by Ken Spitze

Created on: March 16, 2009

When I was in the 9th grade, my parents finally allowed me to get a pet. I wanted a dog. However, my father wanted to decide what kind of dog to get, one that would be able to deal with being alone a lot. At that point, both of my parents were away at work all day and of course I was at school. He also wanted one that didn't bark much. So, he did a little research, came up with a few breeds that seemed to fill the bill, and we went off to a dog show.

We watched and talked and listened and learned for several hours. A Pembroke Welsh Corgi was one of the breeds that seemed good to my father. In the middle of the day, we were approached by a Welsh Corgi breeder who said he had a one-year-old for sale, one that wasn't good for showing, but would make a good pet. Apparently that word got around that we were looking for a pet! We talked with him and then continued to talk with others and finally decided to get this dog. His name was Gregg's Bonanza, but they called him "Bonzer".

He was a great dog! He seemed quite content to sleep all day and all night and play few a bit in the morning before school and in the evening. At first, he was only allowed to be outside in a large fenced area or in his "box" inside the garage. But soon, he was allowed inside on hard floors if I was with him. Then he was allowed inside as long as he never went on the carpet. Well, within a few months, he was a member of the family and my mother was cooking for him! He lived to be 17 years old, living with me after I moved away from home.

Bonzer loved to go for walks. When I would jingle the leash, he would go into a frenzy and after he was all hooked up, he would bound out of the door nearly pulling my arm off! He loved to go hiking in the woods and camping he loved just about everything. He really liked food any food, all food!

Actually, there are two kinds of Welsh Corgis there are Pembrokes and Cardigans. Pembrokes have a very short tail, whereas Cardigans have a long tail and are generally a bit larger in features. Both breeds have short legs and erect ears. Pembrokes are perhaps most widely known as the dog of choice for the Royal Family in Great Britain. They are in the herding group they were bred for herding all kinds of livestock. I've heard the story that they were bred to have short legs so they could nip at the heels of those being herded and then duck so as not to be kicked! I don't know if that's true, but it's certainly a cute story.

When I was in my early 40s, I decided it was

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