Cute Dog Pictures: Our American Eskimo Dog Growing Up

by Lynnette

American Eskimo Dogs, Pictures Of Dogs

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Following are some of our favorite photos of our dog, Jersey.

He’s a purebred American Eskimo.

I got him as a puppy when I was out of college and working at my first “real” job in upstate New York.

 

 

Home For The Holidays
Lynnette and Jersey home for the holidays in Indiana.
Here, Jersey is about 5 months old. Jersey always went everywhere I went, including car rides from New York to Indiana each year. Despite the fact that Jersey would shed his long white fur quite a bit, my mom was a good sport and allowed him to stay in the house several days each Christmas. This was 1991, folks… please forgive the big hair!

 

 

Jim Tries To Get On Jersey’s Good Side
Jim taking Jersey for a walk.
Jim figured out very early that he needed to get on Jersey’s good side if he was going to get anywhere in this relationship. He started out by bribing Jersey (who doesn’t like strangers) with handfuls of Puppy Pepperoni at each visit! It worked. Jersey figured if he spoils me with treats and takes me for walks beyond the bottom step of Lynnette’s apartment, he must not be all bad.

 

 

A Big Backyard For Jersey
We had a huge backyard at our Gulf Breeze House.
We lucked out! The house we rented was…

  • close to the beach
  • came with a fenced in backyard

The beach was just minutes away and perfect for us. The fenced in back yard was perfect for Jersey, since he’d lived in apartments all his life and never had a chance to roam around leash-free.

 

 

Hot Diggity Dog
Lynnette and her dad, Dave, with Jersey in Gulf Breeze, Florida.
My dad LOVED dogs. I can’t remember a time when our house was without one. He even bred and raised Beagles as hunting dogs when we were young kids, but then he changed his focus. Through the years, black labs kept finding their way into his yard… and ultimately into his heart. He kept every one of them!

 

 

A Charlie Brown Christmas
Sitting by the fire with Jersey, his favorite toy, and our Charlie Brown Christmas tree.
Our first Christmas together was a ‘charlie brown christmas’ in so many ways. We spent the entire holiday alone, watching re-runs of “It’s a Wonderful Life” and burning logs in the fireplace. Charlie Brown was re-potted and lived with us through 2 different moves and 2 different states. It got to be pretty tall!

 

 

We’re Just One Big Happy Family
Our new little family on our first little Christmas.
Less than a month into our marriage, Christmas of 1999 was pretty mellow in our Pensacola, Florida household — despite all the commotion going on in society about the upcoming Millennium that was just days away.

 

 

In Need Of A Second Opinion…
Getting a little consoling from Jersey.
Jim’s getting a second opinion on what he’s done. He just needed someone to validate that what he’d done was okay, because it was such a drastic change. (We didn’t think it would be.) In the end, it looked GREAT! And he’s stuck with it ever since — says it’s easier shaving it smooth every morning than it was maintaining a haircut.

 

 

Paws-itively Perfect
Jersey checking out a scrapbook page that includes photos of him.
Jersey’s always got to be in the middle of things, and he likes to lends a helping hand (in his own special way) whenever he can.

 

 

Keepin Cool By The Pool
Swimming in the pool with Jersey.
Here we are with Jersey in the pool at the 2nd house we rented in Pensacola (the first year we rented a house in Gulf Breeze – on an island near Pensacola Beach). This was, by far, the best part about this house! That, and the fact that it was so much closer to both of our jobs — Lynnette’s at the University of West Florida, and Jim’s at Gannett Offset.

 

 

Wet Behind The Ears
Jersey floating in the pool.
Jersey loved the pool! He usually preferred to hang out on one of our rafts.

 

 

Testing The Waters
Jersey enjoying hanging out in the pool in Pensacola.
Jersey would just float around on these rafts while we did our own thing. Here, Jim’s repairing the diving board in the back ground.

 

 

A Pool = Liquid Heaven
Jim and Jersey relaxing in the backyard pool.
Jim and Jersey having some backyard fun. You can also see the huge jungle jim that came with the house… great for kids!

 

 

You’re Barkin’ Up The Wrong Tree
Jersey's own little Christmas present.
When we returned home in Pensacola, Jersey was thrilled to find that Santa had packed a little something for him too. We’ve always been fortunate to find a teenager in the neighborhood to come by our house and let the dog(s) out a few times each day that we’re gone.

