Dog Days of Summer

It's hot here...and humid. And I don't know about you, but I'd rather stay inside and play on days like this.

~Patches, an early cloth dog, found looking sad at a garage sale...($6)~

  

I've always been a dog person. When I was a small child I wanted a dog so badly that I traded our cat for one. The problem was, we didn't have a cat. It was a hot, sticky summer day (much like this one) and my brother and I were outside playing together...he was ten and I was about six years old. We spent the morning plotting ways we could become dog owners without any money. While walking around the neighborhood we came across a house with a sign that said "Free Cat". We figured having a cat was almost as good as having a dog, right?

"Bone Eater", found lonely and scared at an antique mall~

On the way home with "our" new cat, we happened upon a woman with a large dog. Being the friendly and adventurous types, we stopped to inquire about her dog. Was it friendly? Could we pet it? And more importantly...would she be interested in a trade?

~Puppy, found abandoned and unloved at an antique shop~

Our Mother looked up from scrubbing the kitchen floor to see Bone Eater's scruffy face peering in the back door. We stood beaming, one on each side of his massive Irish Wolfhound body, while Mother asked a perfectly silly question..."Who does this dog belong to?" With a look of absolute pride on our dirty little faces...we answered, "He's ours." I'm sure Mother's, "NOOOOOOOO, he most certainly is NOT ours!", could be heard three blocks away. Much to our dismay, we were not allowed to keep Bone Eater...or the cat.

Eventually our Mother relented and we found a sweet little dog at the pound. Wendy adored me and the feeling was mutual. She slept in a baby cradle in my room and allowed me to dress her in doll's clothes and push her in a stroller. Wendy was very corgi-esque and is most likely responsible for my infatuation with corgis today. She was twenty-two years old, and I was a married lady of four years, when she crossed the bridge.

 Wendy, found sleeping on a pile of rags.

 I'll always be a dog person. And I've always had a soft spot for strays and rescue pups.

~A few of my strays~

And a few more...

~Maggie~ (Over the Rainbow Bridge, Summer 2007)

~Edith and Walter 
(Walter, Over the Rainbow Bridge, Summer 2009)~

~Murray and Edith~
(At home, Spring 2011)

Until next time...

Rhonda

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