Welcome, Our First Girl

Our dynamic dog duos started out as Max and Sam. Then it transitioned to Max and Charlie a few years ago.

Now it is Charlie and Zoe. She is a Blue Healer/Corgi mix and she is cute and fun. Kids love her. We rescued her from the Irving pound about a month ago and she has adjusted well. Charlie now has another playmate and all is well in the Brady Speers family two dogs once again. We miss Max, but she is filling in his shoes quite well.

Brady Speers is a father of four and married to his amazing wife Julie. They have twin girls and two Korean born sons, plus two dogs! Brady and Julie live in the Dallas/Fort Worth Area and she is a homeschooling mother and he is a retirement income planner. For more about his work visit. www.bradyspeers.net 

Our Little Max, Now Reunited with Sam

I knew this day would come. Honestly thought it would come much sooner.

My little buddy Max, our jack Russell mix, took the leap to the other side today. He is gone and gone with it is an era my family and I will always cherish.

I mean how could I have something that was a constant in my life for over 17 years and not write about him now that he’s gone? He’s been through more of my life than my own wife and most of my friends.

It all started when I walked through a Dallas area shelter. He was so stinking cute and begged me to bring him home which I did. I was 28, single and working my own business from home. He instantly became a big part of my life; always happy to see me and would listen to me go on for hours about business, family, girls, Cowboys you name it.

He was one interesting dog though. On the way home day one he chewed his way out of the box thing they put him in while I was inside Petsmart and also found my pack of gum. Hence this is how our relationship would roll the next decade and a half.

I could go on for hours about him. When Julie came onto the scene he immediately took her in as “mama”. His ears would perk up, he would head for the door and tilt his head waiting on her. Anyone that met him knew his loud screaming fits when people came over. He literally freaked out. Annoying and funny at the same time.

Julie and I laugh about how he would eat his food one little morsel at a time, taking a piece from his bowl and walking it all the way into our room at 3am to eat it…crunch…crunch…crunch. Other times he would just bury and hide pieces all over the house. 

He was a good dog. Someone had left him on the side of the road in the rain as a puppy back in 1999. That’s how the shelter got him and that’s how he worked his way into my heart and those that knew him.

One of the craziest things he ever did was about 10 years ago when I was in the drive through at our local Chick Fi Lay. He loved being in the car like most dogs do. I was placing my order as he was looking out the passenger window. All of a sudden he leaped out the window of a tall SUV mind you, and ran into…yes…into….the restaurant. He loved people and had to go see them I guess. So I have to put the car in park, run in and grab him while cars by a mile wait for me. I am certain people behind me still tell others that story to this day. 

He was a cute little guy. He was a wimp and a little on the emotional side (we called him Maxine sometimes), but he was my buddy and he was the first thing Julie and I loved together. 

My sister had a dog named Katie and our friends had a dog named Leah. They were all the same age and well all hung out years ago with our pups. Today, all three have stepped over to the other side.

The most sad thing for us as a family was the ending of the Max and Sam era that began 13 years ago when we brought little Sam into the mix. They were our “kids” before our kids. Julie and I would be in bed together with both of them many a night. Those two became instant buds and for nearly a decade entertained us daily. After Sam passed away suddenly 4 years ago, we could tell Max was missing him. Not long after that we found Charlie and things haven’t really skipped a beat. Charlie gave Max a reason to keep moving, even after he got older, became blind, and lost most of his hearing and smell.

We nearly lost him a year ago after he had a major stroke. But funny thing is it seems that stroke actually “reset” him for 12 months. He was a new dog until this week. Even our vet was amazed at how this little guy adjusted, keep a smile on his tail and trucked right along…even into walls and doors. But it got worse last night and when I saw him early this morning I knew it was time. I couldn’t let my little buddy suffer after all he gave me, Julie, and the kids he would sniff, lick and kiss. 

Good puppy dogs deserve to be loved, cared for and sent on to the next plane in piece and rest. He did that today and with all of my heart I believe God is good enough to have him running around with Sam one more time as he waits on us.

