I am an animal lover. I have had dogs and cats since I was little. I can remember the first dog we got as a child. He really belonged to my older brother. His name was "Joker". He was a chihuahua, white with a black spot on his head and eye. He was the runt of the litter. What a cutie he was. When he fell asleep on my brother's neck one time, he was in such a deep sleep, he peed on my bother's neck. What a way to wake up.
The next dog we had was a cattle dog. His name was "Stubby" as he had a stubby tail. When we gave him away to a friend of the family who lived on a cattle ranch, they called him "Davey".
As my younger brother and I grew up, we wanted to get another dog. This one was a small dog named "Tippy". He was a ball of fire. Always chasing after things, even porcipines.
One day, while I was waiting for my school bus to take me home from my after school activity, there was this really cute puppy that someone had left at the school. With me and my love for animals, I thought what was the harm in bringing her home. When I got home, I had her in my coat and showed my Dad. I asked if I could keep her. Dad said yes. I then went into the house and showed my Mom. The first thing she asked me was, "How big are her feet?" You guessed it. They were big. She turned out to be a Labrador. I did get to keep her. I named her "Sandy" as she was a sandy color. Sandy was a very affectionate dog. She would sit up and wrap her paws around your waist and give you a hug. Something that my father taught her to do. You would think that a big dog would be able to do that, but she did! Unfortunately, Tippy was hit by a truck and Sandy, we had to give away as I couldn't keep her in my apartment after I got married.
After getting married and staying in a house, Bob and I wanted to get a puppy. We got a chihuahua/terrier mix, the runt of the litter. We named her "Cocoa". So she wouldn't be lonely, we got another dog named "Puff". Again, the runt of the litter. When Bob was transferred to Kalispell, Montana to work, we had to give Cocoa up. She went to an elderly couple that my older brother knew. Puff had to be put to sleep as she was very sick and we couldn't do anything for her.
We finally moved back to our home town and when my older brother's dog just had puppies we asked if we could have one of them. We took "Babe" home with us. We had Babe for almost 17 years. She died of old age.
We are now in Salt Lake City. Our kids would like to have a puppy. (Really it was me.) Our next puppy was Napoleon, Nappy for short. He was a cocapoo. He was just a bundle of life. He would run in the back yard with the kids and chase them all over. He loved burrowing next to you on the bed. He always knew when you weren't feeling good. He was right there when you needed it most.
Next came our Josephine, Josie for short. Brenda gave her to me for either Mother's Day or my birthday. It was not long after we lost Babe. Another bundle of joy. Bob called her his little fur baby. She was the light of our lives. We almost lost her to parvo when she was a puppy. We would have to force feed her. Bob thought that if he tried using his little finger to help her eat, she would make it. She did! She took to Bob's finger like a pacifier. Any time we would go out, Josie would have to "suck" on my finger like a pacifier. It was her way of feeling content and comforted.
When our daughter, Brenda, went to Germany, she was unable to take her dogs with her. So, we inherited her Jack Russell and Golden retriever, Eddie and Ranger. Four dogs in the house! It really wasn't that bad.
Again we went through a traumatic ordeal as we had to put Nappy down. He was paralyzed from the waist down. A year later, Josie died from anaflatic shock after having her shots. I think that was the hardest year for our family. One dog who had to be put down and the other one unexpectantly. We still miss them a lot.
We still have good reliable Ranger, Brenda has Eddie in Germany and we went to the Humane Society and picked out another dog to be a buddy for Ranger as he missed Eddie. Thinking that the dog I picked out would be a small one, I was very sadly mistaken. "Callie" turned out to be a Boarder Collie. They are a mid sized dog that is sooooo full of energy, they keep you coming and going day and night.
We have a very complete family now with Ranger and Callie. Something to keep us happy and busy in our "later" years. I wouldn't trade having dogs for pets for nothing. When they say they are man's best friend, they truely are.
Picture 4: Mt. Valley
