A Boy and his Dog

So I wrote an entire blog and my computer died and then the written blog died with it.  :( I am sad, I was proud of it.  Lets see if I can recreate it.  

I am the luckiest girl in the world.  I have a wonderful house, a caring and supportive husband, a gorgeous baby full of personality... I have two kitties that... well...  let me know exactly how they feel.  And I have Murphey.  This is really a story about Murphey and how she came to be a part of our world.  

Jason and I had been together for a couple of month’s when my parents bought a new boat and it happened to be in Florida.  So, we needed to bring it back.  Mom, Dad and some of their friends and I took a week and tootled around Florida and then for the second week, Jason, my sister, her husband (at the time) and Emilie joined us.  It was the most amazing trip.  It’s actually one of my older blogs on the travel blog...  if anyone’s bored.  :) 

so... we pull into Houma, Louisiana and I have Emilie asleep on my lap when I hear Jason yelling for me.  We had just bought a house a month before and I think I *knew* why he was calling my name.  I picked Emilie up and walked outside to see this little black puppy.  I mean itty bitty.  

And she was so cute... she followed us everywhere.  If we walked up the doc, she walked up the doc...  and vice versa.  We asked around and everyone said that she had been on the doc for a week... but no one had claimed her.  Jason was snuggling her and I said... “you want to take her home, don’t you?”  He said.. “I am not saying yes, I am not saying no!”  I said... we can’t take a puppy with fleas back to Houston on Dad’s boat...  and of course, Dad chimed in... sure we can!  ugh!  

So, off we went to Walmart, in a cab, to get her a collar, a kennel, some flea medicine and some food.  On the way... we talked about her name.  I had always said when I got off of ships that I wanted a dog named Murphey... although I had envisioned a Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier...  who would fit the name of Murphey.  But, Jason was adamant, we needed to name her Murphey...  and it has stuck.  

The whole way home, she slept.  She had the perfect temperment, was sweet, didn’t bark, wasn’t hyper...  until...  (dunh dunh dunh) we got her home.  All of a sudden, she was well rested... had eaten and she had ENERGY!  WOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!  She was CRAZY!  Every effort we had at containing her...  gone.  My little escape artist.  

In our training efforts, we went through a couple of shoes, some clothes, maybe a leg or two off of a chair.  :)  But, with some work and a whole lot of love...  this dog has turned into the most remarkable dog!  

So, fast forward... and when we got pregnant, I wondered how Murphey was going to do...  well, I needn’t have given it one moments notice.  She is so protective of him.  She even protects him from my cats.  When she goes out and comes back in... he is the first thing she looks for.  It’s really very cute.  

Lately...  Joey will get a hold of Murphey’s ball or her chew toy and he’ll hold it and the dog will go to get it back... and Joey will pull it away.  Then he gets the giggles as she licks him.  It’s this give and take but Murphey would never even get sort of rough with him.  Even with any sort of provocation... he sits on her tail, he pulls her hair and he grabs her toys.  And Murphey just takes it all.  

They snuggle together... they play together... they are truly pals.  

So yesterday morning, I was getting ready to take Joey to daycare and I put the baby on the floor to play.  He started to crawl away and so I went and grabbed a kitchen utensil that looks like a dumbbell but it’s wooden... I use it for making cookie shells.  I went about doing what I was doing... I mean working... just kidding.  I was getting everything ready to go.  

I look down and Joey is sucking on the end of the dumbell and then Murphey is sucking on the other end.  They are alternating playing with it.  And if that wasn’t cute enough...  all of a sudden, Murphey gives Joey a big sloppy kiss right across the smacker.  Now that was cute... but what followed was even cuter.  Joey took one look at Murphey and very promptly followed suit and took one big swipe across her nose with his tongue.  

Imitation is the finest form of flattery!  HA!  It was so cute and I wish wish wish that I had gotten it on video, alas, it is in my mind for all eternity.  

I am so lucky to have such a good dog who loves my son as much as I do.  :)