Nannette's 62nd Birthday

Today would have been Nannette's 62nd birthday. We've been planning to get a dog for a while now and this got me thinking of Mom. I don't think that I've ever known too many people that loved animals more than her.

I remember Mom talking about how Pumpkin was small enough to fit in the palm of her hand when she got her. Since Pumpkin was about a year older than me, I have often pictured Pumpkin in Mom's hand. Since Pumpkin was around before I was, she was always there when I was a child and it was hard and as a child it was hard to imagine that life had gone on with her.

Samantha or Sam as we called her was our first Great Pyrenees. I remember when we lived on Farmington Road and Dad used to smoke, and Sam would try to bury her head under her paws and in the carpet, when Dad would try to smoke. I think that this actually helped guilt him into quitting! We did take Sam to some dog shows but she didn't seem to like them. Sam had a litter of puppies, of course that was exciting for us kids. Sam didn't like baths, she would often crouch when walking by the bathroom, hoping that she wouldn't get a bath. When we moved to Auten Road, Sam used to wander around the property, but she would always come back (which could not be said for all of our dogs!). Sam developed some sort of muscle disorder and we to her to the vet school at Michigan State a few times, but they weren't able to cure her.

One day on Farmington Road, us kids were playing in my room when Bentley walked into my room and into our lives. Bentley had been the dog of our friend Cheryl but she as at a point in her life where she couldn't keep him any longer so he came to live with us. He was quite a dignified dog. Males of the breed were protective of the sheep back in the mountains of France, so it isn't surprising when you consider how he watched after us kids, the house, and the family. We took Bentley to a lot of dog shows and he won enough of them to become a champion. His official name was Champion Sir Bentley of Ryanwoods. Rather dignified, don't you think? I think that Mom talked Dad into joining the local Pyre club and he served as president for a term. We became good friend with the Alteris through the dog club. For my senior pictures in high school, I took Bentley to the studio and had some poses done with him.

Bummer was one of Sam's puppies. He was quite a site, with two different colored eyes and his tongue always sticking out. In Ortonville Bummer slept near Pumpkin. He worshiped her. She ruled the roost, it was quite a site to see the much smaller Pumpkin barking orders to the much bigger Great Pyrenees, and they would follow her orders! Bummer was heart broken when she died of old age.

Mom and Dad had made a deal with Alan and Cheryl where they took one of Sam's puppies and we would get one of their puppies in return, this is how we got Classy. Heather had a senior picture done with Classy. Classy had a frightening experience that left her mentally scarred, after that she would freak out and couldn't really be left alone.

Affie was a stray Afghan that joined our family when we were visited by Aunt Helen and Uncle George. Uncle George talked us into "keeping" her for him. I remember that she used to have a howl that was right out of the horror movies. We did eventually find a proper home for our "guest".

Abby was a rust colored Chow Chow. I think that Mom thought so highly of Chinko (a Chow of my grandparents) that she decided to have one after our other dogs has passed away. I think that Mom was the only one that he really cared about. One time he had Nicole cornered in the laundry room. He would sometime show you his teeth and "smile" at you. Chinko, he wasn't! Abbey lost a leg when he was hit by a neighbor's truck. Dad referred to him as Tripod shortly after that.

Angus was Mom's last dog. I was there when she picked him from the litter. Christine started referring to "der Angus hund", it has stuck in my memory. It is my fond memories of him that have led Christine and I to get a Beardie of our own. I remember Most of my life I have been superstitious and I think that I got that from Mom. Anyways I don't like to jinx things but we have a breeder picked out and they have a little of puppies due on February 13th, so hopefully in April we'll have a new dog. The picture of the two Beardies are the parents of our would-be puppy, the breeder refers to it as a "wedding picture".

I think that I need to end my post here. Maybe I can pick up Mom and her love of dogs, pets, and animals again another day. I just want to say Happy Birthday and that I'll be thinking of Mom when we get our puppy (keep your fingers crossed that we get a nice one).