Names: Sable ( 8-ish y/o) & Diamon (3-ish y/o)
Family Members: Janna & Christoper, along with their other fur sister Syrus (5 y/o)
How long have Sable & Diamond been in the family? Sable has been in the family going on 6 years & Diamond for almost 3 years.
Professions: Janna - Photographer & Christopher - Factory Production Worker
Location: Martin, GA.
Nicknames: Sable: Big Momma and Big Booty Judy (she at one point got way to fat because I spoiled her)
Diamond: Annoying (she really can be sometimes but it’s one thing that makes her, her)
Sable
Diamond
5 words/phrases that best describe Sable & Diamond?
Sable:
Loyal
Protector
Escape Artist
Kissing Bug
The Mom Dog
Diamond:
Ditsy
She’s like a Sour Patch Kid
Hyper
Adorable
Daddy’s Girl
What makes Sable & Diamond unique? Sable’s ability to change her environment. While Diamond has the ability to act off of people’s emotions. If I’m upset she seems upset. If I’m excited she gets excited. She is very intuitive of my emotions at least.
Sisters!
Rescue Story: Sable was owned by my sister and her husband. Please understand I had to tread lightly so I wouldn’t have my niece kept from me, considering I was raising her 90% of the time due to the abuse my sister was putting up with from her husband. I was keeping my niece safe the best way I knew how as a 17 year old.
Sable was kept in the back yard on a 3 foot chain and was rarely fed or watered unless it was done by me or my now husband who was my boyfriend at the time. We lived over an hour away so we were not able to be there every day. My sister and her husband got Sable for breeding purposes but she wouldn’t let a male near her so it’s like she wasn’t important anymore. The husband was extremely abusive to Sable. He would kick her, hit her, and after they got divorced I was told he took a welder to her metal chain and shocked her. My sister is not an animal person and had no business with a dog when she couldn’t even care for her child, so at that point I just took her. Didn’t even ask. I had enough and couldn’t believe I left Sable there like that. I had tons of guilt for that. She was animal aggressive all the time and only human aggressive if food was involved but I brought her home and she has been with us ever since.
Sable home & safe.
My husband & I went to a child’s birthday party and the house they had the party at belonged to the grandmother and uncle of the child. I stepped outside to smoke and my then boyfriend (now husband) came outside with me and this adorable little pit named Diamond was shaking she was so cold. (It was November and freezing that night) We would pet her a little and play but then join the party. Well Christopher (we call him C.J.) stepped back outside to play with her and she climbed up his leg using her back and paws, crawling inside his hoodie for warmth. The uncle told us we could have her because she wasn’t allowed inside (he didn’t know how to potty train a dog) and he would be gone for weeks traveling for work leaving her locked outside. So we brought her home and our journey began. We estimate she was about 4 or 5 months old when we got her.
Diamond Home & Warm!
What is your favorite pastime as a family? We love to take Sable camping with us at the lake. She likes the attention she gets from the other campers and the water feels good on her belly! Diamond gets car sick so we don’t take her out much but at home she is obsessed with balls. We constantly are throwing a ball around.
What is life like since you rescued Sable & Diamond? Sable was a tough one. She wouldn’t let me near her when she eats and wouldn’t let any animal near her. (She ate an opossum one time in the yard) Summer and fall had past and I had been working with the aggression with food but at this time she was staying in the kennel and not in the house but was drastically improving. Then one night while I was at work (I worked nights at a factory at the time) my now husband sent me a picture of Sable laying in the kitchen floor. He said it was too cold outside for her now since winter was here. She didn’t tear up anything and didn’t make a single potty accident in the house. When I got home she went out to the yard, went potty and came back to the door. We were amazed. She wanted to be a house dog and wanted to please us. She has been an inside dog ever since. She still was animal aggressive;when someone handed me a 2-3 week old puppy they found outside in the middle of winter all by itself almost froze to death. I of course took the puppy home but was terrified of what Sable might do…she became a mom. She cleaned Syrus, cuddled her, and even helped me train her. She really did surprise us. We eventually got rid of the human aggression completely, that was our number 1 goal as responsible pet owners. We can now stick our hand in her mouth while she is trying to eat and she will stop what she is doing and be just calm. Animal aggression isn’t as bad but we still feed the dogs in their own corners. Sable hated Diamond when we first got her. Diamond wanted to play and Sable is a big couch potato. Sable attacked Diamond a few times to the point where we considered finding Diamond a new home but then Sable protected her from other dogs that were attacking Diamond in our front yard and it’s like she was staking her claim on Diamond as a member of her pack. We haven’t had any problems since. We take Sable out in public a lot now, it’s good practice and exposure that she never had. She loves festivals for all the attention and food she finds on the ground but as responsible dog owners we still have to be alert and cautious. With me holding the leash Sable feels the need to protect me and be on guard instead of relaxing and enjoying the people but when my husband holds the leash she will ignore other dogs and be a totally different dog. It’s like she knows her daddy will keep me and her safe. She is getting old and the realization that she may not be around much longer keeps me on my toes to spend most of my time with her. After all she is the vacuum for the kitchen floor when I cook and the pillow on my couch for my head. She is our pack leader and my oldest friend. I hope she is around for many more years.
