As a kid, we had a spaniel mix that my parents found when they moved into military housing in Hawaii. Poi Dog lived to be 18!! We also had a brother and sister pair of greyhounds, Jester and Lavianna. Wonderful dogs, so quiet and sweet and watching them run was really something. Then we had a shepard mix, Choctaw who was a royal pain in the rear as a puppy but ended up great! I didn't have dogs for years and when I married my husband, inherited his husky, Tasha. She lived to be 13 and before she passed away, we adopted Annie, our current husky. I found Lacey, a little dachshund mix that we had to put to sleep this last June at the age of 15. I actually "chose" a dog this time instead of one chosing me! I have horses and wanted a dog that is supposed to live around livestock so I looked for a blue/red heeler or Australian Cattledog. The animal shelters actually had lots of them! Skyler is a red heeler mix, I think with lab and he is sooo cute and funny! He's 8 mos. old now and loves being a "ranch" dog, helping me feed and such.