my three dog life

Monday, August 4, 2014


Jake, baby Winnie Dixon & my golden girl Emma Jane Louise - Em for short circa 2003 at the Gulf Shore Picnic Park Beach

People say bad memories cause the most pain, 
but actually it's the good one's that drive you insane. iliketoquote.com

I received an email on the weekend from someone named Tim who'd been using a metal detector at the Gulf Shore Beach and found a dog tag, Jake's dog tag with my name & address & phone number but minus the postal code. He Googled my name, instead of calling me (of course he did after all it's 2014 ;-) found this blog, found out about Jake - the much adored red retriever and also that Jake had passed on. He wanted to know my postal code so he could return the dog tag to me - how sweet & thoughtful. He and I exchanged a few emails and a few photos - I sent him this one he sent me one of his swimming fetching Corgi's (a rarity apparently ;-)

Back in these seemingly carefree & wonderful three dog days I was so much crazier braver ! I would take all three of them in my tiny little blue hatchback Mazda 323 early in the morning to avoid people or disturbing any non-dog people they do exist among us - be warned !  We would park, walk down the huge, long, grassy hill & onto the beach and I would let all three of them off leash !!! today I shudder at the thought (in fact I've shuddered often at the memories of all the potentially awful what ifs that could've been but thankfully never were - a nasty symptom of my affliction).

As you can see by this photo of very happy, wet dogs we would walk, especially far at low tide when the sandbars stretched on & out forever, we would fetch sticks, they would swim. We would all pile back into the car and be home before 8:30 & they would be beat at least until mid to late afternoon.

When I was young, elementary school age my best friend was Joan Henry and I spent practically all my non-school time at her house, her very motherly mother Mabel would ply us with mugs of tea (always made fresh in a pot which was then covered in a homely knit tea cozy) and homemade tiger cookies. Joan had older brothers, something extremely exotic and thrilling for me who had only one sibling a younger sister. Her older brothers used to play The Best of Three Dog Night* on repeat - Joan and I got so we could sing along to every song. This was my favourite song. * oh youtube I think I love you as much as I love google


4 comments:

  1. my fave on that album: Shambala

    how wonderful the dog tag was found

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  2. that's a pretty fantastic album !

    & how sweet of him to want to return it to me ...
    xoxo to you from les Gang

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  3. A wonderful photo of your three dogs, Winnie is so young and even then has those shagalicous legs!
    How kind and thoughtful of Tim to find you and return Jake's dog tag.
    Thank you for sharing your 'three dog days' with us.
    Emma Jane Louise is such a beautiful name, it was the name I had chosen for my daughter, my third child but sadly she didn't live to full term.
    It's OK dear Susan, I am alright, it was just so lovely to see her name.
    Love to all
    xoxoxo ♡

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  4. How kind of him to go to the trouble of finding you to return the tags. What a sweet memory.

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