18 and a half years ago.

18 and and a half years ago some time in the February a ten year old little girl comes home from her best friends house. "Daddy, Daddy Stephanie's dog just had puppies can we keep one?" In response "No Beth you can't have a dog," my dad tells me. Of course I don't take no for answer because I HAVE to have that one cutest little puppy of all. He had little circles around his eyes and he was sooooo cute. The next day I go to Stephanie's house with a plan in my head. I ask her parents if we can take two (I think it was two it might have just been the one) puppies to my house to show daddy and surely he can't say no then. Well we take them and off we go to convince daddy that we definitely have to keep this dog. I get home and show daddy just what a wonderful and cute puppy he is.

Well my plan worked with my sister's help of course. We got to take keep the puppy. Well we had to wait for a few more weeks because he wasn't old enough to leave his mom yet. Anyway I got to bring him home with me. Then there was the problem of well he needs a name. I wanted to name him rags and for a few days that what we called him. Don't ask why I wanted that name but I did. Then one day we were watching TV and a show came on it was called Mac and Mutley. Then that's when we chose Mutley. So it was set we had a dog and he was called Mutley.

It turned out to be a LOT harder work to a dog than I ever thought it would. At 10 years old no one can tell you it will be hard. Nothing is hard at that age because if you can't do then your parents will. There were many of those first nights when Mutley was home that I sat up playing with him and petting him and letting outside to go pee. Then of course was the horror of potty training. I cleaned up so many piles of dog crap from the dog it isn't even funny. I think of all the dogs I had to pick the one with the thickest head. He was really really stubborn. He didn't give up easily. He liked things his way. Eventually he stopped going in house. When we went away sometimes we were gone all day he never went potty in the house after he was potty trained. He could hold it for an amazing amount of time until he got old and just couldn't hold it. He never bit anyone well except my brother that one time. He loved to get out of the house and roam the neighborhood and eat every one's trash. He has chewed up his share of things. My mom had gotten me a porcelain doll for Christmas one year. I guess Mutley decided he wanted to play with it because he broke it. He loved to go out in the yard and play fetch and when he was done fetching he would run away and I would chase him all over the place trying to catch him again. We normally had him tied up when he was outside so he didn't run away. He enjoyed going outside to sit on the front porch and watch Riddlesburg wake up in the morning. He especially loved to bark at cats and well anything that moved really. He didn't like cats.

Anyway fast forward 18 years and some months later. Mutley has taken his last breaths. He died at home where he belongs. He was part of our family and my dad's only roommate for the last ummm lets see I have been away from home wow about 8 years. It seems like he had been there forever. He will be missed a lot. He had a good life I think. He was deaf couldn't hear a thing but still good for the most part. I guess it was just his time. We were blessed with 18 and a half years with him. I will miss him though not nearly as much as daddy will though.