Most families have a pet – some have many.  The most popular is always a dog and we are no different.  We have a dog.  A little medium-sized beagle mix named Athena – named for the goddess of war.  She really doesn’t resemble her name.  She is gentle and sweet unless we have company or she sees another dog not on a leash when we are on a walk.  And then she goes nuts!

We found the little light of our lives on Craigslist at the age of six months from a soldier being deployed.  He had found her and her litter in a ditch dumped by some scum of the earth and left to die.  Dogs are better than some humans – they would never do such a thing. We should thank them for being our friends.

Like I said, she is a mutt but she is an intelligent mutt.  She looks a lot like a beagle but her legs are long and her ears are short.  She leaps across the back yard like a gazelle and has a toad friend in her back yard that we have named Bob.  She never tries to hurt him, she just noses him “hello” when he appears after dark and then they go their separate ways.

She loves to ride in the car or better still my husband’s truck.  She is a city dog, not a big tough farm dog or junk yard dog.  When my grandson comes to spend the weekend we blow up a mattress in the living room and let them sleep together.  Whether either one do much sleeping is still up for discussion.

Lately my daughter has acquired a new puppy of the mutt variety.  He has a big future ahead of of him.  Toby is being trained to be a therapy dog so she can use him to sooth clients in her practice.  I think most dogs are therapy dogs.  They know our hearts and are always there to lick your tears away.  Right now he is a very large ten-week old puppy that already weighs 22 pounds.  We’re not sure what breed he is – all of them I think, but he is adorable.  He is already in puppy school and I am sure he is the star pupil.  

I’ll bet you have pets.  Tell me about them and send pictures.  I love animals, especially dogs.  Do you have a new one and how has it improved your life?