Every now and then, we are truly blessed with the opportunity to share our lives with a special soul, in this case a very special dog – our dog Simba.

Simba came to us 12 years ago as a 7-month old puppy, extremely dehydrated, his skin felt  like shoe leather, no doubt being lost in the desert for some time. He did not come alone, but brought his best friend Sierra (who passed away last May). We searched over a period of many months via local newspaper ads, registration with the Humane Society, Animal Welfare Department, etc., for their family. But nobody ever came forward and asked about them. Unfortunately, this happens to be an everyday scenario here in the high desert of New Mexico. People just allow their dogs to breed and the unwanted offspring are just discarded in the desert (?!) (even though there are many excellent spay/neuter programs in place, some free, some for a very low fee). Needless to say, these dogs became integral parts of our family, loved and cherished. Our first dog Sheba loved them instantly, and their presence made her feel safe, when asked to stay at home. This was a great gift to us and made our lives so much easier.

However, Simba was not always the easiest of dogs to live with. He was a mixed breed dog, and it was everyone’s guess what predominated at any given time. He was mostly Tibetan Mastiff, with some Golden Retriever and Chow thrown in for good measure. Continue reading →