My first experience of life with a dog.

 My first dog was Halle, the sharpie/beagle mix. That is at least the best guess as to Halle's breed.

I had just graduated college, working for a small newspaper in a near-by town and living in a 1 bedroom duplex.  I was interested in getting a dog, but had no experience or knowledge on how to properly raise one.  

I was currently doing a photo story on the local shelter for the newspaper.  I spent weeks photographing on my spare time at the office and days off.  I even started volunteering at the shelter. Made friends with the shelter manager and we talked dog shop daily.  I was beginning to feel more confident in pet ownership and really had my mind set on a German Shepard.  Why a German Shepard, I am not sure.  Honestly, at the time, I was uneducated and had no idea what I was looking for in a dog.  I suppose I was only going by appearance.

It was late September 2001.  The weather was ideal for a midwestern fall afternoon.  My last shoot of the day was photographing a local woman who was sharing her cinnamon bun recipe with the food section of the paper. I always enjoyed food shoots.  This specific assignment, I left with a large homemade cinnamon bun covered in a delicious sugary glaze.  No better way to end a day at work.  

It was late afternoon and I was headed back to my home.  Had big plans that evening. Once a week I would get together with my brother, sister-in-law and a couple friends and we would watch "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." We would enjoy the company, a snack and a wonderful show.  Always a great evening.  Thinking about my future plans for the evening, I approach an intersecting road on the highway and notice a small animal on the shoulder. I slow down, not wanting to hit the animal.  As I approach closer, I realize that it is a small puppy.  I pull the car over and try to shoo the pup off the side of the highway. In the distance, I notice another dog leaving the pup.  Figuring that the two are wandering together, I attempt to shoo the pup toward the other dog.

No luck.  The little puppy sat in front of me and started wiggling her tail.  She looked pathetic.  She was skinny, had what I later found out was mange, she was covered in ticks and very scared.  I scooped her up and put her in the seat of my chevy tracker.  Off we headed home.  I tried to tempt her with the cinnamon bun during the drive. She was too frightened to accept the treat.  Once I got home, called my brother and sister-in-law and we went to the grocery store to buy a collar and a leash. Leash in hand, this was the beginning of this 5 month old pups life with me and her first Buffy night.

With proper food and nutrition she became a wound-up ball of energy.  As my first dog, she was quite a challenge.  I began asking a friend with a dog for advice, reading every training book in the library.  I obsessively became involved with training Halle.  In fact, I decided to look into a training career.  Halle and I took a basic obedient class and later she became my instruction dog for a few training classes that I taught. I realized quickly that I did not like training people, just dogs.  Halle and I had a lot of fun through our training adventures.

When we weren't training she and I would awake early for park playtime, take afternoon and evening walks.  She had a lot of energy to burn and I have always enjoyed walking.  She would hang out with me at the coffee shop, enjoy jumping up on the city cement and limestone walls during walks, hike in the woods and go on occasional runs (which she found boring). During Halle's first year with me we made lots of pup friends and had a lot of dog park fun.

Halle is a wonderful dog.  She is stubborn and we still butt heads to this day.  She however, is the spark that ignited my love for dogs.  My post for Halle could go on for days. She has taught me to have patients and has helped me grow as a person.