Welcome to the 16th edition of Windows on Wildlife! If you have a recent post about wildlife you’d like to share – it can be anything: birds, insects, mammals – scroll down to the end of the post and add your site; a compilation of all additions will be posted the following week. Please don’t forget to link back here (I’d love it if you’d add the Windows on Wildlife button to your post which you can find on our sidebar) and visit other blogs that have articles to share. Thanks for stopping by!
Ok, I admit it. This post isn’t technically about wildlife. It’s about my new dog, Thorin. Who does looks awfully wolfish (isn’t he handsome!). But despite his bad behavior, he’s still domestic (sorry!)…. and I’m SO excited to introduce him that I just can’t wait any longer!
I’ve posted in the past about my dog(s), and you may remember Freya, my beautiful German Shepherd. I don’t believe I publicly shared this here but she was struck by a car and killed last winter, and it took quite a while for our family to recover. It was so difficult that I don’t think I even mentioned it in a blog post. It’s easier to talk about now with another dog in my life, but still challenging.
Look at those eyes…
I was unable to face the coming fall and winter working from home without a dog. So I began hunting around online, and eventually came across Thorin (Thorin – yes, as in Oakenshield – is the name we gave him, not the one he came with). It was his eyes that did me in. I’ve never seen such wolfish eyes on a dog, and I was in love instantly. I’m a veteran when it comes to adopting animals, and knew that it was likely that I wouldn’t be the one to adopt him. But after all was said and done he’s now our newest family member, and I have a new companion to walk in the woods with.
Thorin is a German Shepherd, but unlike the others I’ve adopted, he’s eastern European-bred, most likely from a Czech line. These are dogs that are bred for working, not conformation, so they often have a sable coat instead of the typical black and tan saddle pattern (as coat color is less important) and straight backs (a plus, in my opinion). They can be very serious dogs, which made me a bit leery of adopting one. We have young children at home, and needed a family companion, not a working dog.
Meeting him for the first time convinced me that he was indeed a family dog. Thorin is eager to please, and craves attention. He is sweet and loving, with boundless energy. And he’s big. It’s hard to look at him and remember that he’s still a puppy. He already stands mid-thigh on me and is bigger than my first Shepherd, Pandora. But he has all those lovely puppy behaviors to remind me: chewing, jumping, crazed-running… but he’s learning his manners quickly. He’s smart enough to have learned commands that I haven’t even consciously taught him. I love and miss Freya terribly, but for a German Shepherd she was a bit… dim. Poor thing. She made up for it in heart, but she wasn’t the sharpest. Thorin is much more Shepherd-like. He matches Pandora’s intelligence, but also Freya’s affection. Somehow I’ve managed to get the best of both my former dogs in Thorin.
My dogs have always been my companions in the woods and fields. Pandora often came out with me when I was a graduate student and doing my field work on tracking, or botany or other subjects (ornithology gets tricky with dogs, but it’s not impossible!). I lost Pandora to cancer in early 2009, and adopted Freya in late 2010 after a break-in at our house reminded us of the side benefits of having a dog. Although her time with us was short, she quickly took Pandora’s place at my side in the outdoors on my hikes and discoveries. I now look forward to sharing that time with Thorin, and you will no doubt hear of some of our adventures together as I continue on exploring – canine by my side.
=================================================================
Last week, Fergiemoto shared a moment between a juvenile Downy Woodpecker and a statue, that seems to just sum up juvenile curiosity. It’s an incredibly sweet photo! Jenny at Just Photos By Me managed to find wildlife even while watching the Paralympics live, and Boom and Gary caught a particularly stunning shot of three Ravens in a tree, surrounded by red leaves (from a turning Red Maple?).
Share your wildlife view through the link-up below!
Thorin is beautiful! We had our Siberian huskies before we had kids, so we never really thought about the fact that working dogs might not be as playful as other types of dogs. They sort of just keep to themselves. Our family time is mostly around hikes with them. I guess that’s why my kids are so in love with our new puppy. She plays with them!
Thanks Jennifer! He’s a love, but very intense. Pretty much what I expected. I think he’ll make a good playmate as the boys get physically bigger, and Thorin gradually calms down. 🙂