Saturday, November 27, 2010

The Story of the OP Pack and a Shopping Spree




Before we begin our story, we wanted to ask you all to cross your paws and call upon the power of the paws to help Scuby find his way back home to Butchy, Katie, and the Cats of Mutton Hollow. He has been missing for several days now and his family is very sad. Please help him find his way home.



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After our first fiasco with blogger eating our post, we convinced the Momster to try again to tell the story of how each of us came to be a part of The OP Pack and what we would like to get our Mom and Dad for Christmas. We want to thank Minna K and Frankie Furter for two great blogging topics.

Flashback to the year 1997 - this is sweet Muffin, the little raggedy girl from the SPCA who lived to be almost 16 years old. Mom tells us she was a very special girl. She crossed the Rainbow Bridge in the summer of 1997.


We really need to get better pictures of her scanned, but for purposes of our story this one will do fine. She is probably about 14 in this photo.


Meanwhile, our Dad was recovering from some very serious eye problems that developed following what was supposed to be a simple cataract operation. Without going into lots of detail, he had a very bad year with his eyes and was unable to work for several months. He became very depressed and sad. A few months after Muffin died, he asked Mom what ever happened to the idea of getting a husky pup. Dad had always wanted an all-white blue-eyed Siberian Husky. Hard as it may be to believe, our Mom wanted no part of any husky in her house. Our human brother and sisters suggested that maybe this was just what Dad needed to perk him up. So Mom relented and began to search for that special pup.



And here she is - Princess Dakota on her first day with Dad and one of our human sisters in October of 1997. She was about 10 weeks old.


Even at a young age, the husky in her wanted to get off leash. Here she is with Lucky, Mom's cockapoo who lost both of his eyes to severe glaucoma.


And another great pic of her sharing a crate with the other resident cockapoo Shamrock. Please excuse the eyes - these are scanned photos and Mom didn't try to correct them at all.



And a fun shot of the princess when she was still a young pup.


So the family canines numbered three - Lucky, Shamrock, and Dakota. The Momster had one of those milestone birthdays approaching, and the big question was what to get her for her special day.




Ta da - why not get her another Siberian Husky - hence, the arrival in February 1999 of Phantom - see that mask that gave him his name.



From the very beginning, he and Dakota were the best of pals.



They would play and play and play all day.


The years went by, Mom and Dad moved from Connecticut back to Kansas - this was their second time living in Overland Park (OP). And with them came the pack of four: Lucky, Shamrock, Dakota, and Phantom. Lucky and Shamrock both enjoyed a few years here in OP before crossing the bridge at the ages of 12 and 15.

We remained a pack of two for a while. Mom had been teaching but quit her job in 2005 when the first grandchild came along so that she could take care of her while her parents worked. Another grandson arrived that same year, but he lives in southern California. A few years after that, a new grandchild was on the way. It was the summer of 2006. Mom and Dad had been wanting to get a new puppy, and they thought it would be good if they did that before the next grandbaby came along. That way the puppy would be well on the way to being trained before Mom was caring for two babies.

And so the search began. They found a wonderful breeder who had puppies on the way that summer. Mom and Dad were third on the list, but only two puppies arrived. This very nice breeder tried to help us find another puppy. There was a beautiful sibe in St. Louis who was about to deliver what was expected to be a litter of 8 or 9 pups. Our Mom and Dad were so excited. But sadly it wasn't to be. The mother dog had a massive aneurysm just days before delivery, and they were not able to save either her or any of the pups. They were about to give up on getting a puppy when Mom got a call about a great breeder in Iowa who had a silver and white male puppy. Mom really wanted a red and white girl, but decided to have them send a photo anyway.

Here is the photo that came:


Now who could resist that face? Yes, that is Thunder Dunder at about 6 or 7 weeks old. He was supposed to be the breeder's show puppy but she was a little worried about his front paws - you can see how they turn outwards in the photo. She was going to keep him anyway as a pet, but after talking to Mom and learning about Dakota and Phantom, she decided to let him come to live with us. He was almost five months old by the time he and Mom met on the first Sunday in August of 2006. (And two days later Mom learned that the "baby" on the way in January was actually two babies - hence the twins you have seen here recently. If Mom had known that two days earlier, she isn't sure she would have been taking on a puppy too. Not to mention the fact that our other human sister had a baby boy a few months after the twins - so Mom was now caring for four grandkids and three sibes.)

Here are a couple of pics of Thunder meeting Dakota and Phantom.





And those famous ears:)



Just so darn cute!




