Housecleaning

***Bernie and one of her many "monkeys." May, 2004***

Just a couple corrections and an addition to other posts tonight.

In my January 22 post, I recollected my "animal" history, theorizing on why "I am a dog"--and you know of what I mean when I say that. I overlooked my Grandma Roper's dog, Tracy, and her influence on my lifelong love of canines. Tracy was a mix, and I was toddler-ish when Grandma had Tracy. I remember spending many hours at Grandma's house playing with Tracy, specifically gleefully having Tracy fetch a tennis ball I would toss down the steps. Down goes Tracy, up comes Tracy. That's about all I remember, though I also recollect the joy I had in watching her while we played, I smiled and laughed a lot. Also, my uncle Tom had a Saint Bernard around that time, and I remember being fascinated by that oh so big, oh so friendly Toby. I used to ride on her back, and I could never figure out why in the world Uncle Tom didn't get another when Toby passed! Anyway, both Tracy and Toby certainly played a role in my affinity for the canine species.

Way early in this blog, I mentioned that Elizabeth had recently, at that time, reminded me of Bernie's love for hot dogs. So, I went out and bought some hot dogs for Bernie and bingo! She ate them up like a champ. Well, it was actually baloney that Elizabeth reminded me Bernie used to dig back in the day. Either way, that reminder was good, even if I messed it up. Bernie loves hot dogs and baloney! I don't know if I mentioned back then that I was stunned that Elizabeth called back when she did, about the time I learned Bernie had a month or so left. Elizabeth and I hadn't talked for a couple years, and it had always been on my mind that I'd have to track her down at some point after Bernie's passing to let her know. Instead, she beat me to the punch, as Bernie enjoyed the sunset of her life. The world works in mysterious ways.

Finally, I recently looked at Bernie's adoption papers, and according to them, she was eight months, not nine, old when I adopted her. Her January 31 birthday I made up since I didn't know her actual birth date. 

So Bernie turns 15 on Saturday. In honor of that, I'm going to try and dig up some prints of her long-ago self over the weekend. I'll post them here as I go along.