Memory Moments on Monday

BABY--The Dog

About a year after Frank and I got married, we bought a house. Little did we know that along with the house came a stray dog...and her puppies.

A stray dog started hanging around our house and she looked like just a pup herself and she was scared to death--of EVERYTHING. She looked like she hadn't eaten in forever and I couldn't even tell that she was pregnant. I felt so sorry for her that I started feeding her. I would put food on our doorstep and go inside and watch her sheepishly come to the door and gobble the food so quickly that she turned the bowl over and scatter food everywhere! After a week or two, she finally began to realize that we were not going to hurt her. So then we started coaxing her into the house (what were we thinking??) She came inside and loved it, although she was still scared. I enjoyed her company at night because Frank was working 3rd shift at the time. One day when I came home from work, she didn't come to the door and I got a little worried about her. She stayed gone for a couple of days (oh and by this time we knew she was pregnant), but finally came back to eat and then left again. A week or so went by of this routine. Then one day she came out from the woods and with her came a little puppy, and another and another, 7 puppies in all. As sickly as she had looked, I really didn't think any of the puppies could have possibly survived, but they were very healthy! We ended up giving them all away to homes that lots of land for them to play on, since they looked as if they would be pretty big dogs and need the room. Well, Baby turned out to be one of the best dogs anyone could ever ask for. She lived 14 years. She died around this time of year 3 years ago. Every one should be so lucky to have a dog like her as a friend and companion.