Three is Not a Crowd for Channahon Family

It's just about one to a customer when it comes to dogs and Lorraine Allen’s family. Four family members, four dogs, and each one has a distinct personality.

Lorraine, of , is a single mom whose eldest daughter is finishing up grad school at Northern Illinois University. Her middle son is playing football at University of St. Francis and her youngest son is a competitive cheerleader at a Naperville club and attends

“The dogs pick their person,” she says.

Brutus was the first dog the family adopted and there is no brute in this Shih Tzu at all. He thinks Elliott, the eldest son, is his person, although he’s quite fond of Ethan, too. At age 15, Brutus is “Mr. Independent,” Lorraine said.

“He doesn’t go to the dog park to play with other dogs or humans. He’s fine just sniffing around by himself,” she said.

Zoe, age 10, was a gift for daughter Audrey’s 13^th birthday. But this sweet golden retriever, a real love bug, bonded more with mom.

Audrey had thought about going into veterinary medicine, but found she fainted during surgery, so now she’s getting her master’s degree in speech pathology and audiology. Audrey’s dog is a German shepherd mix named Remy who she got at a shelter after moving to college. Remy visits back home when Audrey is on vacation.

The fourth dog is the family’s second blue heeler, Sydney. Their first one, Roxy, died at a young age after Audrey brought her home from a veterinary clinic. This made Zoe very sad.

“I liked them,” Lorraine said about blue heelers. “I really liked Roxy’s personality and how she got along with golden retrievers. They are really good dogs.

“Sydney picked us. We went to look at two other dogs at the rescue, not Sydney. She was in a cage. But she kept wagging her tail and looking out at us. She wanted to be petted, the other two didn’t.”

Sydney came home from a local Australian cattle dog rescue in December 2009 and chose Lorraine as her No. 1 human.

Lorraine grew up outside of Oswego and was attracted to Channahon for its small-town atmosphere. She is a medical insurance broker in Glen Ellyn who has to put a lot of miles on her car. Although she had had dogs as a girl, getting Brutus wasn’t intentional.

“It was just a temporary thing that turned long-term,” she said.

A frequent visitor to the Hammel Woods Dog Park, Lorraine’s favorite dog park is Whalon Lake in Naperville/Bolingbrook. She looks forward to Channahon getting its own dog park.

“Dog parks are so relaxing,” she said. “You see people and their dogs regularly. Sydney knows when we’re almost to the park. If we’re going, I have to spell it out if I don’t want them to know.”

Multiple dogs, she said, are great for keeping each other company. But they’re also great for her family.

“I can’t imagine life without dogs,” she said.

Jan Larsen is an outreach coordinator at Joliet Job Corps who likes canines, cats and creatures of all kinds. Her No. 1 companion is Frosty, the incredible Snow Dog. She can be reached at janettellarsen@aol.com.