My Dogs.. 'Funny Faces' I've Loved.

Back in 1972 Donna Fargo sang that song.. and ever since, whenever I hear it, I always think of the dogs, and other pets I've loved throughout the journey of my lifetime. The lyrics of her song went like this...

• Funny face, I love you
  Funny face, I need you
  My whole world's wrapped up in you
  
  When the road I walk seems all uphill
  And the colors in my rainbow turn blue
  You kiss the tears away
  You smile at me and say
  "Funny face (funny face) I love you"
  
  Funny face, I love you
  Funny face, I need you
  These are the sweetest words I've ever heard
  Funny face, don't leave me
  Funny face, believe me
  My whole world's wrapped up in you
  
  And when I hurt your feelings as I sometimes do
  And I say those mean things that we know are not true
  You forgive my childish way
  You hold me close and say
  "Funny face (funny face) I love you"
  
  Funny face, I love you
  Funny face, I need you
  These are the sweetest words I've ever heard
  Funny face, don't leave me
  Funny face, believe me
  My whole world's wrapped up in you...

• It's so amazing how a persons' world can get wrapped up in 'them', and how, without even trying, they just wrap themselves around our hearts! They somehow level out our ongoing uphill battles of life by brightening up the blue days, and, almost uncannily, they always seem to know just when we need their kisses, leaving us unable to do anything but smile. They're always happy to see us, be with us, and they're so ready and willing to offer forgiveness .. something rarely seen in our fellow humans. They teach us, they love us, and yes.. eventually they're taken from us, and even though it hurts like hell.. they leave us an incomparable, and never-ending love that we'd never experienced had it not been for them.

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My very first dog was Jack, a German Shephard who I don't even remember. He passed on before I was five years old, but there were photos of him babysitting & guarding me as I played inside a playpen on the front lawn of the old homestead.. I'm so grateful for the love that dog lavished on me, because it gave me the foundation to love not just dogs, but all living things, and helped me to realize that love never dies, it just keeps on growing.. After Jack, there was another beautiful German Shephard named Cindy.. I remember napping, snuggled next to her on the living room floor, and playing endlessly together in our backyard. I also remember that she did not like the mailman, and that she had a litter of pups. My parents kept one of her pups, and called him Toby. He saw me through my teens, helped me say goodbye to Cindy when her time came, and helped my parents as they saw their kids leaving home one by one.

When I was in my later teens, I worked at a riding stables.. mostly cleaning stalls, and doing alot of dirty work. But I also got to exercise the horses who were boarded there, and riding them was well worth getting yelled at when I 'd return from work smelling like horse manure! The man who taught me the ropes at the stable was a nice older guy. My own grandparents had passed away long before I was born, so he was like a substitute grandpa. He owned a little chihuahua called Heller, (I remember laughing at my mom because she was so appalled at someone giving their dog a name like that!) Anyway, that feisty little guy spent most of his time prancing around and in-between the legs of all the horses at that stable, sometimes making quite a ruckus, but he never caused any injuries or real trouble. Sadly, my mentor passed away, and I was asked to give Heller a home. He and Toby didn't get along too well, but somehow we managed to keep the peace around the house until...

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Upon growing up and leaving home, I couldn't take Heller with me. He became increasingly aggressive with Toby, who was quite aged by then.. so my parents found Heller a new home with an older couple nearby. Toby was able to live out his remaining time with much needed peace and quiet, and Heller was happy with his new parents who lavished him with the attention he so craved and loved.

Later, after I was married with children, we adopted our first rescue dog, and Zeb taught my kids what I'd learned from Jack when I was young.. He was a very sweet sheltie, and was wonderful with the children.. They played together, slept together, and walked together ..but sadly, we were to learn a lesson that none of us were prepared for. On a sunny afternoon, when the kids were walking Zeb, a car pulled up behind them, and a man jumped out of the car. He snatched the leash and Zeb from the hands of my daughter, and was gone before they were even able to scream for help! Naturally we were all devastated and grief stricken.. and as it turned out, we never saw Zeb again. But we'd experienced his love and loyalty.. We'd learned a lesson about the times we were living in.. and I realized that it could have been one or all of my kids snatched away on that awful day!

After we recovered from the loss of Zeb, we adopted another rescue. Peppy was a two year-old Sheltie mix. We hired a sitter when we went to get him, and when we arrived home, he literally darted straight to the room where they were playing. The next hour was complete chaos, as the kids laughed & yelled, and Peppy barked his pleasure at finally finding the kids and home he'd apparently been dreaming of.. The kids were to grow up with Peppy at their sides constantly.. He taught them everything I'd hoped for, and more before he finally had to leave us at the age of 17 years..

When we were ready, we adopted our next rescue, Ichabod. He was a two year-old greyhound mix, who'd been rescued from an abusive owner. We all fell in love with him immediately, and settled in for what we planned to be another several years.. Unfortunately though, head injuries inflicted upon him by the previous owner had robbed Ichabod of his health.. and he was destined to live only another year.. we were sickened to see such a wonderful, and loving animal have to die at such a young age.

When my daughter was 16 years old, and driving some back roads while practicing for her first drivers license, she found an abandoned and terrified shepherd mix pup, who came to live with us next. My daughter named her Jazmine, and she grew to be a very big teddybear, who spent nearly every waking moment showering everyone around her with love, love, and more love. The highlight of her life was going to the groomers, who could do little to pretty her up, but she literally strutted after they attached bows to her head! She was such a hit there, that they actually kept her in the lobby to greet other customers as they arrived. Everyone adored her, and found her love to be infectious.. Jazmine was just like that. She lived 12 short years, but gave us more love during that time, than most humans ever give in a lifetime!