Goodbye Max. Charlie will maintain the fort and maybe one day we will get him another partner in crime to keep your spirit alive. 

Until we see you again, peace our little Maxie and enjoy the party with Sam.

Charlie and Max, the young and the old

Charlie is coming up on two years old. Our 2nd beloved boxer and man is he a riot. He wiggles and snuggles like the best of them - a person trapped in a dog's body.

Max on the other hand is coming up on 15 this year and though he's now blind and can't hear or smell well, it looks like he might just live forever.

Together they have gelled perfectly. Charlie spends his time chasing birds in the back yard (leaping as high as the top of the fence) and talking to us every morning and Max blindly goes after Charlie for about 10 minutes like he did Sam in the old days and spends the rest of his day sleeping in the sun.

One day we will lose Max like we did Sam a few years ago and it will hurt bad. Charlie being a boxer you never know how long you've got. For now our family enjoys them both fully.

Dogs are man's best friend. God's gift to us that demonstrates His never ending love.

Charlie and the Spirit of Sam

When Sam died last summer, I really just didn't think we'd all be able to move on. He was such a sweet, sweet dog. For Julie and I, Sam was really "our" dog. I've had Max since before I knew Julie and the kids didn't get to experience Sam as a puppy though they loved him dearly.

On that terrible day in August, I had no idea Sam would live on as a heavenly big brother from above.

Someone had told me after Sam died that the only way a boxer family can truly move on is to by getting another boxer. A boxer family just cannot exist without always having a boxer around. If you've never had one you are missing out. They jump, box, play like little kids, snuggle, protect, sleep in your lap and give more kisses than you can hope for. PERSONALITY describes them. They are children trapped in dogs boddies. Fun, fun, fun!

So we decided in honor of Sam we had to have another.

Meet Charlie.

He's brown, skinny, all muscle and a ball of fun. His has oversized ears, extra long legs and we swear he tries to talk all the time. Char-Char as we call him is 100% fun and he loves, loves, loves his new family. He sleeps with the girls, snuggles with me and Julie and barks and protects us all.

I was so sad about "the boys" never being the boys again, that I couldn't even consider the idea that "the boys" would really end up being Max, Sam AND Charlie. That's why it took me so long to update this blog and make the changes. For 10 years "the boys" were just Max and Sam. It took Max some time, but now these two are running around like times of old. Max might be mostly blind, but he can run and play like he's 6 months old too.

Though Sam is watching from above (yes we believe!), Charlie carries in many traditions of his former older brother. Charlie sleeps on the couch in the same spots, sighs and carries on in true Sam fashion and loves and plays with his brother Max like no other. In many ways the only way we haved moved on is by watching this new guy steal our hearts.

I know I still think about Sam all the time and he will never be replaced. Charlie just makes me stop sometimes and think about him.

The spirit of Sam carries on in this house thanks to his new little brother Charlie.

I swear, sometimes I catch a glimpse in the corner of my eye of one dark tail, and two other "little nubs" all chasing each other around the sofa. Just makes you wonder...

Memories of Sam

We got Sam in the winter of 2002 while I was living in Grand Prairie. He was the run of the litter. Actually, the last one left, but he was so dang cute. He ran out to meet us the day we pulled up and it was a love affair ever since. We took him home to meet his brother Max, our little Jack Russell mix and over the next 10 years they were inseperable. Sam weighed 65lbs and was a very strong dog. His funny tall, long legs and his big barrel chest. I loved his tiger stripes too.

He was just so special. He had the most amazing, loving personality to go along with it. He was made for our family. He was so patient with people and did the boxer bean dance all over the place every single day. It is hard to even write this I miss him so much and we have all cried a lot the last two days. He gave us more than anyone could imagine in nearly 10 years. He was there for nearly every single major event in our lives. He was there when Julie and I were dating, our wedding, our new home, putting in our pool, the girls being born and then Quinn’s adoption, plus all of life’s other events.

He was a constant, right along with his brother Max.

