A Boy and His Dog

Dixie

Christopher Robin had Pooh, I had Dixie. Dixie was a pure bred Boxer sired by champions. This had no meaning to me. Dixie was my friend and constant companion. No matter what happened, as I began to try to understand the world around me, I did it with Dixie at my side. After all, we shared a taste for dog biscuits.

Like Christopher Robin, I grew. My life began to move beyond the limits of my back yard. Dixie was still there but no longer my only friend. When something about the world around me was hard to make sense of, it was great to have Dixie there as my anchor.

I suppose, like many dogs, she aged gracefully up to a point. As a child I didn't fully understand such things. I came home one day from school and my mother told me "Dixie has run away". That was her way of trying to save me from understanding the adult notion of Dixie's final trip to the veterinarian.

So all my memories of Dixie are of a wonderful childhood friend. But sometimes, when the real world gets to be a bit too big for me, I wish she'd come home again.

Molly

Molly is a pure bred American Eskimo Miniature.

She started life in high style. She lived for a time in a chic Manhattan high-rise apartment. Her owner soon realized that her lifestyle did not lend itself to dog ownership.

Through a series of friends and family contacts Molly came to live with us where she can chase squirrels to her heart's content. (Squirrels are rather rare in high-rise apartments.)

She has a very strong personality and likes to be the center of attention. She is very intelligent. At night she guards my wife's shoes from evil doers.

Sherman

I don't know that I ever seriously went looking for a dog. Dog's have always sort of found me.

Sherman looked out at me from a poster a coworker had put up for an animal adoption agency. He's a purebred Mutt. His markings and lines seem to indicate that there was a Rhodesian Ridgeback in his past somewhere.

Haley

Haley is my "Granddog" She is a Beagle and belongs to my son Brendan. She lives with us, enjoying running in the pack with Sherman and Molly. However, the three of them tend to look more like the Three Stooges. When the local Fire Department makes any noise with their sirens, these three get the whole doggie neighborhood going with loud howls. We are glad she joined our family.

Frankie

Francis-Albert is one of my sister's two dogs. He needed a home and we helped bring them together. He is a Boxer-Collie mix and has incredibly soft hair. He holds the patent on cute!