Boris and Natasha

Boris and Natasha are two very special dogs...exceedingly spoiled...but still special. Our story started five and a half years ago. I had just bought a "fixer-upper" house and some of the local kids had helped themselves to my tools while I was at work. This was my first house and I had already planned on having dogs, but the theft convinced me that I needed to get them quickly. It was time to get some Pound Puppies!

I went to the Orange County Animal Shelter to pick out two German Shepherd puppies, but that plan evaporated almost immediately. On the first day I saw a 3 month old Rottie/Shepherd mix who was gorgeous. She still had three days before she would be released for adoption, so I knew I had some time to find her a perfect companion. I didn't think that I would find the second dog that day but that plan evaporated as well. The logic was good, but I didn't know I was going to meet Boris.

Boris, a two-year old yellow lab mix at the time, had three days left before he would be euthanized. If I hadn't stopped at the cage of a happy German Shepard, I would have never noticed the sad eyes looking at me from the cage next door. When I smiled at him he walked over and leaned against the chain link so I could scratch his ears, but he never stopped looking me in the eyes. Boris has a way of looking in to your eyes and connecting with your soul. This isn't some new age wacko belief and you can call it what you want, but I'm telling you that this dog can see what you are thinking in to your eyes. Whether you need comfort, compassion, companionship, someone to play with, or simply to be left alone. Boris sees it in your eyes and responds accordingly. I can't say it enough...he is a very special dog.

I snuck away from work each day to check on the dogs. I figured that if someone else adopted Boris, it would be okay because someone would have taken him to a loving home, but that wasn't likely. He was an underweight two-year-old and didn't have much of a chance, so even though I knew it would break my heart to lose him, I waited till the last day to adopt him. I didn't know enough to pray back then, but my prayer was answered anyway. At 1:pm on June 6th, 1998, Boris and Natasha became part of my life.

From the moment they met, Boris and Natasha have been connected. For the first year I had them you would swear that they had a chain connecting their collars because they never left each others side. Like I said, these are two very special dogs. Natasha is my baby and Boris is my buddy. >From the first day we were all together we would sit on the "dog couch" and watch TV. Boris would be at my side and Natasha would be in my lap with her head tucked under my chin until she fell asleep. To this day, at 75 lbs. she still crawls in to my lap whenever she has a chance and sticks her nose in my face or tucks her head under my chin and I don't mind it at all. My wife gets a bit jealous, but she was the last to move in. She is now their favorite human and Boris is very protective of her, but Natasha is still my baby.

I don't want you to get the wrong opinion, these two are not all sweetness and love. Within days of taking them home I kept catching Boris trotting towards me with my hand tools in his mouth (Natasha right behind). I would scold him about it and he would drop the tool at my feet, but he kept on showing up with tools who's wooden handles were getting more and more chewed up. It would be one thing if he were bringing a tool I needed, but even Boris isn't that smart and a splintered handle is hard to work with. Then I started thinking about it; why was my two-year-old chewing up my tools and the puppy was just following him around? It took a few seconds but I finally figure it out, then I had to wait to see if my theory true. Within a few hours I saw the dogs running away from the house to the back corner of the yard. Natasha had a wooden handled hammer in her mouth and Boris was chasing her down. A few minutes later Boris came trotting towards me with the hammer in his mouth. He dropped it at my feet and waited for his scolding...which of course never happened. I felt like a complete idiot, but realized at that point that I had chosen two very special dogs.

Orange Villa Veterinary Hospital has become a treat for Boris and Natasha. We bring them there for their grooming, shots, boo boo's, and anything else that relates to a dog. They love every member of the staff and have become favorites in the grooming room. Even with the poking and prodding, Natasha has still has a crush on Dr. Dahlem. And even though Boris loves everyone, when Dr. Horn walks in the room he backs his rump against the wall...he knows what's coming next.

We want to thank everyone at Orange Villa Veterinary for being so kind and treating Boris and Natasha like members of the family. They will forever be in our hearts and prayers.