First Born

This is me and my first born.  (Sorry for the extreme close-up.  It was the best I could do tonight.)  We had been married less than 6 months and had barely lived in our new house for a month when I found her.  The backyard was begging for a dog and I was lonely. 

She was an eight week old puppy who had been surrendered at the humane society where my sister was working.  They didn't think she's pass the temperament test.  She was possession aggressive.  My sister wouldn't let me see her until she had passed. 

She did and she became my LBG, little baby girl.  She was nameless for a few days.  My husband wanted to name her Dizzle and I just couldn't let him do it.  One great attempt at convincing him I said, "Do you want to be a 30 year old yelling for your dog named Dizzle?"  He reminded me when he was 30 that he would have been just fine yelling for a dog named Dizzle.  At any rate she is Maddy. 

Maddy has been a spoiled dog for most of her life.  She got a lot of attention and went on a lot of walks, and runs during the 3 years I pretended to be a runner.  She slept on couches and sat in my lap without any competition.  She got to go for rides in the car and was chased around the house.  She got to sleep on the bed. 

She has always been my "brown shadow".  She is a mama's girl.  I often trip over her because she is always there.  She has been my crying buddy when we couldn't get pregnant.  She was my baby when I couldn't have my own.  She was/is my wintertime companion when my husband is gone most evenings coaching basketball.  She slept next to me during most of my three day bed rest after IVF.  She was the one thing I missed when I was stuck in the hospital on bed rest.  I cried into her fur when I came home baby less. 

She has done great with S and E, as I expected she would.  But she is getting older and grumpy.  The hardest part is everyone wants to be near me.  The kids want to be on my lap and Maddy wants to be right next to me, but she doesn't want the kids to touch her.  I think having two toddlers around has aged my little baby girl.  She will be 10 at the end of October.  (We picked Halloween to be her birthday because it is her favorite holiday.  She LOVES the little kids who come to the door.) 

We still see glimpses of the crazy Maddy she used to be.  Tonight she found a green tennis ball.  (Poor girl, all her toys are still packed away.)  She ran around the house like an 8 week old puppy.  Silly dog.  The kids thought it was hilarious and were a little bit afraid she was going to knock them over.  She'd run into the family room and back through the kitchen into the playroom and back again.  It was so funny.  I tried to get S and E to chase her but they weren't so sure about that.  They did get to throw the ball and she bounded after it.  I hope as the kids get older they get to play with Maddy.  She does love to be chased and does a great job of dropping the ball.  I hope they love her as much as I do.

I sit her typing while she lays next to me on the rug...always my brown shadow.