A few months after Jaz left us, on a crisp fall evening, I was sipping a cup of coffee, and pondering my upcoming birthday, when I heard my daughter arrive home. I heard the garage door open, then shut.. the side entrance door open, then shut. I shouted "Hi Honey!", and turned to greet her ..but instead of seeing her, the most adorable miniature schnauzer raced across the kitchen floor, and right up into my lap. His little stump of a tail was wagging so furiously, that I had to grab his butt to prevent him falling to the floor! "Happy Birthday!" shouted my daughter, and I was more than shocked, as I'd always known that it's unwise to give pets as surprise gifts. As it turned out though, Mylo was no mistake! He was 2 years old when his previous owner gave up on him because he ate her sofa.. and my daughter brought him home to me. Mylo never chewed anything after he came to live with us. Instead he came to be the closest thing to perfection one could ever hope for in a dog, except for one big problem ..he suffered from such intense separation anxiety that we couldn't leave home for more than a few hours before he'd park himself at the door awaiting our return. We finally realized the seriousness of the situation when after returning from a brief getaway, my daughter informed us that he'd refused to eat anything while we were away! She said that it didn't even appear that he'd taken any water, and that he wouldn't budge from his parking place by the front door.. So, we adopted a shelter dog to keep him company. Mylo fell in love with Jazmine #2 immediately, and we were able to go places once again, without fretting about any further hunger strikes. Once that hurdle was passed, Mylo continued his quest to be the perfect dog. He even helped care for my mother, who lived with us during her final 2 years of life.. fetching us, and things for her, laying on her feet which were always cold, keeping her company while I was busy around the house, making her laugh with that ever wagging stumpy tail of his.. and grieving with us when she passed on.. When Mylo was 15, China presented the USA with their gift of tainted dogfood products, which we unknowingly fed him. And due to his frailty at that age, as I held him in my arms, Mylo succumbed within less than 24 hours of being poisoned. It's still very painful to discuss what happened to Mylo..

almost done ..when it comes to canines, the love just keeps on growing!

From day#1, sweet longhair dachshund mix, Jazmine took her self-appointed job very seriously.. She concentrated on making Mylo happy, and was completely successful. She was always well mannered, and happy to be around the family, but no matter how we tried to deter her, she remained concentrated on Mylo. During the time my mother was with us, Jazmine waited patiently while he was busy with her, but was there to lavish attention on him whenever he took one of his few breaks outdoors, etc., and Mylo actually seemed to appreciate her patience while he worked, and her company during his breaks..

Shortly after my mother passed away, we began caring for our new granddaughter, who'd entered the world just a month before my mother died. On the days that the baby came, so did their dog.. a little pug mix. She was a feisty handful, who was extremely possessive of the baby, and her aggression was so disagreeable! Her name was Margarite, but due to her naughtiness, my daughter kept calling her a 'bugar' ~ and the name stuck. She's been Bugar ever since. Jaz did not appreciate Bugars' frequent attempts to monopolize Mylo's attention either, and were it not for Bugars desire to be near the baby, and Jazmines desire for peace at any price, there might have been some altercations... It was during this time frame that our other daughter and her husband decided to divorce, and their dog, a black lab, was left with no where to go. So, Tabitha came to live with us as well. She fit in quickly, as she'd visited with us many times before, and always seemed happy at our house. So we now had three dogs, and Bugar on the days my daughter worked.. Somehow, everyone got along, or at least tolerated one another for the sake of the humans they loved.. I can still feel the strain, trying to walk four dogs, two on either side of the stroller.. must've been quite the sight! but we did it daily for a few years, before Tabitha passed on at 12 years old.. and about a year before we lost Mylo.

Jazmine and Bugar were both getting on in years themselves by that time, and had finally begun to somewhat enjoy one anothers company. I was glad that Jazmine had become more assertive, and seemed more comfortable with her place in the family.. She'd always been the epitome of sweetness, and it made me happy to see that she was finally able to enjoy her own life... After 13 years, Jazmine went on to join Mylo, and I'm sure she's doing what she always loved most... looking after her favorite guy!!

The following year found us relocating to another state. Bugar made the move with us, and we were blessed with her presence for another year before at the age of 16, she too left us.

I didn't realize it at the time but I was to love three more 'funny faces' before I would no longer have the privilege of owning my own dog.

I still remember vowing to Logan that I would love him despite the fact that Mylo was a nearly impossible 'act to follow'. And of course, since so much love and loyalty had preceded and been passed to him, Logan was to become a bright and shining star likened to only ONE other whose name I keep only to myself. Logan was one was one of the very few who live ONLY for you.. One of those whose lives are always short.. and whose deaths are most devastating, almost as though they were angels loaned to us for only brief stays before God wanted them back.

Then there was Leo.. He was a rather grumpy 'stray' who wandered into my daughters yard in desperate need of help. He'd been on the streets so long and his fur was badly matted. He could barely open his mouth to take water, and the vet had to shave a lot of fur before they could even determine his gender. Leo would live with us for about eight years before he left us..

And finally, Flower, a very sweet and loving little Pekingese, completes the circle of canine love in my life. She'll travel the final roads of my journey with me.