 

 

He’s A Real Party Animal
Jersey enjoying the bones we gave him at Christmas.
Jersey loves pressed rawhide bones. They’re the only kind of bones we’ll give him. Especially after working at the vet and seeing the types of bones and dog toys that got caught in other dogs’ throats!

 

 

All Dressed Up And No Place To Go
Jersey in Jim's hooded sweatshirt.
For some reason, on this day we had put Jim’s hooded sweatshirt on Jersey. He sure seemed to enjoy it… yeah right!

 

 

Hitchin’ A Ride
Jersey on moving day - eager to head to Nashville, Tennessee.
Jersey’s always been a trooper, having been through a number of moves, and always adjusting just fine to his new surroundings. He can always tell when the actual moving day is here, and he starts getting antsy and eager to jump in the car & go! Here, we’re moving from Pensacola, Florida to Nashville, Tennessee on April 26, 2001.

 

 

Backyard Bark-a-Lounger
Lynnette and Jersey enjoying the new deck.
A house is not a home without a big backyard and a nice deck!

 

 

Happy Trails To You
Lynnette and Jersey hiking in Nashville.
Another of our new-found fun things to do after moving to Nashville: hiking. We’re not into serious backpacking and multi-mile treks by any means, but we like to spend a nice afternoon walking along the hiking trails in and around Nashville. Here, we took Jersey with us to hike the trails in Percy Warner Park.

 

 

Are We Home?
Jersey happy to be settling into our new home.
Jersey has moved 6 times in his 14 years with Lynnette — each time was a breeze. Sometimes, it was just between houses in the same town, but he handled cross-country moves just the same. He’s highly adaptable. Here, Jersey is hanging out at the garage door that opens into the kitchen. It was the one spot that he could keep an eye on us loading and unloading our things from the U-Haul truck… making sure we weren’t gonna leave him in this strange, new place.

 

 

Jersey’s Up To His Old Tricks Again
Benjamin and James getting Jersey to do some tricks.
James and Benjamin got a kick out of watching Jersey do some great dog tricks! Here, they’re placing a treat upon Jersey’s nose while he remains still as can be. After they say “ok!” then Jersey’s pops the treat off his nose and catches it — all in one motion.

 

 

Jersey: Sound Asleep
Jersey asleep on his bed.
This was a rare moment: Jersey so sound asleep that the sounds of us moving around and taking his picture didn’t even startle him. (He’s usually a really light sleeper). Perhaps the first sign that he was losing his hearing — at the age of 12???

 

 

It’s Christmas!
Jersey with a bow on his head.
In the spirit of Christmas, we stuck a bow on Jersey’s head while we were wrapping presents.

 

 

Jersey Was Glad To See Us
Jersey lounging in the backyard.
Jersey — just lounging out in the backyard. He was glad to see us again.

 

 

Love At First Sight
Jersey and Bella meeting for the first time.
We decided to let Jersey and Bella play together for the first time in our fenced-in backyard. Jersey hasn’t been around many other dogs, so this was HUGE for him. A strange dog in HIS territory. But, they played well together and became fast friends.

 

 

Jersey: Black & White
Jersey in the back yard.
Decided to take a black & white of Jersey in the backyard.

 

 

Best Buds
Jersey and Bella in the backyard.
Jersey — a 13-year-old American Eskimo, and Bella — a 1-year-old Basset Hound.

 

 

Jersey Meeting Destin For The First Time
Jersey meeting Destin for the first time.
We already had one dog… 12-year-old Jersey had been ‘Lynnette’s dog’ and the only pet in the family up til now. This is Jersey’s first time meeting Destin, still wrapped in a blue towel from his visit at the vet’s office. (Here’s the inside scoop on how our dogs got their names, how they got along in those early days, and some of the best tricks we ever taught our dogs.)

 

 

Jersey’s Coming Out To Play
Jersey walking out of the bedroom into the hallway.
Since Destin entered our lives, Jersey’s pretty much minded his own business. But he must’ve gotten word that the new rugrat (Destin) was moving in on his bones, cuz Jersey decided to come out and play for awhile.

 

 

Our Dogs Waiting Outside The Screen Door
Destin and Jersey waiting to be let back in the house.
Jersey and Destin are waiting at the screen door to come back inside the house. They’ve always been the best dogs – never scratching on the screen or the door itself. They just wait patiently! (About that blue tape… the blue painter’s tape is so they ‘notice’ the screen and don’t go running through it on their way in or out the door!)

 

 

Jersey Seeking Shade
Jersey found some shade under the chair.
Jersey had no interest in playing in the water, when we brought out the hose on this hot summer day. Instead, he chose to hang out under the lounge chair in the backyard.

