Kiesl
This young man was born September 22, 2002 by a breeder/friend Carol Bentz who
has been living with and raising German Shepherd Dogs (GSD) for many, many years. One
day, Carol asked Mary about having a "play session" with her litter of
pups (then 6 months old) and one of our Boys. Her pups were getting very social
with people & other GSD's, but not very social with other breeds. So what
better choice than to take Monty over for a play date!! After 2 sessions, it
occurred to Mary that Monty was in need of a new playmate (Basil's passing was
hard on him too) and Kiesl was in need of a home (Carol could not keep all of
the puppies due to silly laws about the number of dogs one can have on one's
property). So, it was agreed that adoption would occur after we moved into our
new home at Vista, and within 4 days of moving in, so did Kiesl.
As
you can see, the two of them are doing very well ... this picture at right, is a
moments rest during a usual day's mayhem.
These two have become amazing friends as well as a wee bit competitive for attention from anyone willing to give it. Considering Kiesl weighs now about 90 pounds and Monty comes in at 150 pounds, your best bet is to be sitting down when they approach for a cuddle!
As you can see, his ears have not "popped up" on their own. Early this month (November 2003) we took him to Carol's and got his ear's "taped". This is a process which holds his ears in an upright position while giving his muscles time to strengthen. When we "un-tape" his ears, it will have been almost 3 weeks, and God willing we will have a GSD with upright ears! Re-taping almost daily occurs due to Kiesl & Monty's play sessions. We will have a "taped" picture soon, as well as a "results" picture ... keep checking Kiesl's page for updates!
Being one of a Herding breed, Kiesl is extremely busy with keeping track of our whereabouts and he is most content when both of us are in one place and he can catch a nap. He provides our household with an ever watchful eye, especially fond of monitoring the north end of the property (this side is next to Zumwalt park and busy with visitors & their dogs - no one arrives at the park without being "greeted" by the Boys! This is another benefit of living here ... the Boys get a lot of exercising by meeting their friends daily).