I`ve always liked dogs more thank people. Don`t get me wrong - I like people as well but it is just so much easier to get along with a dog than with another human being.

My first, my last
I got my first dog, male dachshund, when I was six years old. My parents had just recently divorced and for some reason my mom gave in and allowed me to get a dog. There was a catch though - I had to take care of the dog myself. I remember when we first went to pick out the puppy I saw five of them crawling around looking like little snakes. Four of them were just regular looking pups - black with long tails. The fifth was born with only 1" tail - and guess which one I picked? I had to go and bring home my puppy all by myself. I remember it was after christmas and it was awfully cold and icy outside - and my mom was at work. So I grabbed a bag and one of my doll blankets and somehow brought my dog home. I remember falling a couple of times when I had to walk uphill on my way back - I was so scared I had hurt my little guy. He turned out to be a regular sized wirehaired dachshund minus the tail - and a really good companion. He did like to go rabbit chasing on his own during the summers at my granny`s - but he never got hurt and always came home for dinner. To sum it up - he was a very good first pet, not too demanding but full of his little tricks. He got me through my parents` divorce, my older brother leaving home for university, my mothers death and all the teenage drama. He was killed by two stray German Shepherds wondering around our farm.

A staff of followers
After my dog died I lost interest in dogs for a while - the family I lived with got a Newfoundland Dog mix and then a German Shepherd but I didn't love them as much I loved my first dog. Probably because they were living outdoors and my Dachshund was always more indoors dog. I was 14 when my dog died and pretty soon after that I started high school and living on my own.

Geek, the Wonderdog
When I met Sean and he decided to move to Estonia to be with me, I got this crazy idea of being a doggie owner again. To be honest, I always wanted a new dog but I wasn't sure if my income/free time would be enough for a dog. In May 2002 I saw my new buddy for the first time. While we were deciding which breed to get we had different opinions. Sean doesn`t like small dogs so Dachshund was a no-no. There were no Beagle nor Pointer puppies available in Estonia at that time. When Sean was little he had a Rottweiler and German Shepherd mix, so he came up with the Rottweiler idea. In the very beginning Geek was so tiny and fuzzy and did not look like a Rottweiler at all (in fact he still doesn`t). He had 6 brothers/sisters, but he was the oldest, the funniest and with the kindest eyes. On June, 15th 2002 we went to pick him up. For a while we didn`t have proper name for him. Finally we settled for Geek - it`s short and easy and believe me or not, he is a real freak;) Soon enough he was discovering the flat, then the hallway, then entire house and the garden. It took a while to learn that yellow rivers nor poop are welcome in the dining room and chewing everything must end. In 2 years in Estonia Geek made many friends and some enemies as well. There was a poodle living next door that Geek could not stand at all. There was also a black lab named Sousi living couple houses away - and they loved to play with each other. An old Rottweiler named Lisa, black lab girl Sophie and irish setters Siberius and Rhea were Geek`s favourite play pals.
On February 14th 2005 we moved to USA. I refused to leave without Geek and leaving him behind was not an option. So far we have adjusted well - some local odd habits and restrictions are somewhat annoying. I don`t think I will ever let my dogs live only in my back yard and consider that good exercise. It is considered normal just to let the dog out to run and lift his leg in the back yard. Only once in a while the dogs get to go "out" on a leash. I would rather walk my dogs for 3 hours every day instead of being stuck in my back yard for hours. More pictures of Geek are available here.