Fast forward to the sad summer of 2009 when we had to say good-bye to our sweet Princess Dakota - our first Siberian Husky who managed to change the Momster into a sibe-lover.


And so it appeared that the OP Pack would be remaining a pack of two. The humans talked about getting a puppy but Dad wasn't sure he was ready - he was really missing his special girl. Mom didn't push, but then along came a surprise e-mail in January from Thunder's breeder wanting to know if Mom knew anyone who might be interested in a nice red and white male pup. What a temptation! Thunder is such a wonderful dog, he has the nicest disposition, he is so handsome, could another pup from the same breeder AND the same sire be as wonderful? But then, they really didn't want a pup in the middle of the winter AND they really didn't want another male. So Mom wrote back and told the nice breeder lady just that. Of course, Mom had to go and take a peek at the rest of the litter and saw a very cute little girl. So she showed this photo to Dad:



This lovely little girl was just four weeks old in this photo. BUT the breeder was keeping her as a show dog. Mom wrote again and said she really wasn't interested in the male but would love to have her keep her in mind for a girl if another litter came along. And you all know the rest of the story. Nice breeder lady wrote back and said we could have the girl and she would keep one of the other boys for show.


Miss Ciara Puppypants at six weeks of age. (Ignore the date, camera was not set properly.) Dad was hoping for another blue-eyed girl, but it was not to be. Instead we got two gorgeous golden brown ones.



Resting on her ride home from Iowa in February 2010.



Getting comfy with the toys.


And the new wubba - that no longer exists.



Sizing up her future garden.



And so that's the story of how we all came to be part of our wonderful family. We hope you enjoyed it and we hope that it really did publish this time:)


What to get our parents for Christmas - now that's a tough one. For Dad, we would love to find him a way to make all of his eye problems go away. And for Mom, she never really wants anything for herself. But we think she would want some special things, like good health and happiness for all of her family, human and canine, and for all of her true and loyal friends.

Now there is one present we would really love to get for both of them - can you guess what it is?

Woos ~ Phantom, Thunder, Ciara, and Princess Dakota

57 comments:

  1. Woo - thanks for sharing the whole story. We knew much of it, but some of those early details were new to us. So cool to know them all (and we loved the early Dakota and Phantom pictures).

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  2. I just had to squee at all the puppy pictures!

    Several parts of your story were sad but it had a happy ending which is all that matters!

    I'm going to guess that your dogs would love another puppy! Any chance of that happening?

    I'm so glad blogger worked this time, I really enjoyed your story.

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  3. I was thinking mom and dad want another puppy too!!

    Wonderful story, even if it had sad parts. We're glad you're all here!

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  4. We really enjoyed the story of how you all became a part of your family! We really loved all the baby pictures too! We're guessing you want another puppy in your family for Christmas!

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  5. Oh!!! What a wonderful story and the pictures made me so happy to see!!! Puppies!! They all are so pretty and handsome!! Are you getting another puppy? Wouldn't that just be great!! Lots of love, Holly and mom

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  6. great story of how you all came to be brothers and sisters,

    my my Phantom what is your secret? i would have said you were younger than Thunder, you have such a puppy face, what creams do you use? :)

    all your puppy photos are sooooo sooooo cute, how could anyone resist any of you? there's photos on my blog of my Blue-eyed boy Scamp, who has also gone to rainbow bridge, maybe he's playing with Princess Dakota :)

    Jenny xox

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  7. I have to say that was a really beautiful post. I giggled at the beautiful sweet pup pics (and as always, seeing Husky pups makes me want another!)...and tears of sadness of Princess Dakota's passing. Oh, how special the furbabies are and what they bring into our lives. Thank you for sharing their beautiful photos and their "me" stories!

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  8. We guess another Sibe?

    What a nice story. Thanks for sharing it.

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  9. Thunder exuded confidence right from the start and Miss Ciara has the same attitude. Must be a good breeder to instill that in them from the start.

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  10. Its always a great joy to see your dogs, They are so healthy and beautiful! It was fun seeing them all as babies, even though Miss Ciara's babyhood is not so far away.

    I'm not a good guesser of what you and Dad want but I would bet money its NOT another pup for Christmas, maybe a lifetime supply of Sibe Chow and treatz plus a full time dog walker!

    Cheers and hugs,

    Jo and Stella

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  11. Thanks for sharing the story of the OP Pack.
    I think the dogs would like to get you, one more sibe and a dog sled. With 4 dogs, they would have a sled team.
    Then they would like to take the family on a snow vacation and pull the grandkids around on the sled!!

