My dog's name:Armstrong

Hometown: Belleville,Il
Breed: He is definitly part chow, and we are still trying to decide the rest. We've narrowed it down to: Akita, shepherd, or Keeshound. Any guesses?

How we met: I manage a Humane Society and he was the only puppy of a litter that survived an attack from another dog. I took him home when he was 3 days old to foster him, and he never left. We just fell in love with him. That's why we named him Armstrong, because he is a survivor.

What makes my dog special: Well, when he was nursing, he would suck on my arm when the bottle wasnt availabe, he is now almost 3 months old, and he still does it when ever he needs comforting. And, he has been sucking on his passifier scince he was a baby, and still does.

My dog's likes/dislikes: He loves his big brothers and sister: Argos, a 5 month old great dane/ Precious, 9 yr old Tibetan Spaniel, and Socrates, a 3 yr old Pomeranian.

UPDATE: Well, Armstrong is turning 4 months old in 3 days, and he is such a wonderful puppy! He is housebroken, crate trained, even office trained. Since I work at an animal shelter, I get
to take him to work with me, and he is just so well behaved. Everyone just loves him. It's like he is part of everyones family, because he has grown up with all of us. He just loves everyone. Up above are some new pictures, current ones of Armstrong, and there is also a picture of big brother Argos, the Great Dane, who is now 6 months and 75 pounds, and a picture of Precious, 9 years (and 12 pounds). Unfortunatly, Argos and Armstrong turned out to be a little too much for Socrates the Pom, so he went to live with my mother. He kept getting stepped on, and being that he only wieghs 4 pounds, we were afraid he was going to get hurt. He is a fragile little thing, but now he is happy and living with another pom. (And spoiled rotten) Precious is still learning to love her Giant little brothers, but she's getting there. She is little to, but she's much tougher than Socrates. She knows how to handle these boys pretty well. We also have a new temporary family member. Mooey is a 12 week old black and silver tabby kitten, and he has Armstrong just wrapped around his furry little paw. He is staying with us while his mommy and daddy (employees of mine that are just starting out together, in a new apartment) get settled, and then he's going home. So our family is now, my husband and I, 3 dogs, a kitten, my youngest brother, and a partridge in a pear tree. This is definitly an animal house.

P.S. Armstrong is earning his keep. He has become the resident puppy cleaner at the shelter. He is soooo sweet. We currently have a litter of 9 border mix puppies, and one puppy that came in by himself, all about 2 weeks old. Armstrong has taken to checking on them every now and then, and while momma is out stretching her legs he cleans them up and "keeps an eye on them". The puppy that is by himself, of course is being fostered by one of our employees, and so he is on a bottle. When the puppy is done eating Armstrong cleans him all up and then sits with him until he falls asleep. We are all amazed by the "mothering" role that he has taken on. Maybe because he was left alone at such an early age? I don't know, but everyone is very fascinated by it.

Update: 4-4-07
Well, Armstrong is 8 months old now, there will be new pictures soon. There is great news, we at the humane society have been trying to catch Armstrongs mother, whom we call Cyble, ever since we got him when he was 3 days old, and WE FINALLY GOT HER!!! We caught her and her sister 6 weeks ago, and guess what, pregnant again! 5 weeks ago she became the mother of 6 beautiful little Armstrongs. At first she was very scared, and wouldn't let anyone touch her, but now she is a great dog who loves people, and a wonderful mother. We had a very nice mother son reunion with Armstrong, and he got to meet his little brothers and sisters. We brought home Malibu last night, one of her puppies, and now Armstrong has a little sister, that is really his little sister. Other than that, My little brother moved out taking Argos the great dane with him. We are all sad, but he is having a wonderfull time in his new home. Also, we have 3 little pitbull foster puppies, 3 weeks old that Armstrong is of course attending to often. We also have a long term house guest that has brought her two Rottweilers, Pinky and Harley with her. We have all just fallen in love with them too, of course. Armstrong has a doctors appointment on Friday, 2 days away. He has developed a rapidly growing lump on his side that has us a bit worried, but i am hopefull it is nothing serious. Oh yeah, and we finally know what he is. His mother is definitly a chow chow mix, but he is the spitting image now of a Belgian Malinios. He has gone from a very cute puppy, to a beautiful (big) dog. He is the light of my life. So, at last count, we have 2 Rotts(Harley and Pinky), Armstrong, precious the Tibetan Spaniel, Malibu (chow mix) and 3 foster pitt puppies(Dominoe, Uhg, and Twitch) Quite a busy house.

Update:4/14/07
Well, that little lump on the side turned out to be a tumer. He had surgery this past Thursday, and we are awaiting the results of the biopsey, all fingers are crossed. He is home now, and recovering nicely. He looks a little silly because he is wearing one of mommies shirts to keep him from getting at his 7 inch long incision. Other than that all is good.

Update:9/15/2007
My my, how the time flys. Armstrong is 1 year and 2 months, how can that be?! He had a nice birthday with all of his dog friends, milk bones and frosty paws. Luckily, the mass on his side was a tumor, but it was harmless, thank goodness. Well, we have moved! My husband is in the Army and we have been transfered to Savannah, GA. Unfortunatly that ment some of the crew had to split up. Pinky and Harley, the rotties, and their mommie got a new house in St. Louis with a huge yard. We really do miss them all very much, and their mommie. Malibu didn't stay with us, she turned out to have a congenital heart problem and the vet that visited the shelter just fell in love with her. We decided that since she would need ongoing medical care, what better person than a vet to have her. Mooey went home, and all of the foster puppies were adopted. It is really really quiet around here. Of course Armstrong is with us, and Precious. Also, one of my brothers David came with us and brought his golden retriever/pit mix with him. She was also from the shelter. David worked there to, and Maggie was picked up as a stray, hit by a car, and so skinny you could count every rib. She was very untrusting of people, we couldn't really get near her. We finaly decided that the best thing for her was to put her to sleep. When it was time, David was going to help, but when we brought her into the room she went right to him and started licking his face and jumping around on him. We were all amazed. We went ahead and sedated her, but as soon as she fell asleep, David picked her up and out of the room he went, and he sat with her for 3 hours while she woke up. He took her home and that was that. Now she is part of the family. Her and Armstrong took some time to get used to each other, at first we couldn't even have them in the same room, but now they are inseperable. The move has been kind of tough for them, but they are adjusting. We moved from a house with a fenced in yard to an apartment, so they have to be walked. Precious and Maggie are fine with this, but Armstrong is having some privacy issues. He does not like going to the bathroom on a leash. Any tips would be appreciated, we are battling right now. All in all though, everyone is good. All the walks have been good for him, he was beggining to get a little overwieght, and now he is back in shape. (Mommie is even getting in shape, with as long as we have to walk to get him to go) There are also some new pictures for you to see. I will try to update more often. By the way, does anyone know if there is a harness for small dogs that doesnt require it to go around their neck? Precious hates it, and tries to bite you if you put it on her. Apparently she thinks you are trying to choke her. (Of course she was a shelter rescue, and she wasn't treated good at all)