We got Schnuffi at the age of about three from a animal's home near Hannover. It was supposed to be a small dog :-).
It was a new experience to me that there now was somebody in the family who barks if the bell rings or a cat is in the garden. On the other hand I had to learn to take care of our dog what was not easy all the time.
Some great moments I still have in mind are the times when I slept on the sofa together with the dog, she putting her head on my neck. Another time Schnuffi jumped over a wall and she didn't know that behind that wall there was water and not grass. All of us laughed but it was a shock for the dog. I also remember that she did not like cats. One only had to say the word 'Katze' and she jumped against the door to the garden barking all the time. Schnuffi liked to wave with her tail and understood words with an 'i' and with 'au'.

She died some days before my 14th birthday at the age of about 9 years because she had a kind of cancer inside.

We were sure to get another dog after Schnuffi died because everything has been so empty without a dog at home. We got Pummel at the age of five and a half and again we did not want to get a dog that was bigger than Schnuffi :-). No chance at all!
It was good to have a dog again at home. The dogs had some things in common and some things were different.
Sometimes I lay down next to Pummel after school and sometimes it has been so comfortable that I fell asleep. Pummel also disliked cats but she hunted them without any noise, no barking when she did. Pummel often grunted a lot and told entire stories if you came back home and fondled her. Pummel turned round her head if you said words with 'au' if she heard them, eh heh!

Pummel died after a long long time we will never forget, but it was better for her. She had left some fun to live but the pain was bigger in her declining days.