You are lucky if you have a good dog growing up. We had three. Archie was a boxer mix who may have not been the most classical looking boxer ever made, but made up with it an immense heart. Magic was a full-bred boxer who was feisty and protective of her family. The third one, and the one the folks got pretty much after we had moved out and started our own lives was Samantha. Another full-bred boxer, Sammy was primarily a pup when they got her and made the surgical snips to make her look like one.
Herb holding Sammy after her surgery. Boxer owners usually alter the ears from rounded-floppy to pointed-erect. This is done by cutting sections of the sides of the ears and then training them to stand up by using tongue-depressors. They also snip the tail.
This picture looks like Samantha got into the junk drawer and was caught red-pawed.
Here she is making herself comfy on the den couch. Marj pretty much allowed her dogs to have run of the house, including certain pieces of furniture - but it was not allowed in the living room.
There is a segment of society now that frowns on the surgery (they call it mutilation, I suppose) of dogs to make them look traditional. I like boxers to look like boxers. Especially full-blooded boxers. I'm a monster, I guess. If you spend the money on a papered animal why make them look like a mutt? I frankly haven't spent the time to research the subject, nor will I. I've had two dogs of my own and they were both pound puppies. They are good enough for me.
As for Sammy, she proved to be too much pooch for my elderly parents, especially Marj, as her hips gave out and moving around became more problematic for her. They eventually had to give her to a nice family in Emerald City and you could see her quite often on walks along College Avenue. Eventually her hips, too, would give out and she entered the pantheon of great dogs, alongside Archie and Magic. Dogs, life, and time march on.
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