Diamond was the hardest dog I’ve ever house trained. I know she has chewed over $2000 worth of stuff including furniture and clothing. (Once in a while I still catch her) She was very annoying for the 2 older dogs who are very laid back couch potatoes. Diamond is very athletic and constantly needs stimulation. She had to learn the rules of how the other two dogs worked. She and Sable especially had the hardest time but as I stated in Sable’s story on a Thanksgiving morning I let Diamond out to go potty and two stray dogs attacked her. We just got Diamond and she was still learning how to live in a home with other dogs. After Sable protected her Diamond still wouldn’t come near Sable for a few days but Diamond wouldn’t go potty outside without Sable anymore. That is what made their relationship work. Sable showed her she would protect her even if Diamond annoys the crap out of Sable. It really is like a teenage sister and little kid sister relationship. Diamond is 100% a daddy’s girl. When my husband comes home from work she shakes her tail so hard she throws her butt around. He is her best friend. I really didn’t connect with Diamond till she was about 2. I mean I was there and I would spend time with her but I never connected with her till around the time she started to calm down. I had to be the parent in the house since I was home all the time so sometimes I was the bad guy and she wouldn’t want to cuddle with me. Over the past year we have connected more. She now comes over and nudges my arm for petting and attention but still respects my boundaries….isn’t that funny. How a human and dog can develop a mutual respect relationship. I always joked that I would get rid of her if my husband ever passed away but to be honest. I actually do love her, even if she is the most annoying dog I’ve ever owned. Diamond also has this really weird obsession with her older sister Syrus. It’s really something I’ve never seen before. If Syrus goes somewhere (even the other room) without Diamond, when they are together again Diamond has to be all over Syrus to the point where sometimes I have to make her stop. (She is bigger than Syrus so she can hurt her). It’s one of those if Syrus passed away Diamond would never be the same. I like to hide Syrus in my lap under a blanket, Diamond goes insane looking for her. It’s so funny. After Diamond we decided no more dogs for now. Sable is getting too old and grumpy, Syrus is to clingy (that’s the spoiled momma’s girl) and Diamond just completed our pack by giving us the athletic, goofy, and yes annoying piece of sunshine we didn’t know we needed.
Photographers Note: Janna & CJ actually drove about an hour to meet me at Little Mulberry Park in Dacula, GA. Considering Diamond can get car sick, this really meant a lot that they did that to be part of this little project. After reading their stories I am so glad they did. Sable & Diamond might have been dogs that other people would have given up on but the fact that Janna & CJ brought these two in and gave them a secure, warm, safe, happy home and never gave up them, is what true responsible pet owner ship is all about.
At the park, the dogs were so excited with the new surroundings and all the new smells. It’s always another factor in these shoots if you meet up in a place where the dogs have never been, because it’s like party time for them. The last thing they want to do is cooperate for some woman with a camera. The more excited Diamond got the pinker she got, so the pink in her photos is really how pink she was, like a cute little piglet! Sable even tried to make friends with a Goose (maybe not friends exactly). There really was a lot of excitement but even with all of that, they actually did great. As we were walking back to the car, you could see all that excitement was starting to tire them a bit. Guessing they had a nice nap on the car ride home.