Miggs

Since I have been writing about animals ( many titles and no content) that have been in the family, I thought I would write this time about Miggs. Miggs was a miniature Boston Terrier. He was a purebred with papers from the American Kennel Club. His full name was Jeff's Mister Miggs. The only person I ever remember calling him Mister Miggs was Tammy Painter who lived across the street and was about 5 or 6 at the time. She would often ring my doorbell and ask if Mister Miggs could come out to play. She enjoyed that little dog. I thought Miggs was a regular sized dog until I had him at the vet's and a couple from Dugway came in with their Boston Terrier and thought that Miggs was a pup. Their dog was big enough to make two of Miggs (he only weighed 15 pounds). He was a special little dog. I could pick him up and put him under my arm or in the basket on my bicycle. He would lay on his back next to me in the car and was adopted by Marge and Si's boxers. They treated him like he was one of their pups. When we traveled back east on vacations we would take two and one half dogs. The two boxers as full dogs and Miggs as the half dog. We would put pillows on the back seat of the car and Miggs would sit on top of them just like a king so that he could see everywhere. When people came to the house to visit, I would sit on the couch and he would get on my lap and dare any of them to come close. I guess he was trying to be the big watchdog protector. As he got older, he developed asthma and had a difficult time breathing through his short little nose. He also started to get stiff joints which the vet said was the starting of arthritis. He would have a dificult time getting up the steps by himself, so I would carry him when the going got tough. He finally got to the point where he couldn't eat much without getting sick. The only thing that he could keep down was crushed candy canes. It was so hard to see him suffer and I could see what looked like tears in his eyes which would make me cry. I decided that I simply couldn't watch him suffer any longer, so Marge and I took him to the vet to be put to sleep. It was really hard to stand and watch that sweet little friend stop breathing and leave us. I cried for days. It was just like losing one of the family. The best consolation was that I had another little dog at home to take his place, but that will come in another story.

Old Max

Today after I finished working in the yard, I sat on the back porch and Lady practically sat on top of me. This made me think about other dogs the family has had and the different personalities that they had. Old Max was the first dog that I remember probably because he was the family dog when I was born. (Duh) Dad always said he was a Heinz 57 variety dog because we weren't sure what breed of dog he was. He was an excellent watchdog and always let us know when someone or something was around. Since we lived 6 miles out of town at the mouth of South Willow Canyon, we always paid attention to Max when he barked because we didn't see a lot of people. Those who did come were relatives or sheep ranchers who came to get water from the pond for their animals. Max knew most of them and seemed to have a special bark for each one. When I was small, I remember walking near the creek that powered the hydro-electric plant where Dad worked and Max would be walking with me. He would always walk between me and the water. If I got too close to the creek, he would push me away. Mother said that she never worried about me, because Max was always there to take care of me. I guess you could have called him my baby-sitter. He was always there to make sure that I was safe. He would chase sticks and balls no matter where they were thrown. He would even jump into the pond for them and then shake all over us after he got out. He was with us for years and never seemed to show his age except for the gray around his muzzle. Then one day he was gone. I can't remember exactly what caused his death, but he was simply too old to fight it. He was in his twenties which is really old for a dog. I can still see him laying on the front porch with one ear up and one front paw hanging over the step. Dad never really wanted another dog after Max wasn't there anymore. He was not only a good pet and companion, but a dear friend as well. If there is a heaven for dogs, he is probably top dog.

About Animals

About Animals

About Animals

Remembering past Fourths

Today is Independance Day and I have been thinking about how we used to celebrate this day. First of all I don't remember it being so hot. I guess when you are young, you are too busy to notice temperature. Anyway, when I was in junior high and high school we always started celebrating the Fourth on the third by having an all night dance. About 5:00 in the morning, the band members would get together in an old hay wagon and ride around town playing patriotic music and waking everyone up. Those we didn't wake up with music were bounced out of bed by firecrackers. Such things weren't banned in those days and you really had to be careful as some of the guys thought it was great fun to toss a firecracker under your chair while you were playing music. After a couple of hours we would all get into our band uniforms and march in the parade plus give a concert in the park in the afternoon. By the time that was over we would all be dragging. I never knew what went on after the concerts because I would be so tired that I would go home and sleep. Of course living out of town like we did I wouldn't have seen or heard any fireworks anyway. I can only guess that there were lots of games going on and good food available. Things probably haven't changed too much around the small towns, but I usually choose to avoid activities because of the heat. Today is really HOT !! (The air conditioner has been going full blast since 10:30 this morning)