My Best Friends

I have heard the phrase, “a dog is a man’s best friend”, many times in my life. Since I was old enough to move out of my parents’ house I have had a house dog. They are the one animal who is happy to see you even if you’ve only been gone for a minute. When you need someone to talk to they are always there. You never have to worry about them judging you or repeating what you say.

I found my first dog by looking for ads in the local newspaper. When I first thought about getting a dog I knew I wanted a cocker spaniel. I had seen so many cute pictures of them and had my mind set. So off to French Island I went. At first when I seen the litter of puppies I wasn’t sure which one I wanted. They were all so cute and cuddly. Then I spotted the runt of the litter and fell in love. I named her Muffin. She was tan in color, had long ears, and the saddest eyes ever.

Muffin proved to be a very good dog. At that time in my life I had plenty of time to train a dog. She could sit, lie down, speak, roll over, and could even flip food from her nose and catch it, all on command. We had many enjoyable times together. When it came time for me to have my first child, Muffin moved over and never bothered the babies. When I brought them home from the hospital I would let Muffin smell them and check them out. She never once hurt them in any way.

When Muffin was getting older I decided to get another puppy. I didn’t want to lose Muffin and be without a dog. My husband’s cousin’s dog had just had puppies and I thought it was a good time to get one. Of course I still wanted a cocker spaniel, but this time I wanted a different colored one. Maggie May was a black cocker spaniel with white accents. The night we brought her home she fit in the palm of my hand.

My kids were so excited to see our new puppy. This would be their first experience with a puppy. It wasn’t a lot of fun those first few months. They found out how much a puppy likes to bite and chew. A few of their special toys ended up not looking so good after Maggie got a hold of them. As time went on though the girls and Maggie were inseparable. One of the most memorable times is when Maggie had a litter of puppies. We had bred her with a red and white cocker spaniel. She had six puppies, three red with white spots, and three white with red spots. When it came time for the puppies to go to new homes it wasn’t so easy to let them go.

As the years went on Muffin passed away and Maggie was our only dog for many years. She grew up right along with my girls. We had many special family times that included Maggie. When we would travel out west to see my mother, Maggie would ride along. Camping trips always included Maggie. One of her favorite things to do was to ride in the truck with her head out the window. She loved to have the wind blow through her ears. Even when the weather got cold she thought she should have her head out the window.

Three years ago Maggie ended up getting sick. She ended up having surgery and was never the same after that. We tried to hold onto her as long as we could, but ended up putting her to sleep in May of 2007. That was one of the hardest things I had to do. The girls were so sad and it left us with no dog at all. My family was so lost without a dog that we only waited four days before finding a new puppy. My younger daughter and I took a ride and ended up coming home with yet another cocker spaniel.

Morgan is my current dog. She is reddish in color and is very much a spoiled dog. After my girls moved away to college two years ago, she has become number one in the house. Her favorite thing to do is play ball. She has four or five balls in the house and wants to play all the time. My husband says it must be his job to play, because when he gets home from work Morgan is right at his feet with a ball. Now that it has gotten warmer out I have started to take her for walks around town. As soon as I get home from school she knows it is time to go. I can hardly get in the house before she’s jumping up on me knowing it’s time to go. At night she lays right in the middle of me and my husband in bed. She lies in bed with her head on my pillow, just like a human.

So as you can tell I am definitely a huge dog lover. I do believe that they are man’s best friend. No matter how mad you might get at them at times, they are always there when you need someone to talk to. As long as I am able, I will have a dog in my life. And as you can see I have named all of my dogs starting with the letter M. Any suggestions for the naming of my next dog?