Rest in Peace, Murphy

Early this morning, after our walk, Mommy was reading her email and I heard her gasp. She picked up the phone right away. When she hung up the phone, she was crying.

I was sitting at my window perch and turned to see what was wrong. Mommy came over to the bed and lay down, sobbing. I came over to kiss her and make it all better. She explained that our pal Murphy Brown, Uncle Dave's pup, had passed away during the night. Mommy had called Uncle Dave to express her sympathies and he was very, very sad. Murphy Brown, gone? But she was just fine when we were over at the house for the cookout. I didn't understand.

I snuggled up and laid down next to Mommy, but turned my head back to look at her because I was concerned...I hate to see my Mommy upset or sad. We stared into one another's eyes for a long moment. I could see sadness in her eyes, but I could see fear too. Somehow, looking into her eyes, I understood that, when you have a pup, it is extra hard to hear about another pup dying...because you start to think about your own pup not being in your life anymore...and that is very, very sad.

As I wrote in my previous blog entry, I loved Murphy Brown, but she never really took to me. She was a quiet older pup and I was a rambunctious young pup who was often invading her territory and taking the attention of her people (not to mention that I stole one of her chewies just about every time I came over to her house). In those first few months I knew Murphy, I was pretty intense. I was insistent that she was going to like me. I guess I made a big pest of myself. :(

Mommy told me that Murphy didn't always have a very happy, peaceful life before she came to live with Uncle Dave. I figure that at least she had those 7 years of living with Uncle Dave--knowing she was loved, getting lots of belly rubs and lovins, having her brother, Paco, to play with for a few years and having a nice big back yard to run around and chase squirrels in (she loved to chase squirrels).

Mommy says Murphy was a sweet, gentle soul. I know she had to have been to put up with me being up in her face all the time.

I will miss you, Murphy Brown. We will all miss you.

Rest peacefully, my friend.

My Five Uncles

If you are as ancient as my Mommy, you may remember there used to be a TV show called "My Three Sons"--about a single Dad with 3 boys and 1 Uncle Charlie. Well, in my case, there is a single Mom of 1 girl (me!) and my five uncles (who, unlike Uncle Charlie, do not live with us).

My uncles have very different personalities and different ways of interacting with me, but they all have one thing in common--they love pups and I love them! Hmm. Maybe that's two things ...but I digress. Here, you can see my 5 uncles in their native habitat! hehe On the left is Mommy hanging out in the mountains with Uncles Russ and Danny. On right, with Uncles Dave, Bill and Mike at a local Japanese restaurant.

When any of my uncles come to visit Mommy & I at our house or we go visit them at their house, we always have a great time...and I end up exhausted from being played with so much!! This is a very good thing cuz I LOVE attention! Let me introduce my five uncles:

Uncle Dave: He used to have a little pup named Mickie who loved to lick his face, so he doesn't mind when I lick his face--this is GREAT, because Mommy isn't wild about face licking. He now has a bigger pup named Murphy. I love her but she isn't so wild about me.

Uncle Dave is gentle in both voice and manner, and gives me great back & tummy rubs!

Uncle Mike: I don't have a picture of me with Uncle Mike yet, but he is the one in the black & white sweater in the picture at the top with Mommy. Uncle Mike is extra special to me because he is the one who is responsible for me being with Mommy! He knew the family I lived with before, who were wanting to find me a new home, and called my Mommy to see if she wanted to adopt me--and she did! Uncle Mike also puppysat me when Mommy went away in April and we had SO much fun playing and going on walks. He has lots of energy and is super sweet.

Uncle Bill: He can come off as kinda gruff when you first meet him,

but he is a total marshmallow inside! He melts for cute pups--like me!! He gets down on the floor and plays with me all the time. Like Mommy, he doesn't like the face kisses, so sometimes when he is on the floor, I will lick his bald head instead! hehehe

Uncle Bill had a close bond with Paco, a Bichon Frise who was also a close pal of Mommy's for many years. Paco died in late 2006, and Uncle Dave, Mike, Bill and my Mommy still miss him to this day. He must have been one special pup!

Uncle Russ: He is the most restrained of all my uncles. He likes me but I tend to be a little too rambunctious for him. He doesn't like face kisses, and he doesn't much like being jumped on either.

Well shoot, those are two of my most favorite behaviors--so where does that leave me, Uncle Russ? hehe You can see in this picture that I am trying to jump AND kiss him on the face, but he is looking at me warily and holding me back!

Mommy says this picture cracks her up!


Uncle Danny: Like Uncle Bill, he can seem a little gruff at first, but he is a softie on the inside! He has an older pup named Mika who has arthritis real bad, so she can't play so much anymore.

Uncle Danny lets me nibble on his fingers--something that Mommy and my other Uncles will usually chastise me for. So you know I love me some Uncle Danny! :)

Mommy says I look like a white Ewok in this picture. I'm not old enuf to have seen Star Wars, so I don't know if that is a compliment or not!

Having five Uncles is a great thing, especially when they all love and pay attention to ME! Of course, they come to see Mommy sometimes, too, and that is cool with me! :)