Adicus Badicus- Bestest Dog EVER!!!

I've been meaning to do a post on Adicus, the most incredible dog I've ever known! His birthday was last week (he turned 3) and what a three years it has been! We got him from a breeder from Tennessee and got a hell of a bargain looking back on it, plus, we always get to make fun of him for being from Tennessee. When we got him, he was little more than a ball of fuzz, full of energy and curiosity. Little did I know that I was about to form one of the closest bonds of my life.

I can still remember the first time I took him out to start training him to fish with me. There are some shallow gravel runs below the damn at the lake near the house, so I figured I would take him down there for his introduction to moving water. We had had Asdicus over 2 weeks at this point, so he was responding pretty well to tennis balls, getting him to follow me into the water wasn't that hard. In what would turn out to be his natural fashion, he bit off more than he could chew, ended up head over heals and underwater! A quick grab of the collar and back on the gravel bar he goes.

After that day, I started taking Adicus with me whenever I went fishing, feeling very guilty if I went out without him, leaving him in the crate alone. The first few months, there was not just a lot of fishing going on. More me cussin and trying to teach him that he is never allowed to get in front of me. Watching him learn the boundaries of what he was willing to do, and me learning where he could go. Over the months an understanding and a partnership was developed, as well as an incredible fishing companion being gained. It is rare that I am seen on the water without him. I have a tendency to feel even more guilty these days if I leave him at home, because he knows when I've been fishing without him, and the look of betrayal he gives me breaks my heart. People who don't know me say hi because they recognize Adicus. I guess he's just that type of dog!

Anyone who has ever owned a German Shepard knows how smart they are, people who haven't sometimes have a hard time comprehending it. Trust me on this, if they had thumbs and pockets, we'd all be in trouble! He has come to recognize the sound of the computer shut down and heads for the door, knowing it means mom or dad are FINALLY getting of off "the silver box" and will finally pay him some attention. Attention = Fetch, Frisbee, or Stick. In that order. Adicus is a fetch fanatic. If I had the some dedication to anything in my life as he does when it comes down t us throwing something, God only knows where I would be. Cat and I trained Adicus with tennis balls, so from the early days of his life, he was wired that tennis balls, and eventually Frisbees, were his reward.

I have always wanted a dog that played fetch. Standing in the back yard in the evening, throwing a ball while watching my loyal companion bring it to his master... We got that and some!I took me 6 months to get him to quit running after EVERY ball that rolled by. (many apologies issued at the park!) I have seen him stare a a tennis ball for 4 hours in hopes, just an inkling, that someone might throw it. He is constantly bringing sticks up to us and throwing them at our feet. It is well beyond obsession and traveling towards a neurosis! A couple of winters ago, I was playing with him on a snowy parking lot, throwing a tennis ball around. So focused on what he was doing, it was not until he stopped for a few minutes that I realized that he had tore the skin off of the main pads on his front paws and he finally realized that he was in pain. Never a limp or skip in the step, I don't think he realized until he stopped long enough to feel it. We ended up having to bandage his paws for a week or so. He spent most of that time lounging on the couch with his momma.

Adicus and his momma have a very special relationship. He turns to butter around her! Always getting scritch and special loving from her and food. For those of you that may not know her well, my wife will feed anything, and I mean anything! Adicus knows this. Hell, animals that don't know her know this! He can look at her with those big brown eyes while she's eating, knowing mamma rarely cleans her plate, or that he can "rinse" the plates when she's putting dishes in the dishwasher. Unfortunately for him, he is on total human food restriction because he has very sensitive digestive system. i.e. he gets the shits!!! Hence one of his other names, MudButt. Enough said!

Adicus is now three years old and maturing into the dog I've always dreamed of. There were times that I didn't think we were going to make it through the puppy stage. On many more times than one occasion, I've come home to see him napping in random piles of destruction. Ranging from digital cameras, X-Box controllers, Cats expensive/new shoes, the list could go in for awhile! he is by no means perfect, but at the same time he is in my eyes. People comment on him when we're on the water, at the lake, a restaurant, wherever we might take him. Everything from what a beautiful dog he is to how well behaved he is. I'm so proud sometimes, my heart could just explode out of my chest! He is a marvelous dog!

And what post all about Adicus would be complete without discussing a little bit about his bestest friend in the world, Scooter. Scooter is a cat that we brought hame at two weeks old and had to be bottle fed. I think Adicus was just over a year old when we got Scooter and devoloped a somewhat unusual bond with him. Adicus started carrying Scooter around in his mouth when we got him, making sure he was where ever we where. Adicus also protected him from the other cats in the house and anything else that might try to harm him. They sleep together, Scooter cleans Adicus' ears. If Adicus hears Scooter scream, he totaly freaks out. Granted, he does this with all our cats, but Scooter in particular. Scooter is the only cat allowed near Adicus' food dish, it's so cute to see them eating together! Even cuter to see them cuddling together in the bed or on the couch. Adicus + Scooter = Bestest Friends Forevers!!!

So that's Adicus. A dog that makes me wish I could be all that he thinks I am. He loves his pops, there is no doubt in the world about that! I love him. He most definately loves his momma, there is no question there. He listens most of the time and he stays out of the garden. On rainy days, he's more than content to lay on the couch doing absolutely nothing. On nice days when I'm going fishing, he'll wait by the truck door so I don't forget him. What more could you want out of a dog?