Hunter has come to live with us. He is the dog my sister had originally picked out for me around Christmas 1998. She had seen him on one trip to the SPCA, and when she went back to adopt him, he had already been adopted. We went back a week or so later to see what other dogs were there, and saw Hunter. He was back, so I adopted him after all.

When G and I got married, my sister (and parents by default since it was their house) said she would keep him. G had two cats, the townhouse wasn't big, and there was no yard. Well, 8 years, two new cats, a bigger house with a yard, and two kids later, I decided, and G finally succumbed, that we could have a dog. My sister didn't want him anymore (she isn't living at home now) and my parents were only tolerating him, so we took Hunter. He's had a vet visit, a grooming, and we are trying to train him to behave better and walk him once a day.

Hunter is very good with E and J. J did not like him much when at Mom-mom and Pop-pop's house. He'd cry whenever Hunter would come near him. Not so anymore. I've witnessed J sitting next to Hunter and patting his back or pulling his tail. Hunter doesn't mind either. Hunter is also not protective of his stuff. Although we are teaching E and J to leave Hunter alone while he's eating, he doesn't object when a hand comes near his food bowl while he is eating. E likes to boss Hunter around. He doesn't obey her yet, which is another way we are trying to train him - submitting to the kids as well as us. Sometimes when we're all in the kitchen, Hunter will lay in the middle of the floor and ignore the mayhem around him. He wants to be with his people. When he's had enough, he'll vacate to more peaceful surroundings.

Now, Hunter and the cats are another story. They haven't decided to be best buddies yet. The cats just run away from Hunter and willingly chases them (he chases anything that runs.) My guess is that he wants to just smell them. He doesn't try to bite at or hurt them. Patches has growled and hissed at him. Hunter just stared back. Kalli made a run for it once and got chased for her efforts. Maybe after some time, the cats will tolerate Hunter.