Blue and Missy

About four weeks ago, we adopted a new dog.  I wasn't really ready for another dog.  Missy will live on as one of the greatest dogs of all time in my book and accepting anything less than that just seemed impossible for me.  It's not that she was under my feet, slept in my bed, snuggled up with us each night and lazed around the house.  I've had that kind of dog.  Those dogs are great...they are.  However, Missy was totally different.  She was smart - so smart, well mannered, unassuming, trouble free, easy going, never demanding and I swear if she could talk I would have learned a thing or two from her.  She was gentle, yet very protective.  Thankful and humble, there was not a pretentious thing about her from her pedigree (lack thereof) to her temperament.  Her eyes looked like they were full of love and stories and mostly gratefulness.  It's hard to find pictures of my kids outside without her in them....close by, watching over them.  If she had been a person, she would have been one of my favorite people ever.   



She came to us as a full grown dog, maybe around the age of three.  Our friend, George, who kept our horses while our barn was being built, had taken her in.  He had feed her from on old trash can full of dog food - nothing fancy - probably dog chow.  She'd sleep in his barn with the horses or outside on a little patch of grass.  She was always a content, happy, no-fuss kind of dog.  If she had come to me as a puppy, I'm quite sure I would have ruined her - immediately.  There wasn't a spoiled bone in her body and she knew how to take care of herself and us.  The perfect ranch dog.  She became ours when George had to move to a nursing home and would no longer be there to look after her.  The day we brought her to our house, there had been a big flood at George's place in Bartlesville.  Bill went up to move the horses and Missy came swimming after his truck.   As he was driving out, he looked in his rear view mirror and immediately went back to get her.  He grabbed her up in his arms, trudged waist deep through the water and to the truck with her.  She settled in at our house that day and looked as if she'd always been here.

We really just lucked into having her as part of the family.  We can thank Bill's mom (Nana) and her friend George for Missy.  It's funny how things work.  We always thought we were taking "care" of George.  We kind of looked after him and took him under our wing.  He didn't have much family around and we all grew to love him.  He was a gentle soul in his later years, but you could tell that cowboy had some stories and had lived a tough life.  He taught Bill so much about horses and introduced us to some great horse people.  And, as it turns out, he gave us quite a gift.  I like that.

Cowboy George, Nana, Kate and baby Claire

George and Kate

 

 


So, back to the new puppy.  A friend on Facebook (isn't Facebook just handy!) posted a picture of the cutest little pup.  I immediately - without asking a soul in my family - said we'd take him if they couldn't find the owners.  I don't know why I did that so quickly without any consultation with the other four people in my house.  That picture was THAT cute.  Lucky for me, it worked out.  Everyone else thought his picture was cute too.  Will's reaction was, "he is adorable".  The girls let out the biggest "AWW"! in unison you ever heard.  Even Bill said..."that's a good lookin' dog".  Long story short, the owners were never found, we were notified, we drove to South Tulsa and picked up Blue.  That's it.  Now he's here....all 40 lbs of this 12 week old puppy.  He is a mess, chewing on anything and everything, exploring every mud hole out here, and trying to learn that we do NOT want him to sleep on the couch.  He is fun and lively and a handful.  He is quite a contrast to Missy, but we are enjoying him so much. 

I don't know that he will be the trouble free ranch dog Missy was - but then again I don't know that he won't.  The difference is....I am raising this one.  Remember, I have a history of ruining a perfectly good dog.  But, as Will pointed out, he is adorable.  It's very hard to say no to this face.  So...Welcome, Blue!  We love you!  And we won't ever mention the big paws you have to fill.  I have all the faith in the world in ya.  My money is on you!