A Tail of Two Dogs

As most of you know, we are the proud owners of two amazing dogs named Bisbee and Charlie (Murphy). They are the Yin and Yang of dogs.

Bisbee, our 62 lb, 12-year-old Shepherd/Greyhound mix was adopted by Kenny in St. Louis circa 1999. Originally, her name was Maria Louise and she shared a home with a cat named, clever enough, Maria Theresa. Kenny took Biz and someone else took the cat. Since that day, Bisbbe has been forever grateful.

However, don’t let her brown eyes fool you. She wasn’t always the calm, cool and collected dog we now have. She used to Houdini her way out of her fence and search for Kenny if he wasn’t home- in turn, causing Jude to search all over town for her. While Kenny was attending Mizzou, she took off chasing a rabbit and was struck by a car. She suffered a broken femur and had to spend six months away from Kenny as his mom rehabilitated her back to health. Up until 2008, she was Kenny’s partner in crime; running, hiking and playing disc every day. Two years ago she was diagnosed with retinal failure and has gone completely blind. She is now a professional sleeper.

Bisbee enjoys basking in the sun, being petted, short walks, dominating Charlie in friendly wrestling and finding the perfect spot to nap.

Charlie, our 45 lb, 5-year-old Border Collie/ Australian Shepherd mix, is an Iowa native. He was adopted from the Animal Rescue League in Ankeny, Iowa in July of 2007. His previous owners, a rather large family with children, did not have the time or attention he needed and decided that putting him up for adoption was in his best interest. The loss of his family was devastating and Charlie suffered from severe separation anxiety. He had become attached to his caregiver at the ARL, therefore taking several visits and a thumbs, uh hem, paw-up from Bisbee before we took him home. He is slowly getting over his separation anxiety and has become Kenny’s new running partner.

Charlie enjoys playing outside, wandering in the corn fields, running with Kenny and his obsession: the ball.

We are blessed to have dogs that are gentle, loving, great companions and full of personality - even if they are so different. They couldn’t be a more perfect fit for our family.