 

 

His Bark Is Worse Than His Bite
Jersey is calling Destin's bluff by baring his teeth -- it's harmless!
Jersey looks much more fierce than he is. He’s baring his teeth to scare Destin… or to keep him in his place as the 2nd in command. It worked. Jersey never really meant any harm to Destin during these small battles… but he made his point loud and clear. Destin has always known that Jersey’s the Top Dog in this family. Though he’ll try to get Jersey riled up at times… just for fun.

 

 

Friends Forever?
Jim with Destin and Jersey.
Jim is settling the dogs down after an episode of rough-housing.

 

 

Doing His Morning Stretch
Jersey bright and early in the morning -- stretching.
Even Jersey had a hard time getting going in the morning… here he is in a full-out stretch.

 

 

And His Fleece Was White As Snow
Jersey strutting his stuff in the backyard.
Jersey’s coat looked extra-fluffy today after he rolled in the grass for a good backrub. While he’s usually this white, he’s not usually this fluffy.

 

 

Mighty Tasty!
Jersey licking his lips.
Your classic dog-licking shot with a lot of tongue!

 

 

Cookin Up Something Special
Jersey letting Destin stand near him in HIS kitchen.
This photo is probably only interesting to us… because we know how hard it was to photograph these 2 together during the first 6 months or so! This is as good as it got toward ‘getting along’ in those early days.

 

 

Jersey Lapping Water From His Bowl
Jersey eating out of his food bowl.
Jersey minding his own business and enjoying his dinner.

 

 

The Grass Is Always Greener On The Other Side
Jersey and Destin sitting on the back steps.
All is well… Two dogs sitting on the deck.

 

 

Wanna Play?
Destin trying to figure out how to ask Jersey to play with him.
Destin likes to stick his nose where it doesn’t belong… quite often. He’s just such a social dog, he’s practically begging Jersey to play with him.

 

 

Hey, You’ve Got Your Own!
Destin scopingout Jersey's food bowl.
Destin is testing the boundaries… seeing just how close he can get to Jersey’s food bowl. After we separated their feeding locations (separate bathrooms), we never had a problem with food aggression or bickering between the 2 dogs.

 

 

PitPass Program Relief
Jim and Jersey... and the cell phone.
Jim and his friend Mike had just returned from an IHRA drag racing event where they were selling PitPass Programs to fans in the stands. After several days away, they chose our backyard as the place to wind down and relax. (…These 2 guys drove a ton of miles the year they ran PitPass!) When they returned after each trip, the dogs always enjoyed seeing Jim again. Well, Jersey enjoyed Jim’s good intentions… but the cell phone got the best of him (like usual). Here, he’s talking about details of the weekend’s sales.

 

 

Seeking Shelter From The Storm
Jersey hiding out under Jim's desk.
JERSEY: “I think I heard thunder… I’m not waiting for the lighting, I’m seeking shelter under here!” This is Jersey’s routine everytime he “senses” a storm approaching. He’s pretty accurate too… beats the weather forecasters every time! His favorite “hiding places”:

  • Under Jim’s computer desk
  • Under the bottom row of Jim’s clothes in our walk-in closet
  • Sqeezed between the wall any any adjacent item — like a footstool, chair, or magazine rack>/li>

And this dog is GOOD!… When there’s a serious storm a brewing or a tornado, he literally seeks shelter in the downstairs powder room (which just so happens to be the safest room in our house in the event of a tornado). Any time the dog goes missing (inside the house), we know there’s a storm coming!

 

 

They’re An Armful!
Lynnette, Jersey and Destin sharing a moment.
We’ve definitely got our hands full with two dogs now! It may look like everyone’s having a gay ‘ol time, but Lynnette is literally forcing Destin and Jersey to sit within a foot of each other. They were still “getting to know” each other at this point. Destin was only 4 months old here. And it had been 2 months since we found him. Jersey was 13 when we brought Destin home as a 6 week old pup. The black dog taught the white dog how to be “young” again. The white dog taught the black dog how to bark! (bummer…)
New Friends
tenor-likes-jersey.jpg
Our third puppy, Tenor, and Jersey got along well from Day One — mostly because Jersey is just about as laid back as they come. He’s never been territorial or acted like a bully toward our other dogs. He’s everyone’s friend — canine and human alike. On the other hand, Destin is sweet and laid back too… just like a big ‘ol cuddly lion!