Lester is the charter member of my quadraped family, having been here pretty much from the beginning. Well, the beginning of this particular chapter of my life.
The day I closed on my house- March 1st, 1996- sorta begins this chapter of things. For the two years preceding that date, I lived in an apartment complex in which pets were strictly prohibited(even to visit, if you can believe that!), so this marked a new phase of life, one in which I was once again allowed to have four-legged creatures in my life and my home.
So Lester showed up at the beginning of '97, a present from a girl I was seeing at the time. He was so named, by her, because we got him from the east side of town, which is predominantly black(though strangely enough from a white family). Well actually we both agreed on Lester, but it was her idea to give him a "black" name, and she ran through a few before we finally found one we both liked. I did, however, in this same spirit, give him his middle name of Vernell.
And Lester Vernell Schuette-Roundly has been with me now for 12 years. Through thick and thin, I might add. He was not easy to raise as a puppy, puppies being quite destructive with pretty much whatever crosses their path, so I had to leave him outside all day while I was at work- and then often in a doggie-crate when I was home(and there was the time Lester actually shit the crate, but that's another story..). He'd bark quite a bit, much to the chagrin of a neighbor who was home all day and thus got an earful. This neighbor was a bit hard to deal with for awhile in there, but did try to work with me and with Lester as far as alleviating the problem- even going so far as bringing female dogs into my yard to mate with Lester! "I can't figure out why he's so hyper, Rog", my neighbor told me, confused. "He got him some pussy twice!".
So we survived both his puppyhood and our neighbor. The neighbor ended up moving and the destructive puppy stuff(and thus the need to keep him outside)just kinda waned to nothing with the advent of adulthood. Well, getting him fixed may have had something to do with it as well, but basically coming of age, he just settled the hell down. He's a Lab/Spaniel mix, which gives him some natural exciteability he'll never outgrow, but still much more manageable in his maturity.
Not too long after getting Lester, I added a cat to the household, in maybe July of that year. Her name was Maxine. She was maybe six to eight weeks old. Like Lester, she was a keeper, and stayed with me- and Lester of course- until her death in July of this year. Actually she and Lester spent a lot more time together than either pet and I just by sharing the four walls of the house all day. He was sad and worried the whole time she was sick- basically May and June-and particularly down after she was gone.
I didn't let too much time go by as far as that goes. Maxine was euthenized on July 1st, and I brought home Cindy and Jill on July 13th. Lester was overjoyed to have the new life in the house, and wanted to play with them right off the bat but of course they weren't having it. So he was bummed for a brief while, disillusioned as it were, but these dog/cat interactions sometimes take time. I came home from work the next day and things were fine. They'd apparently had a meeting and ironed it all out.
Lester is No 1 Dog for a variety of reasons, but mainly because he's the only dog I've ever had. Mom was a cat person, so that's what we grew up with. Generation upon generations of cats. So Lester is my maiden voyage into the world of canines. And dogs are great. Much more high-maintenance, especially at first, but they do have their wonderful qualities.
His exciteability, as I've said, does flare up from time to time, even though it's much more managed. If there's a dog walking down the street past the house, or if the mailman is on the porch(or for that matter most anybody else with certain exceptions), he's on it like mud on a turtle.
Or if anything gets inside the house. About a week before Maxine's demise, I had a rat problem. Saw him in the kitchen, actually just the tail, scurrying along the wall. Lester later saw him in the dining room and took off after him, on two different occasions that day. A tense two days followed, with traps and glue-boards set at various points, just waiting. Wednesday morning, Lester wanted back into the house from having his breakfast as he does every morning, only this time he had something in his mouth. At first I thought it was a plastic glove but it was our rodent buddy. Deader'n a doornail. Lester marched right into the house with it hanging from either side of his mouth. I think he wanted to show Maxine.
Naturally I praised him to the skies: "Lester, you da man!!" all the while getting Senor Ratone wrapped in paper towels and into the garbage. And out of the house. He was so proud of himself. And I just hope I conveyed how proud I was of him.
No. 1 dog..
And Lester Vernell Schuette-Roundly has been with me now for 12 years. Through thick and thin, I might add. He was not easy to raise as a puppy, puppies being quite destructive with pretty much whatever crosses their path, so I had to leave him outside all day while I was at work- and then often in a doggie-crate when I was home(and there was the time Lester actually shit the crate, but that's another story..). He'd bark quite a bit, much to the chagrin of a neighbor who was home all day and thus got an earful. This neighbor was a bit hard to deal with for awhile in there, but did try to work with me and with Lester as far as alleviating the problem- even going so far as bringing female dogs into my yard to mate with Lester! "I can't figure out why he's so hyper, Rog", my neighbor told me, confused. "He got him some pussy twice!".
So we survived both his puppyhood and our neighbor. The neighbor ended up moving and the destructive puppy stuff(and thus the need to keep him outside)just kinda waned to nothing with the advent of adulthood. Well, getting him fixed may have had something to do with it as well, but basically coming of age, he just settled the hell down. He's a Lab/Spaniel mix, which gives him some natural exciteability he'll never outgrow, but still much more manageable in his maturity.
Not too long after getting Lester, I added a cat to the household, in maybe July of that year. Her name was Maxine. She was maybe six to eight weeks old. Like Lester, she was a keeper, and stayed with me- and Lester of course- until her death in July of this year. Actually she and Lester spent a lot more time together than either pet and I just by sharing the four walls of the house all day. He was sad and worried the whole time she was sick- basically May and June-and particularly down after she was gone.
I didn't let too much time go by as far as that goes. Maxine was euthenized on July 1st, and I brought home Cindy and Jill on July 13th. Lester was overjoyed to have the new life in the house, and wanted to play with them right off the bat but of course they weren't having it. So he was bummed for a brief while, disillusioned as it were, but these dog/cat interactions sometimes take time. I came home from work the next day and things were fine. They'd apparently had a meeting and ironed it all out.
Lester is No 1 Dog for a variety of reasons, but mainly because he's the only dog I've ever had. Mom was a cat person, so that's what we grew up with. Generation upon generations of cats. So Lester is my maiden voyage into the world of canines. And dogs are great. Much more high-maintenance, especially at first, but they do have their wonderful qualities.
His exciteability, as I've said, does flare up from time to time, even though it's much more managed. If there's a dog walking down the street past the house, or if the mailman is on the porch(or for that matter most anybody else with certain exceptions), he's on it like mud on a turtle.
Or if anything gets inside the house. About a week before Maxine's demise, I had a rat problem. Saw him in the kitchen, actually just the tail, scurrying along the wall. Lester later saw him in the dining room and took off after him, on two different occasions that day. A tense two days followed, with traps and glue-boards set at various points, just waiting. Wednesday morning, Lester wanted back into the house from having his breakfast as he does every morning, only this time he had something in his mouth. At first I thought it was a plastic glove but it was our rodent buddy. Deader'n a doornail. Lester marched right into the house with it hanging from either side of his mouth. I think he wanted to show Maxine.
Naturally I praised him to the skies: "Lester, you da man!!" all the while getting Senor Ratone wrapped in paper towels and into the garbage. And out of the house. He was so proud of himself. And I just hope I conveyed how proud I was of him.
No. 1 dog..
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