Ranger

This may be old news for some of you, but about a month ago, we adopted a dog from the local shelter.  I was REALLY nervous about this.  Let's just say, we haven't had great luck with dogs in the past.  But, Mark found this dog that was part Border Collie, part something else (maybe Golden Retriever?) and he was sweet.  He kept going back to visit him, and after a few visits we took the kids up to see how he did with them.  A few days later, Mark brought him home.  I was still skeptical.  But, he has been the best and sweetest dog I have ever had.  He wasn't house broken when we got him.  But, that only took about 2 days of working with him.  He is very obedient and a gentle dog.  He loves belly rubs and treats.  All in all, it's been a great experience.  Look at him:

He was very underweight when we got him--you could feel his ribs and hip bones jutting out.  But, he has quickly fattened up.  :)  The vet thinks he's anywhere from 6-10 mos. old.  

So, things have been going great with Ranger...except for this morning.  Our neighbors left their water running in their yard all night...which ran into our yard...which made a giant mud puddle around the peach trees.  Ranger decided he was part pig and went rolling in the mud.  I started to suspect something when he was outside for a long time this morning and we didn't hear anything out of him.  So, I opened the door, called for Ranger and he came running.  It took me a while to realize he was covered head to toe...back to belly...tail and all in mud.  He ran about 5 circles around the living room before I could catch him and get him back outside.  My family room looked like a dirt track.  

The funniest part of the story is that I discovered Ranger hates baths.  In fact, he hates them so much that whenever I tried to get him to take a bath, he rolled over on his back, paws up, tongue out to the side, stared off into the distance and played dead.  If I hadn't been so frustrated with him, I would have taken his picture.  It was so cute...and he did it every time I tried to bathe him.  I swear he's the sweetest dog ever...which just might have saved his life after his mud fiasco this morning.  I could only imagine what was going through his mind..."Sorry, can't take a bath right now, because I died."  Cutest. Dog. Ever.