In Memory of Muffy

Today was Muffy's last day on earth. She was my mom's dog for 15 years. Since I live next door to my my mom, she was just like my pet as well. It's kind of like my neices and nephews, I get the enjoyment without having to feed them or pick up their poop.

Muffy had a very distinctive personality, very stuburn with a loud bark. She would follow my Mom around the house constantly, often to the consternation of my Mom when she got in her way.

One of Muffy's favorite pasttimes was chasing squirles. When she was younger, she was quite good at it and would put the fear of God into many a furry rodent. She slowed down the last few years but, every once in a while, she would catch one off guard and take a nip out of it'tail before it reached the safety of a tree. You could just see the smile on her face after the chase.

I was taking her out on one of our regular walks a few years ago and we came across a big Great Dane, new to the neighborhood, that was being held on a leash by it's owner. Of course, Muffy started barking at it defiantly. She feared no dog. The owner of the great dane braced herself, but to no avail. In no time at all the dane was dragging her owner, who was prone on the ground, making a charge at Muffy. Muffy took a defensive stance, she was not going to run from a fight, even if the dog out wieghed her by more that 175 pounds.

The great dane put it's massive jaws on the top of Muffy's back, until all you could see was Muff's head on one end, and her back feet hanging out of the other side of the dane's mouth. The dane's owner and I were frantically trying to get control of the dogs. I could see that the dane's intentions were not bad. He just wanted to play. He could have killed Muffy in one bite if he had wanted to. Of course, Muffy was fighting like the Tasmanian Devil.

The dane's owner finally regained control and we quickly continued on our way, with Muffy throwing a few indignant barks over her shoulder.

Muffy, you were a good dog, and we'll miss you. Please, leave a message about your favorite pet who has passed on.