies don't stay puppies for long. When we moved into our Lindon home she had a big fenced in yard. She chewed up 3 hoses, a few of the girls toys that they left outside and even a few flipflops, but that was the extent of her puppy chewing stage. Little by little Madi went from being an outside dog to an inside dog. And if you don't think thats spoiled... well she also eats a raw food diet. Anything from a whole chicken, to big turkey drumsticks, liver, and beef. I know it seems strange and I tried to talk Adam out of it but all the benefits we researched have proven to be true. Softer fur, whiter teeth, no greasy film on her fur, better breath, no skin allergies and I could keep going. The only drawback is having to handle raw meat but after after awhile you find ways to make it fast, easy and clean. Madi has incorporated herself into our family with no problem and the girls love playing with her. She is patient, sweet, loyal, protective, playful and obedient. She loves, the snow, going for rides in the back of our truck, playing fetch, sliding down slides, barking at grown men, sitting on Adams lap, and following anyone around the kitchen. But I must admit that there are times I could easily have given her away. My justification to this is that I wouldn't give her to just anyone... it would have to be a good home. I know most of you will understand this and a few of you will think I am cold hearted but the time Madi had ticks was one exception. We had just moved into our home in Arizona and Madi escaped while we were on vacation. A neighbor took her to the dog pound. While she was there she got ticks but we didn't notice them until a week or two later. She was infested with them. It gave me the ebbie gebbies. UHH, it was awful! I was afraid to get into my bed at night, afraid when I washed my hair I would fill a bump on my head, afraid they were buried in the carpet, that they would give us lime disease or a number of other ailments. We took her to the vet and he informed us she had two different kinds. The small dark red ones and then another that when it drinks blood it fills up and looks like a tan colored raisin. GROSS! They gave her a tick bath and shaved her. I had to vacuum the house twice a day and confine her to one room, we had to treat the grass outside. It was such a hassle. Adam had to talk me out of giving her away a few times a day until I was sure they were all gone.
With that being said we still think Madi is a great family addition and best friend. Its always nice to come home and be greeted by her wagging tail and prancing feet.
Madi Nicknames:
Poopy
Mat Tats
Sugar

5 comments:

Leslierush said...

maddi is VERY cute! I remember when you first got maddi and i called mom and said "I am so jealous of lindsy she has everything i want", and mom said "like what?" and i said "a dog." i can't wait till we can get one...one day! dogs are the greatest!!

Kacey said...

She really is a beautiful dog. I wonder if we'll ever own a dog...ummmm, probably NOT. :-)

Love the pic of her and Ashley. Maddi looks like she's posing for the camera.

Shannon said...

Lindsy, I just wanted to say hello. Michael told me about your
shower sometime this month. I am so excited to see you and everyone. It's been awhile. That's cool you guys are back in Utah. We will have to dinner sometime when your up for it. Have a good day! by the way your family is adorable even your dog!

Dad said...

Lindsy, Great blog, great pictures, great story. Remember Georgetown and all the ticks Beater had when we decided to keep him. We took Beater to the vet and all the ticks that fell off Beater in the back of the blue van...and they were chuck full of Beater blood. I think the vet was worried a tick bath wouldn't do the trick and was wanting to give Beater an acid bath instead (just kidding). Anyway, Madi is a great dog.
Dad

McKenna said...

Oh, man I love dogs. I have battled my mom so many times on her threats to give, I think every dog we have ever owned, away. Dogs are hard, but they are worth it. I am glad that she is a good dog, after getting through all of the puppy stages. She is also really pretty. And if it ever comes to you giving her away (which I hope it doesn't) know that I would be more than willing to take her in :)