bad dog daisy :: personal story

i'd like to introduce daisy.  i took this picture one day while we were walking.  correction:  while she was chasing squirrels and i was being pulled.  a millisecond before this shot, she was sitting [tolerating me] while i was thinking about what a nice walk [back-breaking-pull] we we're on.

daisy is the boss in our home. i like to think that i am, and i know "hubby" thinks he is, but it's really daisy. she tells us when to feed her, when to walk her, when to pet her and she grumbles at us when she's napping and we move her (even if it's in front of the door that we need to walk out of). and she's not subtle... and we better move fast.  her way of bossing us humans is nudging us with her 40lb self and whining in a high-pitch, non-stop, very annoying whine. if that doesn't work, she howls. it's kind of like a mix between a beagle howl and mariah carey. in fact, i had a girlfriend in college that used to call her mariah carey.

another "perk" about this little boss is her non-stop shedding. i could build a nest for 10,000 birds with all of the dog hair i've cleaned up over the years. it's ridiculous and gross. i remember when i got her, i was actually excited about having a short-hair, shedding dog because it meant i didn't have to pay for doggie haircuts.

at this point, i would pay obscene amounts of money to anyone that could stop the shedding.

daisy is also a thief. she isn't even sorry about stealing our breakfast right off the table when we get up for a fork or drink refill. she has also stolen more than one of the boys' stuffed animals to sleep with. before too long, i find the poor animal covered in hair, stuffing bursting out of the ripped body and an eye missing... buried in her dog bed. when i scold her, she looks at me with a proud smirk because she knows that little animal is now her new buddy. there's no way in hell i'm giving it back to the children at this point.

but... what can i say? as any good servant loves their boss, i love my daisy. i can't resist her big brown eyes and slightly graying face as she snuggles up to me each night. she's good to my boys and has tolerated their tugging and pulling and chasing without even a threat of a bite. she's my closest friend who has traveled from city to city with me and lived in 5 different homes with me. she doesn't judge and she always loves. unconditionally.

unconditional love... what a role model daisy is.