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	October 2010 NEW DOG "ROXANNE": Well, here we are again. Sam couldn't wait to get another dog. His requirements were that we get a puppy and it play with toys and him. My requirements were that it not be too big or hairy. So, on a bright fall day in October, we went to the shelter and this young scrap of 5-month old Terrier had just been been transferred up from Pueblo. We took a number, and while waiting to see her I realized I had decided her name. Always a bad sign for me becuase then I know we are getting a dog. She met all of our requirements and so we took her home. Of course our lives have not been the same. She has met all of Sam's requirements and more. She's eaten up nearly every toy we have given her. And she loves her family and never tries to run off. We should have many year's of fun with Roxanne.
	March 2005 NEW DOG "BUSTER": As I predicted, Sam insisted that we get a new dog and by March after many trips to the Animal Shelter we came home with a young scrap of white fur named Buster. He is some type of medium-small poodle type of mutt. He is extremely cute and fuzzy and already sleeps in Sam's bed and goes with us in the car at every opportunity. Update - On 16 July 2010 Mr. Buster passed away. It was grooming day. I knew when I took him out for his morning walk this was a bad day because he couldn't even walk around the 1/2 block. He had been throwing up the night before and I knew it wasn't good. I took him in to our wonderful groomer Deann and by 12pm I was getting frantic phone calls and texts and I just knew. I dropped Sam off at Grammy's, ran to the groomers, and by the time I got there he was having grand mal seizures. The ladies at the groomers were so nice, they were all crying over him, and I started crying!! We wrapped him in a towel and I took him to the vets. I said my goodbyes and let our boy go. Unfortunately I couldn't tell Sam until the next day. We cried but we knew this was coming so we were prepared. Bye-bye Cat-Dog.
	PUFFIN: Puffin was a minature schnauzer mutt who found me in park in 1988 while I was holding a daycare class for Campfire Girls and Boys in Alaska. We put an ad in the paper and registered her at the Animal Shelter but no one came to claim her. We kept her at the house and she was so sweet and loving. She would never run off. However, she seemed to be gaining weight. I tried cutting back her but she still got rounder and rounder. She seemed to be an older dog so I was worried that she might have a disease. Until, one day about a month later when I woke up to Puff yelping. When I looked at her it seemed that something was falling out of her (I thought maybe her intestines). I immediately called the vet and they said to wrap her in a warm towel and bring her in. When I rushed to get Puff she was confidently licking a new born puppy!! I called back the nurse at the vet and she and I nearly laughed 'til we cried. Shows you how much a city girl knows 'bout birthin! After those puppies were born I found out Puff's true nature. She was a rascally, smart dog who refused to learn anything at obedience class (she would literally sit down and not move) and would constantly run away if giving the opportunity. She was hyper and most people did not understand what I found so endearing about her. But I guess that is the way with pets. They worm their way into your heart and there they stay!! Puff moved back with me from Alaska to Colorado in 1991 and she stayed with me until February 1999. In September Puff developed some type of brain tumor and within six months she had died. I didn't know how much this little dogs death would affect me but I cried desperately for a week after her death. She had been with me so long and I missed her snuggling body on my bed when I slept (even though most of the time she was a cover hog!). My parents had Puff cremated for me and I keep her ashes in a window in my house along with her collar. These pictures are my favorites because they show how cute and wily my Puff could be.
	JOSEPHINE: Josie is a standard poodle mutt I found at the Anchorage Animal Shelter in January 1991. At the time I didn't know she was a poodle because her hair was all matted and I didn't even know she was white. I took her to the groomer after I got her and told him to wash her and then cut her like schnauzer. When I went to get her out stepped this beautiful, white, fluffy poodle. She stole my heart from that day forward. Jo is the exact opposite of Puff. She was quite, sweet, and NEVER ran away from the place where she was getting fed. When younger she used to bounce around the place like Tigger (imagine that with a 70 pound dog!). Jo is also very cuddly and loves to be petted. When Sam started walking and interacting with her I was worried because she's old and I thought she might try to bite him. But I should have known better. She let's Sam pull her ears and ride on her back like a pony. His favorite thing is to hold her tail and when she tries to wag it it tosses him around like "crack-the-whip". I love this old pooch and I will be devastated when she leaves us. I adopted her in 1991 so she's getting up there. She has slowed down in her old age (she can't run with me anymore) but she is still as sweet and loving as ever. Update - On 21 January 2005 Ms. Josephine passed away at the age of 15 years old. This was our last picture taken together. My hardest task as a Mom so far was having to tell Sam that our sweet girl had passed away. I took Sam to a nice park and we went to the bridge over the creek. I reminded him that we had spoken about one day that Ms. Josephine would die and not be with us anymore. I told him that day had finally come. I think he thought I was kidding because he didn't react and when I took off my sunglasses and he looked at my face, he could see my expression and just burst out into tears. We sat on that bridge together and cried and hugged each other. I was so moved that such a small person could feel such big emotions. To this day we say that Ms. Josephine lives with us in our hearts and we include her when we talk about our family. She was the best dog and friend a person could ever ask for. I know my young son will want to have a new dog soon; however, I don't know if I will ever be able to feel about another dog the way I did about my two girls.
	I had a beautiful stone engraved with My Girls' names on it and buried them in my garden. Goodbye old friends.

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