We have had a numerous amount of dogs in our family household throughout my lifetime. I was searching through pictures today that my sister had found and came across one of the very first dog that I can remember. His name was "Charlie Brown"! He was a Hot-dog dog and had a bit of fat on him and waddled when he walked. He had short flappy ears which were a little long but not as long as a Basset Hounds ears! He was a cute dog. I have one good memory of Charlie Brown from when I was a toddler. It was from when Uncle John Boy, Mom's brother, came over to ride his bike and all of us girls, Uncle John's neices, got to take turns riding with Uncle John on the back of his bike. Charlie Brown would follow along side of us as we rode down the street and her head got caught in the spokes of the wheel! It was just AWFUL! She lay limp and whining. I went inside but the family told me later that they got the neighbor, Mr.Grundy, to help get her out of the wheel. Mom was not home at the time. It was an interesting afternoon. We had to put Charlie Brown down to sleep after that, she was just not the same for several months afterwards said my Mom.

Our next dog was "Captain" I believe. He was Anna's dog, she is the eldest sister. He was a Basset hound. Now, HE HAD LONG EARS! He was very loveable! He had spots all over! We had him only a short time then we had to give him away to someone who raised Basset Hounds.

The next dog was "J.J.".  He was a Norwegian elkhound.  How these dogs with a big heavy coat can be in the hot Texas sun I will never know, but he was a good dog and put up with us for a long time! We loved him dearly! We bred him with the next dog we had which was also a Norwegian elkhound and HER name was "Tosha"! She was a good dog and we bred her and she had puppies! They were the best thing that ever happened to us and saved our HIDE some Christmas's and Summer's! The money from selling the puppies is what kept us going the Christmas's and Summer's. They both died of cancer.

After J.J. died we got "Sonny", He was a Weimeraner.  He was a BIG dog and weighed around 90-100 pounds! He protected us yet he never hurt anyone while alive. He was a good dog. He ran out into the street one day and got hit by a car. I was not there for I was in college in Missouri and Julie, Sonny's owner, was at college Law school in Lubbock when it happened. Mom had a man renting a room from her for extra money for Mom and he had a rifle in his room. He went out into the street with Mom and his rifle too and Mom then shot the dog Sonny because we did not have $5000 sitting in the bank which is what around it would be needed said the man to repair our dog. He was in training for med school and saw the wounds and guessed.  Mom was in tears and cried for weeks afterwards.

The next dog we got was "Sheba"! I remember the day we got Sheba. Oh, what a day! We drove all the way from Colleyville all the way out to Granbury where the man had a farm litter of Dalmatian pups. I should have KNOWN something was wrong when he had to put the Grandma Dalmatian Dog in the truck because she was so HYPER! Ha! Also, she had one eye blue and one eye green! I should have realized I was getting myself intosomething but alas, I was only fourteen years old at the time and just wanted my puppy! I looked over at the floor of littler of puppies and was about to pick a quiet puppy in the corner. However, I changed my mind because I thought she might be too quiet. So, I decided on picking the Dalmatian puppy that had bitten the ear of the owner of the litter of puppies! I ACTUALLY PICKED HER BECAUSE SHE HAD MORE PEP! AM I CRAZY OR WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?!?  I loved her so much though! She drove us bonkers for awhile and I am sure the first few years she thought her name was "Sheba,Damn it!" However, she had filled our life with love and I have had a new inderstanding of skin disease in short-haired animals. She died of liver cancer in August of 1998. I miss her so. I am now to the last two dogs that are alive right now and they are "Buddy" and "Foxxy".

Buddy is a Labrador Retriever and golden in color. He has his registered papers and everything. He is just like a big baby and everything when you hug him and he melts away and is pudding in your hands. He has a fierce bark though so watch out! He has grown up only around females so watch out males! We are an all girl household! No boys! (Dad left when parents divorced at age 4, all girls)

Foxxy is a Japanese Dog.  She is what they call a Shiba-Inu which in Japanese means "Cat-Dog". Foxxy is very much like a cat in that she will eat insects during the summer and catch mice when we lived in a run-down house at one time. She barks very rarely. She jumps up in my bed and eats scraps of food with me when I have it. She is the highlight of my days! She is red and white and actually looks like a fox! She is only about a foot high! I love her so very much!

I would say the dog that sparks the strongest memory in me is the Dalmatian, Sheba! I have had her since she was a puupy of about 8 weeks old! All the other dog's have been someone else's animals!, except for Tosha and Foxxy. I have Foxxy now and Tosha I got as a puppy I found out but I do not remember that at all. I was young at the time, only about 8 years old. Foxxy is my dog but I got her as a grown animal. I did not have her since a puppy or otherwise she would spark the strongest memory. Sheba is my all time favorite dog and my heart swells with pride every time I think about her!

Written March 2nd,2004 7:00pm
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