It was September, 1993--and Jim and I had been talking about getting a dog for awhile...So one Saturday I woke him and talked him into taking a ride to Long Island, NY to the North Shore Animal League, "just to look" (he-he)! North Shore is a facility that rescues all sorts of animals, and I believe it is funded solely by donations, which sometimes makes medical care a problem for the animals, but they have a great crew of volunteers (animal handlers...vets...) and some paid employees as well...

We looked around at all the babies, and the adult dogs as well. Jim was pretty taken with a Husky he saw, she was beige and had one blue eye--and one green. She really was pretty.

I on the other hand, had been taken in by this truly "soulful" looking puppy who as I understood it was an "Australian Cattle" by breed, he was one of six puppies who had been rescued in Tennessee because he was not a long-haired Aussie and was not considered "show-quality". He had the biggest ears, they made him look like he was going to "take-off" at any moment! But he had these eyes that looked right into your soul, and I knew he was coming home with us...

So we did the necessary paperwork, and off to Connecticut we go with our new buddy in tow...On the way home Jim and I are trying to name this puppy, and kept coming up with nothing...

We had a "Trapeze" tape playing, and I said "How about Hughes"? He looked at me--he looked at the dog, and "Well--ok". And that was that!

Three days later Hughes was very sick, he couldn't keep anything down, he was extremely lethargic and listless--Jim was at the studio rehearsing with his band at the time, and I was home with what I thought was our "dying" baby...I called him and he came rushing home, and we took Hughes to the Emergency Veterinary Clinic, and sure enough--Hughes was very sick, with a virus they referred to as "Parvo".  They said it was much like a "Flu", but it affected the puppies' digestive and intestinal tracts, and usually they did not survive this...We were devastated, and took him home.

We stayed up all night with him, trying to get him to keep something down, and first thing in the morning, we took him to our vet. He ended up staying there for a week and 1/2 to the tune of $1500.00, a pretty hefty hotel bill if you ask me!! We visited him every day, and finally he came home!!

I'm happy to report that he is happy and healthy 8 years later! He is the most spoiled rotten dog on this planet, who only wears purple collars, has his own bed, smiles when he is spoken to, and who very politely accepts care packages of bones and Glenn Hughes music :O)~

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