Our Two Aussies—Maggie May and TBear

by Suzanne Ratcliff
(Rome, GA)

Five years ago we bought a cute fuzzy Aussie puppy. He weighed 30 lbs and was only about 8 weeks old. That's our TBear. TBear is a beautiful red tri and is spoiled rotten to the core. We had him bred to a blue merle bitch and Maggie May was the result. We had pick of the litter so we chose her. Maggie is a cute Red Merle and smart as a whip. In fact, both dogs are smart as a whip. We love them so much. They sleep with us and hog up the bed. Sometimes we are clinging to the edge of the mattress. But what can I say, they are our babies. TBear likes to play games like "Got Dog It". When we are ready for bed, all I have to say is "Got Dog It" and he scans the living room for something to steal to make me chase him. It's so funny. He is partial to my little pillow. He'll grab it and hold it 'til I start chasing him. He is a character.

Maggie loves to play Frisbee. She is so intent when she does. She hasn't had the proper training, but I actually believe with the right trainer she could compete and win. She'll jump way up in the air to catch it,and when she does, she will take it to me and put it in my hand. I don't even have to bend over to get it. It took me about 5 minutes to teach her that. She is the epitome of intelligence. She loves her baby, as you can see in her picture. TBear likes them too, but not as much as Maggie. She also loves to "Go deep" when I tell her to and she will catch whatever I throw for her. She is a trip. Anyway, they are a handful, but I wouldn't trade them for anything. I've never seen such a smarter dog than an Aussie. They know what you're telling them. TBear can set up a scheme to get what he wants. He is very calculating. They keep us entertained when they start play fighting, grabbing socks, etc. No sock is safe in this household. We can't even find one to match without a big hole chewed out of it. Don't know what their thing is with socks, but they love them.

We really love our dogs and are thinking of breeding Maggie to a red or black tri, because we can't breed her to another Merle. She would make some beautiful puppies, as did her daddy TBear did. The only thing, I'm supposed to sell the puppies, but I know I'll want one. What do we do? I'm a sucker for puppies, but can three Aussies really fit in one bed with us? Wow!

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