    Wyatt and Stanzie

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  12. What a wonderful post filled with great memories...
    Thanks for sharing The OP Pack Story!
    xoxo

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  13. Hey You Woos!
    I absolutely love your puppy pix! You are all the cutest things ever...such gorgeous eyes. Thanks for sharing your stories and your adorable pix.
    Grr and Woof,
    Sarge

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  14. I would guess another Husky!! Phantom looks changed! Both ways he was a handsome guy!

    Licks,
    Ruthie

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  15. Oh, you were all such adorable puppies! I can see why they adore all three of you!

    Is the present you want to get for them another puppy?

    Bunny

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  16. I think this post as max'd the khuteness!

    What great pikhs
    Sharings
    Sentiments

    AND just great stuff!

    Sometimes that is just how life is...I mean, Mom went to the SPCA fur some other 'dog' and look what she found...and how it changed her life!

    Thanks fur taking the time to re-share this one!

    Hugz&Khysses,
    Khyra
    PeeEssWoo: We are so hoping Scuby khomes home too!

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  17. Wow! We enjoyed the story of how you came to be the OP pack! Cool! Hmmmm! We aren't sure... but maybe we thinks you would like another puppy? Whatever you wish for we hopes that you get it.

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  18. I really enjoyed ur story, so heartwarming ;). And you don't really have to get any presents for your parents, the pack are the best presents they have received!

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  19. I loved your post on how you all became part of the OP pack. I also hope that Scuby comes home soon.

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  20. We're so glad you all found each other and such a loving home! We concur that you want another Sibe puppy, so Phantom can train him in the way he should grow and he will not depart from it. Or something like that. Who knows what Santa Paws has in store?

    Jed & Abby

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  21. We just LOVED reading your stories! We knew little bits here and there but it was nice to have it all come together like that!

    Woofs,
    Tommy

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  22. What a great post! Our mom is still drying her eyes!
    We hope Scuby comes home soon too!

    Love ya lots
    Maggie and Mitch

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  23. What a great post! We're so glad you convinced your mom to re-post after (stoopid) Blogger ate it the first time.

    Kisses
    Hyssy, Virus and Bajas

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  24. What sweet memories and pictures, too! I'm betting mom and dad get enough Sibe love that they don't need anything for Christmas. Well, ok...maybe a lifetime of paid poop scoopin' service...

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  25. Thanks for sharing! These pictures are wonderful!

    Your pal, Pip

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  26. I love your story. I cannot imagine that *you* ever resisted having a Husky in your house :) What a transformation!

    I'm guessing that Phantom would not vote for another puppy... So, I'll just make a wild guess - a lifetime supply of treats to keep your entire huge treat cabinet full at all times!

    Thanks for sharing your story.

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  27. Wooooo...that was wonderful. And we think your wish for the Momster and the Dad is another sibe for the pack.

    Maybe, Maybe Not.

    Gussie n Teka

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  28. I hope Scuby will be back at home soon.
    I loved reading your stories.
    Each one of you came to be part of the OP Pack for a reason, right?
    Those would be great presents for mom and dad. I hope they will come true!
    I want to know what would be that special present for them!
    Happy sunday!
    Kisses and hugs
    Lorenza

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  29. Great post! Love all the pics! CUTE! Could it be to spend more time with all of you? They would like that, I bet!

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  30. hello op pack its dennis the vizsla dog hay that is a grate story!!! i remember wen dakota had to go away it wuz verry sad but i am shoor she is watching over her brothers and her noo sister frum the rainbow bridge!!! ok bye

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  31. We loved reading the whole story about your beautiful family!!! So much love and happiness from human to human, human to sibe, and sibe to sibe.

    Thank you!!!

    Wirey love,

    Jake and Just Harry

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  32. Beautiful stories, all. We bet you want to get Momster and Dad a rottweiler puppy!! HAHAHAHA!

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  33. What a lovely post - made us feel all emotional!
    So many special dogs in your mom and dad's life.
    The pics of sibe puppies were to die for - could there be anything cuter.
    Dakota was such a beauty!
    You all are gorgeous but, like you, we miss Dakota.
    We think the present you would get your mom is just to have everyone in the family, canine and human all well - no sickies - no worries!
    That really was a lovely post and we are sending our best basset vibes for little Scuby to come home - another little cutie.
    Much love
    Martha and Bailey xxx

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  34. Hi all!

    Oh, we're glad you persauded your momster to re-post as we just LOVED this! So beautiful - we were smiling and tearing up at the same time! Lovely photos, lovely post!

