Furry Family Members

First came Pepsi, a female Ridgeback in the mid nineties. We bought her as a pup and she was the most gentle girl with the family. Outside the home, she was a nightmare and a prime example of why breeding from an unstable bitch is never going to end well. None the less, for all her faults, we were devastated when she died. I still miss her and she cemented our love of the breed. We're not the type of family to choose a dog on the basis of looks, but Ridgeback's are our breed. They range from light wheaten (like Pepsi and Nico) to a red colour (similar to Anne's Ben) and are either liver nosed (rare and thus more expensive if buying) with no black hair on the face or black nose with some to a full on black mask. Black mask's are our favourite. They also come in two body shapes - long and leggy or shorter and stockier.



In the garden; eight months old.



Mum feeding Pepsi my ice lolly - please don't judge us, it was the nineties!!



Pepsi ALWAYS pushed in during cuddles. She'd lift Mum or Dad's arm and BOOM, there she is. She'd never lick faces though and she was impossibly gentle despite her size. Apologies for the wallpaper. It was the nineties.

Next is Nico, who waltzed into our lives on the 29th September 2011. Hooligan pup and further proof of why Ridgeback's are the best breed in the world. Very very friendly - thinks everyone and everything is his best friend. He's also very clever; he knows when you're just generally laughing and he knows when you're laughing at him. My dad laughed at him once. Nico peed on him, thus proving mine and mum's theory that Dad's Nico's bitch.



At the rescue. His face was 'hard' and he looked so unloved. We were trying to decide between an adult dog or a pup and this picture swung it for us.



Look how his face has changed. He loves a good duvet!



He also loves to patrol the local fields. Not quite brave enough to swim, he's fallen into the river a few times and has been subjected to several undignified rescues.

These are our aunt's dogs. My aunt works from home and decided a Dalmatian would be the right breed for her. She adopted Flash from Dalmatian Welfare. He was a neglect case and had been shut in a barn for most of his life and survived on scraps. It's taken two years for my aunt to turn him from hooligan hound to chilled out pooch. She then adopted Phoebe, who's the complete opposite of Flash. She was very well bred (has several Crufts champions in her bloodline) and the guy at Dalmatian Rescue Welfare (who arranged Flash and Pheeb's adoptions) has two of her relatives as his own pets. She was bought as a toy for a child and for the first two years of her life was given zero training so she was in for a shock when she arrived at my aunt's!



Flash on the left, Phoebe on the right. My aunt's now considering adding a little Cocker to the mix!

How lovely to get this little history of your dogs, Jackie. Nico looks so well and always good to hear about him, especially the "naughty" tales !Wish more people considered rescue dogs, even if they want a particular breed. I think a lot of people always think of rescues as mongrels, though that should never put them off. We've had a total of 8 rescue dogs, mainly because none of them have been young when we've had them . They've all had different characteristics and all been very much loved. They've all been cross breeds and we've never had any lasting problems, although some have been more affectionate than others. Ben is probably the sloppiest of the lot, always wanting to lie on our laps and assumes he's coming with us when we put on our coats. He brings us untold pleasure and love and we're so glad we found him.

You must have got my Nico mixed up with another Nico, Anne, because he's not naughty Except for recently when he chased a cat under a fence, through two gardens and across a road because it had dared to stray onto our drive, but he swears he just wanted to give directions!!!

I think people are put off by the name 'mongrel' but give it a fancy made up name and they're all over it. You only have to look at the Cavachon's and the Chorkies and the Jackapoo's that people are going mad for, when really it is still a mongrel. Personally, i'm still waiting to see what a poodle x ridgeback looks like

I'd like an older dog. It breaks my heart when you see them in kennels because they've been traded in for a younger model or their owner has died.