The Tank Files

Well sad to say but Big Mike never responded to my questions so I guess I can't ship him off my life savings, but another request came my way and I thought I would share. Utah Friends of Basset Hound Rescue - the place where we got Tank - asked me to write about our new furry friend for their newsletter so here it is:

We opened our home to Tank on July 3rd, 2010, and it took about 60 seconds before we opened up our hearts to him. We had recently just had to put down our basset hound companion of nearly 11 years, and we had flirted with the idea of getting another dog but we really did not feel we were ready for a basset when we visited the Utah Friends of Basset Hound Rescue. However, sometimes it just seems that a dog is looking for you, and there is not much you can do about it. This is what happened to my family. Tank, as he was already named, stood out when we visited a basset foster home that had 10 other darling hounds running around vying for our attention. However, he was not standing out for the right reasons as far as I was concerned. He was too young, too active, and probably would be way too much to handle since my wife and I had a 16-month-old son at home who was already keeping us plenty busy. A 19-month-old basset hound living with a small infant looked like bad math. To me it just seemed like it would add up to a daily disaster with two little guys always on the go and making our lives even more chaotic. But even with all of these concerns and red flags, my wife and I kept finding ourselves being lured in by the Tankster. So we had a brief debate just to make sure we weren’t being completely insane about wanting to pick Tank. We agreed we weren’t crazy so then we took Tank outside by himself to see how he would behave around us when he was away from the pack. And like I mentioned earlier it just took about a minute later before it was the beginning of a beautiful relationship. Just watching him run around as a happy little hound and seeing my son just absolutely adore him sealed the deal. Bringing Tank into our lives was a great decision for our family and he has been an absolute joy since day one. I look forward to watching Tank and my son growing up together and being the best of friends. My deepest gratitude to the Utah Friends of Basset Hound Rescue for introducing us to such a wonderful basset hound, and a another big thank you for all the work you do to take care of all the fantastic hound dogs like Tank until they can find their forever homes.


Here is Tank online looking for some Basset love. I think her name is Foxy Roxy.

Comments

  1. I think it's great that you took a chance on Tank and it worked out well for everyone.

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  2. You done good, boy.

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  3. Aw! Tank was the one! May he live a long healthy life with plenty of doggie treats, belly rubs and Baby Shife.

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  4. You got the web address Tank's using for that hot-ass basset porn?

    That was a cute blog, bud.

    : )

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  5. I got all emotional reading this, Shifey. You can guess what a sucker I am for dogs. I even write like a dog whaaaaaaaaaaa. You did some serious good getting tank and that's a great pic of him watching some floosy dog.

    In case you want to follow up on the doggy tales go here, http://tinyurl.com/33k6kuc
    ...there were seven (small) parts in all.

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  6. My parents just adopted a shelter dog recently as well. It's the best way to get a dog, or any pet really.

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  7. Aw... I don't see how anyone could resist Tank! Yay for you and your family, yay for Tank and yay to the Utah Friends of Basset Hounds Rescue!

    I love the photos and I'm very happy for you all.

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  8. my last 3 dogs have been shelter dogs and all have worked out well.

    there must be a joke about selecting my next wife at a shelter but i'm too mature to go down that route.

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  9. Very nice Shife, and the picture is great! haha did you include that in your letter?

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  10. o yea u did good no doubt! Hope your'e havin an awesome weekend my friend!:)

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  11. Are you sure it's not Tank ordering the wife's Christmas present?

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  12. Awesome post. Sorry about your other dog, though. We had to put down our 15 yr old bassett in May. It was rough. She was a rescued dog as well. Looks like Tank is pretty much assimilated into the family unit!

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  13. this makes me so happy.
    your writing is hilarious and genius in general, but this, this just made me well up. what a lucky doggie. i just was at a home where the dog was not paid attention to at all and it broke my heart. i don't have kids so thought well maybe i just don't understand. but i do, it's possible to do it right, and you are. what a lucky boy to grow up with a dog too. you rock.

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