    Schnauzer snuggles - JD and Max.

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  35. What a great story :)

    Kari
    http://dogisgodinreverse.com/

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  36. Thats a lovely story! Thanks for sharing it. YOu are all such good furiends!!

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  37. Oh what a wonderful story.. Sure glad the blogger didn't eat it again..

    Big Sloppy Kisses
    Gus, Louie and Callie

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  38. What a great post. I can tell how much Dakota meant to you guys by the way you speak of her. She seemed like one special girl for sure. You have the cutest pups around, we love the OP Pack. :)

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  39. Woof! Woof! I am back from my Holiday. Very Nice story ... sad n happy. Golden Thanks for sharing. Lots of Golden Woofs, Sugar

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  40. Hi my dearest friend,

    Mommy really enjoyed your story and how each of you came along. Mommy would love to hjave a sibe but she thinks it's to hot in Texas.

    Do you want to give your folks a new puppy?

    {{{huggies}}}...Mona

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  41. What great stories of how you all ended up at your furever home!!

    Pugs & Kisses,

    Yoda & Brutus

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  42. It's pretty clear. You all were simply MEANT to be a family. For what more could anyone want?

    xxoo
    Jake and Fergi

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  43. Thank you for sharing that pawsome story!! We luv the pics, all of them!! You all truly deserves one another!!

    Cheers,
    Maxx

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  44. Hi my friends, first I want to thank you for your so sweet words you left me. And then I wanted to say that I ams so happy blogger did not eat your story this time!
    This was a wonderful story of how you all came to be, and yes, it was ment to be.
    The stories touched our hearts...
    we know how very much you love your fur babies,,,
    We are keeping our paws crossed for Scuby too.
    Thank you again for re- posting.
    love
    tweedles

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  45. Thank you for sharing your story with us.. we enjoyed every moment when your parents brought home a little pup! You were all soooooo adorable, but little Ciara stole our mom's heart right from the first time she saw her photo! Who can resist her pretty face??!

    Paws are crossed for Scuby to be home with his family soon.

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  46. Wow, what a post - and that's from a lady who said she's going to cut down posting LOL - I enjoyed reading the story (except for the sad parts) but that's life! I wish I would have seen my boy as a pup. I got him when he was already 3 years old.

    My wish for all of you is health and happiness and a long life together!

    Blessings!

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  47. We loved reading how you came to live with your parents and seeing all the baby pictures. We love pictures of puppies.

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  48. Those are such beautiful stories of your beginnings. I sitting here now wit tears in my teenie WEENIE eyes. TankYou for da sharing.

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  49. What a wonderful story!!! Our Mom had tears in her eyes several times while reading your post and looking at the photos - she said some of them were happy tears and some sad.

    We are so glad yur pawrents adopted woo!!!

    We think woo might want to get yur pawrents a new puppy and we think that's great idea!!!

    Team Husky

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  50. Such a wonderful story of how you all came to be at your wonderful home!

    I bet your mom would like you all to be happy, and healthy!! That's the best present ever!

    Holly and Khady

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  51. Oh fantastic post!!! We love hearing about how you came to be you all in your wonderful home :) Ah. We hope dad's eye problems will improve, and know you all are great supports! Hmmmmmmmm gift...

    Hugs and snaggle-tooth kisses,
    Sierra Rose

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  52. Thanks for sharing your wonderful story with us! Your family is VERY special and you are all blessed to have found each other...and as a result we are all blessed.

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  53. What a wonderful story! We love you all!!! ♥

    wif love from the Luke

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  54. Ohhh...what a wonderful, wonderful story!!! I'm so glad it published this time coz I learnt so much about you all - I can't believe that we have been friends for so long and I didn't know so many things...like I never knew what the "OP" stood for! :-)

    And all those puppy pictures - Oh! - they had Hsin-Yi squealing and squealing. As you probably know, she usually likes droopy, jowly dogs rather than pointy face, pointy ear dogs - but she thinks those puppy pics are the cutest thing she's ever seen! :-)

    Slobbers,
    Honey the Great Dane

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  55. This is really late, But I LOVED reading the story of all of you, and you all were so adorable as pups (and still are!) Hope you had a wonderful thanksgiving! :)

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  56. I missed this... Caught up now... How could I have missed this...
    PUPS ...... your still pups... adorable. :-) x x x

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  57. OH my, this is such a nice story! I loved getting to know Dakota. I love the way Phantom and Thunder were pals... sigh. you make it look so easy to have more than ONE sibe!

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Thanks for wooing at us. We love your comments!