Hector Goes Camping!!!

Hi Pati and Mark,

Just got back from the now famous Hector camping extravaganza.  We had a blast.  Just wanted to share a few highlights of the trip with ya'll.  Here are a just a few of the things we learned about Hector and Hector learned about nature and camping :

1)  Hector is absolutely amazed by birds, butterflys and lightning bugs
2)  Hector loves to eat ice cubes, they are even better if he drops them first and gets a little dirt on them
3)  Roasted marshmallows are now his treat of choice
4)  He absolutely LOVES the water, even more than we thought before, he can swim FOREVER, and pouts when I think he has had enough
5)  Being wet from the lake isn't so bad after all if he can shake water all over Fritz and then roll him in the dirt with his nose
6)  All that swimming sure does make Hector hungry and sleepy, he stole 3 hotdogs and 1 hamburger off the picnic table before we could stop him, ate them in no time flat and then took a 3 hour afternoon nap
7)  Got his picture taken with the park ranger and posted on the park entrance as the official park mascot for 2007/2008
8)  A bath when Hector and Fritz got home was totally uncalled for in their opinion, but the air conditioning and the couch sure were nice to get back to
9)  Best family camping trip Larry and I have ever been on, looking forward to lots more

Happily Tired,

Wanda

Hector's Happy Ending Story...

Let's see, how do I even begin to tell the Hector story.  To understand the real meaning and impact Hector has on us and we have on him you have to understand how we all came to be a family. 
The end of last year we lost our beloved Dalmatian (Dali) of several years to chronic renal failure.  We were devastated by her loss.  We had gotten her when she was a year old from a family we knew that were going to put her down because she was deaf and their toddler had began to walk and they were concerned that if startled she might snap at the toddler.  We had experience with a deaf dog already, our black lab had gone deaf due to age.  I couldn't bear the thought of this beautiful Dal being put down, so I convinced them to let me have her.  She became my true soul mate.  She didn't need to hear for us to communicate, it didn't matter.  We understood each other perfectly.  So when we lost her, I couldn't imagine life would ever be the same.  I didn't even want to try to find that kind of connection again, because it hurt too much when it was gone.
But, as you know we aren't in control of these things.  At about that same time last year, a wonderful young Dal pup was born, and you guessed it, he is deaf.  He found a home with a family that apparently couldn't deal with a deaf pup, so they left him tied to a tree hoping someone would take him in and love him.  That's when Pati and Mark got him into rescue and as they say, the rest is history.  I saw his face and the look in his eyes and I knew he was meant to be with me.  He caught a ride with some nice folks that were moving from FL to GA and when I first saw him my heart melted, he ran right up to me and licked my whole face, I loved it.  I brought him home and it was like he knew this was his forever family.  He fit right in like an old friend.  He doesn't need to hear me to know that I love him, and I don't need him to hear me to know what I want him to do, we communicate with our hearts.  That's all that is needed.  Thanks Pati and Mark for making me realize the heart is big enough to love again, even if its been broken before.  I still miss Dali, but Hector lets me smile through it.

Thanks,

Wanda and Larry