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ALL MY LIFE, I'D WANTED A GERMAN SHEPHERD. I'D HAD JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING ELSE RANGING FROM DACHSHUNDS TO ST. BERNARDS, BUT THE GERMAN SHEPHERD KEPT TUGGING AT MY HEART UNTIL I KNEW I HAD TO HAVE ONE. PERHAPS IT WAS THE CHILDHOOD DAYS OF RIN TIN TIN, OR PERHAPS MY BROTHER'S GERMAN SHEPHERD "POSSUM", WHO REALLY STOLE MY HEART, BUT HERE'S THE STORY.

I BOUGHT "TECATE PETE'S TOPAZ GEM" WHEN SHE WAS 3 MONTHS OLD. SHE WAS COMPLETELY HOUSEBROKE IN 3 SHORT WEEKS. THE FIRST TIME I SAT DOWN TO PLAY BALL WITH HER, SHE WAS BRINGING IT BACK TO ME IN LESS THAN 30 MINUTES. TECATE WAS THE ONE I HAD ALWAYS WANTED. SHE TOOK EVERY STEP I TOOK, SHE PLAYED WITH ME, SHE SLEPT WITH ME, SHE PLAYED WITH MY 15 YEAR OLD SON, SHE PROTECTED ME.....SHE WAS THE ONE I HAD ALWAYS WANTED.

I HAPPENED UPON AN ARTICLE IN THE PAPER BY A LOCAL RESCUE GROUP ASKING FOR FOSTER HOMES, DONATIONS, ETC. I OWN THREE ACRES OF LAND IN THE COUNTRY AND HAD A NICE BIG FENCED YARD FOR TECATE. SOMETHING WOULD NOT LET ME REST UNTIL I CONTACTED THEM ABOUT PERHAPS GIVING A FOSTER HOME TO ONE OF THEIR RESCUED DOGS.

KAISER ARRIVED AT MY HOUSE ONE SUNNY AFTERNOON, AND AS SOON AS HE CAME OUT OF THE CAR, I KNEW. KAISER WAS THE OTHER ONE I HAD ALWAYS WANTED.

KAISER HAD BEEN CONFISCATED FROM HIS OWNER IN OKLAHOMA CITY, OK. AT 3 MONTHS OF AGE, DUE TO CRUELTY, ABUSE, STARVATION, ETC. HE WAS PLACED IN AN OKC SHELTER AND AT 4 MONTHS OF AGE, THE OKC TORNADOES TOOK THE SHELTER. THE LOCAL RESCUE GROUP BROUGHT HIM TO THIS AREA TO NURSE HIM BACK TO HEALTH AND WERE WAITING TO PLACE HIM. AT 8 MONTHS, HE WAS HEALTHY ENOUGH TO PLACE, EVEN THOUGH HIS REAR END WAS SO WEAK HE COULD HARDLY STAND. (HE'S THE ONE LAYING IN THE PHOTO).

AFTER MANY MONTHS OF CONTINUOUS ROMPING, RUNNING, PLAYING AND TUG-OF-WAR, KAISER IS NOW STRONGER THAN I EVER IMAGINED AND HEALTHIER THAN I THOUGHT POSSIBLE. HE AND TECATE ARE COMPLETELY INSEPARABLE. THEY LOOK SO MUCH ALIKE, SOMETIMES COMING UP THE DRIVE WAY, I CAN'T TELL THEM APART!

THEY ARE MY WONDERFUL KIDS, MY WONDERFUL COMPANIONS, BETTER KNOWN AS "DOUBLE TROUBLE".

I NEVER IMAGINED THESE GUYS WOULD MEAN SO MUCH TO ME. THEY'RE THE ONES I ALWAYS WANTED.