ERIC THE RED [DENNINGER]
I would consider him to be a "woman's dog"; from what we can piece together of his history, he lived with a local ADT breeder (as a stud dog, perhaps), for about eight years. When the breeder passed away, the widow gave the dog to another family in October 2003, where he bonded with the woman of the house, according to her.
In January 2004, he was given to a family of a woman and three girls, where he stayed for five days. He will be with us for a total of four days, and he seems to be bonding with me. He evinces no dislike for men (Chuck Rusk visited Friday evening to meet Eric), but shows that he would rather be wherever the woman in the house is. Right now, he is sleeping at my feet. Jim Lackner will be passing by our house to pick him up and take him to his foster home with Renee Jacobson. Eric will be neutered on Wednesday, and will be available for adoption. So he is suddenly passing through a lot of homes, after eight years in one home.
After his first night in the crate, Eric spent the other nights in my room, and he dreams, cries, moans, groans, and is very restless . . . you have to wonder what is going through his mind. Isn't this a wonderful nose for an Airedale BIGNOSEPOKE? He also is great at BIGPAWDEMANDS; his paws are huge (of course, I'm used to the pitter patter of tiny Cairn paws now . . .). He does not jump on people or furniture, nor does he bark (yet) when someone comes into the house. When he saw Cari & Rico on the couches, dining room chairs, and bed, he had a very puzzled look on his face. But he was not tempted to join them. Eric shows some stiffness in his back legs when he goes to standing position. He has several lipomas, which I assume will be taken care of when he is neutered. He seems to see and hear just fine. He has not been taught many commands, I was told, because he is already such a good dog, but he does know SIT . . . and I am sure he will learn any other commands in a very short time, especially if food is used for his training. Then the question will be: Who is training Whom? After the initial marking phase ended, he showed that he is housebroken. His two lower front teeth are protruding, but that doesn't seem to keep him from eating! In fact, that gives him a constant grinning look; his teeth are in excellent condition; very clean. Despite what this picture shows, Eric & April took a sudden dislike to each other on Friday night; we have kept them separate ever since. He is still great with our little Cairns, however; he no longer drools on them or tries to dominate them . . . Rico jumps all over him and he doesn't even seem to notice. I think if he were here longer, he would learn how to play with them. Oh yes - he gives Airedale kisses freely.

CONTINUE WITH THE STORY OF ERIC HERE