Our Canine Family, 2002

Max & Missy

     Max, rescued pound-puppy extraordinaire, is the protector of the backyard; which shares a rear fence with the neighborhood elementary school.  When noisy kids or dogs are about, Max is there at the fence to remind them of HIS territory & to make little girls squeal when he sneaks up on & startles them with a sudden LOUD Bark!

     Max is a very independent dog.  He is almost the perfect gentleman on a leash, obeying every command like the olde pro he wants you to think he is.  But, when the leash is removed, his attention is easily distracted and your commands are no longer of any interest; until the distraction has subsided, anyway.  He can NOT be trusted off leash.  He IS an affection hound, though.  He will not leave your side, if you are still touching him.  'Course, this usually means you are close enough to sneak a lick of every now & then.

     Missy is the destroyer of the backyard.  She is a golden retriever, and as everyone knows, is the result of breeding a mole with a beaver.  If it has hard or crunchy bits, then she must EAT it, or reduce it to sawdust & wood slithers if it doesn't taste good enough.  Our large roses bushes were chewed to mere stumps left in the ground.  Otherwise, she digs it up to have another LARGE hole to lie in.  Ain't I cute?!?  Gotta LOVE me!

Although she often had a beautiful smile on her face, she rarely showed it to the camera.  She was an affectionate girl who could lick your hand, face, whatever, for nearly as many hours as Max.

During the 2nd week of October-2002, Missy found and ate an old, moldy black walnut from the neighbor's tree.  Although she had eaten, & thoroughly enjoyed, freshly-dropped walnuts from this tree for years, she must have found a very-old one under some shrubbery.  The neuro-toxin, that the mold (internal to the walnut's shell) produces after a long exposure to moisture, poisoned her.  :-(  Even after the stomach-pumping, charcoal, & heavy narcotics, her subsequent grand-mal seizures were devastating & uncontrollable.  She was relieved of her misery on Sunday morning, October 13, 2002, at the age of 8 years old.

Rest in Peace, Missy.

An incredible void was left in our family.  :-(  But, thankfully, not for very long.  Kate, all of 8-weeks old, came home in early November.