I start to think the match we have found for Caitey is a "God Sent", and I hope it proves to be true after my son joins our family.
I always liked breeds like Collie and German Shepherd but was concerned that they might be too aggressive. I have been thinking of maybe getting another loving caring Golden (preferably British Golden because I love its pure white coat), but the tragic death of Chelsea King changed my mind.
I kept asking myself, would Chelsea still be alive if she had a protective German Shepherd on her side when she went hiking at the wrong place at the wrong time?
I have two little girls who are the center of my world. There is absolutely NO way that I would allow anything even remotely close to that to happen to my children, therefore I made up my mind that I would have to adopt a breed that is intelligent, loyal, but most importantly, PROTECTIVE for the safety of the girls.
With that decision made, we started searching for a German Shepherd. Deep inside I hoped just a tiny little bit for an all white German, which is also called American Shepherd or White Shepherd due to its color variation from its original ancestors, but did not really count on it because it is so few to come by -- it'd be a miracle if we could find a healthy and lovable white German Shepherd male, given how rare this breed is.
Well, God had listened and answered my prayers mercifully twice when I wished for girls many years ago, and this time he graciously granted my wish again.
When Claire 1st told me that there was a German in the puppy shop on March 21st (incidentally spring started on this day), my very 1st thought was "It can't be white"... till I heard Claire screaming "....and it is WHITE!".
Then after seeing the puppy's adorable face I checked with the staff for its sex, almost not daring to hope for a male, but was told that it was INDEED a male!
For someone like me who believe things are often destined (I know, women), I just HAD to adopt him on the spot.
I should also mention that while we were going thru the paperwork, a guy offered me $150 more than what I just paid because he and his fiancee REALLY wanted him but was one step behind us. After I declined his offer with an apology, he went as far as to trying to talk Claire out of it. Nice try, he picked the VERY person who had always wanted a guarding dog in the 1st place (I on the other hand, was the one who actually had tried to hold her back.)
My son was born on Jan 19th, 2010 and was just separated from his parents at a breeder in PA. His sister was adopted the same morning to match a male Lab.
As for his temperament, we spent about an hour at the shop petting and playing with him. He seemed to be very friendly with us and other dogs, and did not appear to be overly aggressive. You should know that the white Germans are bred to be milder and mellower than the traditional black/tan ones. He laid down a couple of times to let us touch his tummy, got too comfy and almost fell asleep on the floor while we were doing it, which was a good sign that he is obedient and trainable.
He did nibble my fingers a little without really biting them, but his teethmarks were all over the little decorative chairs in the "bonding room". Given the fact the Germans have the 2nd most powerful biting power among all the dog breeds (2nd only to the Rottweilers), I sure hope he will put his razor sharp teeth into good use later in his life.
I am bringing Caitey back to meet her hubby tomorrow, maybe I should get a ring for each one of my 4-legged child?
Now the major challenge is to decide on his name. So far we have come up with the following mile long list:
Cade (meaning "pure"),
Cadman (warrior),
Caius (rejoice),
Calbert (shepherd),
Candan (sincerely),
Carlin (little champion),
Carmine (song),
Carney (warrior),
Caicey/Casey (brave/watchful),
Canton (wise),
Chase (hunter),
Ciel (from heaven),
Clarence (clear),
Clyde (heard from afar),
Cyrus (sun),
...and others like Cloudie, Coyote, Creamy, Clearey, Carnegie, CaiKai, Snowy, Ivory.
So, decisions decisions decisions....