When he got sick suddenly the other day, I knew we had no choice but to let him go. After all he gave us I was not going to let him suffer any longer than he had to. He deserved peace and he now deserves our mourning and sadness. I do miss him greatly though and it has been harder than I thought it would be. But I do believe the God who is good enough to perfect this universe for our enjoyment is also good enough to make sure we see our beloved dogs again in Heaven. He is there sighing in peace on a big fluffy couch waiting on Max and the rest of us.

There are so many hard things to deal with; putting his stuff away, only feeding one dog now, not seeing him around the house, on the couch or hearing his chain. Not hearing him snore at night or his big sighs. The kids talk about him all the time which also makes it hard. We used to be a family of 7, now we are a family of 6, one said.

Max is lonely and alone which is also very hard. He tried to play the other day and I could tell he was waiting for Sam to come bounding around the couch like he used to when they would play. Sam galloped like a horse. Funny.

Lots of our friends have loved Sam too and many of them are very sad right along with us. Especially mom, dad and my sister’s family.

We are thankful to God for many little things that have made this better. It could have happened when we were away or he could have died in front of the kids. He could have died more painfully – cancer, car crash, etc. Our vet was available at that moment and she was there with us (his only vet). We got to say goodbye and be there when he took his last breath and we were the last ones he saw. He lived a full, fun life all the way up the last few hours of his life. Thankfully, Max didn’t die first. This would have been much harder on Sam than Max who is more independent. It happened on the day it needed to – just before the girls birthday weekend and before school started and not during either. And, it was a good week in business so I didn’t have to also deal with the worry of the office. God is always good.

Neither one of us have cried this much in a long time. But we are getting there. Closure is happening each day and today we will say our goodbyes with a nice memorial service as we bury his box of ashes in our back yard and remember his love of the pool with a big swim afterwards.

I know he is watching down on us and thankful we didn’t make him suffer. He was a good boy. My little Sammie.

Random fun things about Sam: “Samuel L Speers!”, his big sighs, his gas, “galoot”, his nub of a tail, his love of the pool and nearly drowning…”butt up Sam!”. Never could pee lifting a leg like a boy – always squated like a girl dog. His love of Max, drive by licks, being afraid of loud noises and the gate, jumping up into the window of the front door, doing circles in his bed, getting into the bread and that hot cake that day. I miss his barking on the side of the house when I would pull on in the driveway. Not wanting to get out of the van with Julie that day. LOL. Having his head rubbed and jumping into the bed to sniff our faces. His big yawns! He loved when we scratched his back right about the nub of his tail.

Sam's Gotta New Bed In Heaven

Just a few hours ago, Julie and I had to make the hardest decision of our lives in our Vets office. Sam suddenly got ill today and we rushed him to her office only to find out he had a huge mass in his belly and a cist had ruptured.

We had to put him down. Our little "Galoot" went to Heaven.

As we sat there and stroked his back and craddled his chubby face one last time I could not believe I was actually living that last horrible scene in the movie "Marley and Me" but we were. For real.

Just a few hours earlier he was playing and doing his normal sleep around routine. Yesterday he was doing his best to drown himself in one last summer swim in the pool.

We still have our little Maxie and he will likely live another 10 years. Who knows. But we had nearly 10 great, hilarious (and I do mean hilarious) times with Sam and Max together. Max will have to adjust as we all will. But his brother has passed on and I firmly believe a good God has a nice, new couch just for him to wait for us on.

Love you Sam. You were one special buddy.

Samuel L. Speers 2002-2011

Little Maxi Can't See His Treats

Our little Max is getting old. He's 12 headed towards 13. Just recently we started noticing his eyes getting grayer and his behavior changing. He likes to be right under our feet all the time. As I type this he lays at my feet. A visit to the vet confirmed our little guy is nearly totally blind.

He's still active as can be, but his treats take a bounce or two these days before he snags it.

Sam and Max have been a part of our lives for decade or so now. It's the blessed curse of having dogs. You only get them for so long.

Max may not be able to see very well and Sam is getting grayer by the day, but we should still have some good years left with them both. I guess it just means we can't be moving any time soon and the furniture is going to have to stay where it is!