Odie The Black Dog

This post is for those dog lovers who know their pet may be an animal but is truly one of the family.

Our dog Odie, is considered one of the kids and she acts like it. When my daughter has playdates she thinks they are there for her. When the girls go outside to play and leave her behind she cries at the door until they include her. We love how she has engrained herself in our family and even has little duties to perform, one of which is waiting at the garage door every morning ready to take Alex to school and bark at the neighborhood kids waiting to catch the school bus. They all know who Odie is and wave and send their greetings as we drive by. For those of you who have a dog you can not help but love their loyalty. They are always glad to see you at the end of the day and make sure you know it. They just want to be with you and love you unconditionally. The joy they bring to the family makes great memories.

I have fond memories growing up with a great dog named Solomon. He was a Chow/German Shepard mix who was abondoned by his mother at birth. She bit him on the head and he had an abcess by his eye when we took him in. I was twelve when we got him and he carried me through some rough times during the school years. Amazing how dogs can't speak to you in words but their eyes and actions show they're your best friend. My husband had the same expereince with his dog, a Sharpay he named Sharnay. He still has her collar and tags even though she's passed a long time now.

My husband and I had such a great experience with our pets we thought our daughter, who had been begging for a year to have a dog should be able to experience this fun-loving relationship for herself. It has been fun to watch both of them interact and grow up together. We are often asked by our daughter to tell the story of how Odie came in to our lives. We like telling it because we didn't choose Odie, she chose us, in fact we think she planned the whole thing from the beginning. We wanted a boy dog because that was what we were used to and boy dogs are not as much as a girl when purchased from a breeder. Odie had three other siblings that looked like her. Her twin was a boy and had the same markings. A little white snippet on the chest and one white patch on the foot. We chose the little boy and name him Odie, but he had to stay with his mom for another 2 weeks before we could take him home. The day arrived to pick up Odie and we get to the breeders house near dusk. A cute, outgoing puppy, energetic above all the rest makes its way over to us and my daughter picks it up and begins snuggling and bonding right away. I was writing out the check and my husband was chatting with the breeder over the papers. We were in ga-ga land over how cute the puppy was that we didn't check the under carraige for the most important marking of all. It was dark on the way home and late when we arrived. We let the puppy sleep and the next morning I took him out to go potty but he didn't go like a boy. I picked him up and noticed him was a her. We called the breeder immediately and she said it was our choice if we wanted to bring her back, by that time we were in love and the rest was history.

My daughter and I wrote an ode to Odie for fun one day hope you enjoy it!

Ode to Odie

The Black Dog

by: Chandra and Alex Brown

Dog...Black Dog!

You drive me crazy

Jumpin' on me

Rollin in the mud

Gettin' dirty

OOOO Dog...Black Dog!

Follow the dirt...

"That little squirt!"

Keep out of my pots

Don't touch my forget -me-nots

Grrr Dog...Black Dog!

Stop sneaking my dolls

under my bed

so you can chew

their neck from their head

Aarg...Black Dog!

Walking you seems more

like a tug-o-war

Slow down,

Who's keeping score?

BUT ALAS...

You have some fine qualities

That we'd like to see some more of

PLEASE!

Good Dod...Black Dog!

When you see a good treat

O the tricks you'll perform

Roll-over, Sit-down,

You bring on the charm!

Cute dog... Black Dog!

You're the black bullet

fast as can be

Chasing kids or a ball

is your cup of tea!

Sweet Dog...Black Dog!

Snuggling in bed,

Lickin' our heads...

waiting excitedly at the door

for our return

(SIGH...)

Dog...Black Dog

You are our best friend!