Tuesday 6 September 2011

A Girl's Best Friend...



Tonight I would like to pay homage to my fur child Alfie. As, any girl can contest who has had a pooch pal, a dog is surely a girl's best friend.

Alfie Langer (no points for guessing who got to name the little fella) came into our world just under two years ago. I picked him from the litter because he was the biggest, most fun and in hindsight the most dominate as he pushed his little fur siblings out of the way to get the best part of puppy milk.  

Love at first sight...



Alfie - the ankle biter






This pup fitted our requirement of a hypo allergic dog, which basically means he doesn't shed to deal with Dr Love's allergies (as I write this he is sniffing on the couch - a result of Spring and pollen). He was also ridiculously cute and melted my heart at first glance - yes blind love at first sight.

Blind love because as this teeny fur ball grew he learnt how to rip up his bed, bark ALOT and how to gaze at you with those big brown puppy eyes to get you to throw the ball for the billionth time! However, I wouldn't trade him in for the world. After some complaints from one certain neighbour and lots of training, our chap has turned out mighty fine. 

The biggest thing about having a pooch pal is their constant love, admiration and companionship. Alfie doesn't care if I stuffed up at work today, or if I can't fit into my skinny jeans, or doesn't even complain when I leave mess around - no Alfie just loves me. It is that simple.

Alfie dressed up for our wedding
If I'm feeling blue and don't feel like getting out of bed (hey, we all have doona days), Alfie just gives me sloppy kisses and curls up next to me - and that is enough to keep the loneliness at bay. He is just part of us. Yesterday I came home from a trip to the movies and Alfie was over at his Nanna's house for a play-date when I returned. The house just seemed so quiet and weird. Something was missing. Finally, it dawned on me 'no Alfie following me around'. I thought 'this feeling might be a bit like having children and coming home while they are on a sleep over, makes housework a lot easier but you feel a bit lost'* 
He is one cool dawg



Alfie has Godparents, aunties, uncles and grandparents - yes, you may accuse me of being a yuppie pre-children who has nothing better to do and you may be correct. However, I too promised myself I will never be one of those people who refer to themselves as 'mummy' when talking to a canine - but now Alfie knows that I am his mummy and that is fine by me! ;-)

I know I am not the only one to feel this way about our best friends. How about Hachiko of Japan? Or Red Dog who has inspired a movie? Or the delightful Marley? Plus the infamous 'Dog on a tucker box' legend still amuses us today. Plus the thousands of strays across the globe such as the dogs that commute in Moscow - super intelligent, kind and adaptable.

Growing up I had two gorgeous dogs as pals - Bonnie and Lucky. They would come to us if we had fallen over and cried, and wouldn't mind that I hid in their kennel while playing 'hide and seek' with my siblings. Another member of our clan is Gracie, who really is my sister's dog, as she claimed this pooch by hiding her in her bed while mum yelled up the hallway 'that dog better not be in bed with you' - but it was no use - Miss J and Gracie are tight.  This relationship blossomed as Miss J grew up - her human friends would say 'J, we don't want to talk or see any more photos of Gracie', 'J, you can't come home from the club early because you miss Gracie'...
Gracie poo

Gracie may have lost her eye, but will never lose her sense of style!
Even 13 years later, Gracie has lost an eye, had countless operations, has no real teeth left and sometimes gets a case of the shakes - Miss J and Gracie's bond is stronger than ever. Miss J insists of Gracie still sharing her bed - even though she snores worse than an old man!


Yes, I do feel sorry for any girl who hasn't had the bond a canine companion can bring but here is a tip - if you can't have a dog, visit your local doggy park (fenced of dog run in most municipal areas) and just enjoy watching them play or even better volunteer as a walker at the RSPCA.

See ya,
M x

*Note: I'm sure it is very different having a human child - for one, you can't leave your kid in the backyard for hours if you want some peace and quiet and dogs do not answer back and say things like 'Why?’

DISCLAIMER: I'm referring to all nice dogs as 'all good dogs go to heaven', not mean dogs, do not like them at all!!

2 comments:

  1. Thanks for providing such a moving account of your life with Alfie M. As you know I was never a dog person, probably a cultural/bad childhood experience thing, but even I adore Alfie! I can see how much joy he brings into your life and who can argue against that? xx Rose

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  2. Thanks Rose! Yes he does bring us much joy but he does cause tears sometimes but at least he is not into eating shoes! ;-) Little Rose is one of his favourite people as well xx

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