For over 16 years, we’ve shared what we’ve learned from our own dogs: the toys they destroy, the trails they love, and the mistakes we made along the way. Some of the best things we’ve learned came from readers who wrote in to tell us about their dogs. Those emails and comments were always our favorite part of running MyDogLikes.
So we’re starting a new section just for you. Reader Stories is a place for rescue tales, senior dog love, travel adventures, funny moments, and anything else that makes your dog yours. Every dog has a story, and we’d love to share yours.
Have a story of your own? We’d love to hear it. Send us your story and a few photos and we’ll consider for publication. We may lightly edit for length and clarity, and we’ll always check with you before anything goes live.
-Kevin @ MyDogLikes
The puppies peering in through the window
We went to the dog shelter to get one dog, but the lady in charge said that they just received 6 puppies the night before all from the same family and they were only a few weeks old. she brought them out and we couldn’t just take one and split up the siblings so we took them all. That’s how we ended up with 6 rescued puppies.
They all slept together in a small room we had and were always together. They were pretty weak when we got them, but after my parents got them nutrianal food that started to gain strength and then it was pure joy and chaos.
The puppies gathered around a basket of apples
They ate everything and I mean everything… from fogs to lizards to mice and of course Chirpy and his grasshoppers. What joy they brought us.
They are older now and what is so amazing that they are all from the same litter, but all have such unique personalities. Not one of them is the same, even though they have all grown up in the exact same environment.
Six dogs. It is all I have. I don’t want the quiet. The empty house.
The puppies roaming the apple orchard
Living with a pack, I feel like I know them all. Truly know them. I don’t understand how people go on without realizing every dog is their own person. They breathe. They think. They judge.
Wai Wai, Datshi, Socks, Rambo, Munchkin, Chirpy. Six souls. Six different minds.
But one thing is not fake: the chaos. The noise of barking, even at night. A constant thing in the house. That’s why life is never dull. That’s why we keep them around.
The dogs on a rocky mound with the mountains behind
Wai Wai, the Gentle Soul
Black as the night sky. A sleek coat. He sleeps in the patch of sun on the floor.
Wai Wai lying in the sun on the stone patio
While the others plot escapes, he does nothing. Complete chaos unfolds around him. Barking. Scratching. He just lifts one eyelid. Sleepy. He looks at them. Decides it is not worth the effort. He closes his eye and goes back to dreaming.
Wai Wai resting on the patio stones
His kindness is quiet. He doesn’t need to prove anything to anyone. He never keeps up with the mischief. He just exists. Peaceful.
Datshi, the Sweetheart
Black and white fur. She is the most loving dog I have ever known. Always first at the door. First to lean into a cuddle.
Datshi standing in the driveway
She wants the love. But she has opinions. Push her too far and she snaps. Her patience runs out quickly. She grumbles to set the boundaries straight. She shows her teeth just enough. A warning. Then she stops. She goes right back to being your best friend.
Forgiving but fierce.
Datshi by the garden path
Socks standing by his bowl under the tree
Socks, the Comedian
Four white feet on a black body. Hence the name.
He never stands still. Never. He bounces. He spins. He leaps into the air. Running from one end of the yard to the other. Why? Just because he can.
He turns an ordinary walk into a performance. A show for me. I watch him. I’m sure he’d jump for joy even in his sleep. His energy is relentless. It tires me out just looking at him. But it keeps the house alive.
Rambo, the Free Spirit
She looks innocent. Like a black and white cow. But she jumps. Insanely high. She has zero respect for walls.
Rambo sniffing around under the tree
Rambo and Datshi standing on the wall by the ladder
When she wants to explore, she just goes. Over the wall. Into the neighbours’ rice paddies. Before you can even blink, she is gone. She doesn’t care about boundaries. She has never met a boundary she couldn’t clear.
She lives for the adventure on the other side. The unknown. It calls to her.
Rambo and Datshi are the two girls.
Munchkin, the Survivor
He has the best story. The runt of the litter. The smallest one. The one we worried about the most. Weak. Small.
Rambo and Datshi standing on the wall by the ladder
But then he grew. And grew. He didn’t stop. Now he’s the biggest dog in the pack. A giant. The natural leader. Calm. Confident. The others look to him for direction. They respect him.
Munchkin by the blue car
The nickname stuck. Munchkin. A joke now, because of his size. It makes his transformation sweeter.
Chirpy, Forever Missed
The cutest dog ever. A funny little pig tail. A bouncy, skipping step. It made everyone smile.
She loved to hunt. Small grasshoppers in the tall grass. Pouncing with total seriousness. Total joy.
But she passed away. I still picture her skip in my head. I’m certain the others carry her memory too. She was loved enormously. She left behind a hole. A massive void, and nothing else could fill it.
Together
Together they make a household. Loud, funny and sometimes tiring. But completely full of love. Real love. Not the fake kind some people could give you.
There is the lazy one, the loving one, the crazy one, the escape artist and the leader. Each one cute in their own, individual way. That is the beauty of dogs: the differences in personality, all of them with different traits, although they work together as a pack.
I wouldn’t trade a single one of them.
