He and our dog, Murphy, have a love-love relationship that began the day we acquired our funny little misfit.
We've always had dogs, both working and pets, and Ty has been the one who bonds with them. For some reason, he was enamored with bulldogs during his entire childhood, and may be still for all I know. I'll admit I looked into bulldogs as pets and quickly crossed them off the list after learning of their narrow comfort zone and outrageous price.
A compromise came along in Murphy, a brindle Boston Terrier. Her ears don't stick up like other Boston's and she doesn't have any black in her coat. And since Boston Terriers were derived from a cross between bulldogs and a now extinct terrier breed, you could sort of imagine she was a small bulldog, if you had a good imagination, which Ty and I do.
She'd lived her previous four years as a breeding dog, until an attack by another female (in heat, surprise, surprise) damaged her left hind leg and disrupted her breeding schedule. The owners didn't want her any more, and I was looking for a mature, house trained female. A match made in heaven!
Murphy hadn't ever traveled in a car, had never gone for walks, and hadn't been part of a boisterous family. The day Ty and I got her, she rode on his lap from Terrebonne to Sisters, a stinky, shedding, long-toenailed bundle of cuteness. Ty endured her BO, and the first thing we did when we got home was give her a bath. She raced out of the tub and into our living room, bouncing onto the couch like she'd been there forever. She jumped into our hearts that day and we haven't been the same since.
We now plan our trips around places that welcome pets, have a basket of Murphy toys, always keep baby carrots in the fridge for treats, and allow the dog onto our bed. We've become fans of small dogs and put up with minor annoyances such as constantly losing sight of her (18 pounds of dog disappears into the tall and uncut a lot faster than 45 pounds!)
She likes to imagine she's a mighty hunter but we know better (though she has snagged a couple of squirrels that ran in front of her!)
The problem of her snoring was solved when we moved into our present home, which has a large closet far away from our bed. We've dubbed it Murphy's bedroom and it's the best feature of the house!
Murphy enjoys life as a ranch dog, except on very cold or hot days. Then she's content to snooze the day away, unless someone offers a carrot or a toy.
She can't come with me when I ride, but she's good at waiting in the car or in a stall while I'm out and about. She won't go near the alpacas or the cows but waits a safe distance away until we're done with whatever we need to do.
And whenever we're at the table, she's sitting with her back against our feet. She's my constant companion while I'm at my desk, an extension of the joy that lurks within, just waiting for the chance to do something, anything...
Not bad for a dog without a lick of training.
2 comments:
i never, ever thought i would care about an animal as much as we do harvey, so it is nice to read that others feel this way about the pooches that inhabit their worlds (and hearts!). i was raised around horses and livestock, but came to resent them for the early morning feedings they required. however, now i get it, this love for animals and i think it just might make us better at loving each other too. thanks for honoring murphy. :)
Thanks Mum. I needed that after a crappy day at work. Give her my love.!!
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