Happy 10th Birthday Dixie Dog

I was just reminded today is Dixie's 10th birthday. Mark and I got her as a puppy the December after we were married. I wanted a puppy and we had been looking for one. I really wanted a Siberian Husky and was planning on naming it Tonka. We visited a Husky family one night after driving all the way to Dickinson, but left without a puppy. I watched the mom and dad dogs and became almost scared at how active and strong they are. These dogs could leap like deer and could almost clear the backyard fence. The owners were very helpful by informing us the kind of care these dogs need. I remember they even said you would never be able to let it off the leash because it would run and never stop. I think we made the right decision. I still think Huskies are beautiful dogs.

If I remember correctly Mark's dad knew of someone giving away Golden Retriever pups. We went to the house, which wasn't very clean at all, and picked out the most laid back girl in the litter. The mom was a full yellow Golden Retriever and the dad was a mixed black long haired Retriever. Dixie was a ball of golden fur and I immediately fell in love. Mark picked the name Dixie (I assume after the Dixie Chicken). Tonka just didn't seem to fit. I gave her a middle name of Dixie Belle, but we just call her Dixie.

I remember not long after we got her, I called in sick 2 days because I couldn't bare to leave the poor little thing alone all day. We lived in our rent house (Pine Lake Drive) after we first married. She stayed in the pink bathroom at first when we went to work. Then she graduated to the kitchen with baby gates. After she ripped up the linoleum floor by the back door and managed to get the refrigerator open and help herself to lunch, she graduated to the back yard. It was a nice yard. Our laundry room was off of the garage and we left that door open for her. During the winter she had warm blankets in there that she seemed to only drag in the yard and chew. During the summer she had a baby pool to keep her cool. She led the good life.

Dixie gained a playmate 2 years later when we got Lady from our neighbor. Dixie and Lady love each other and play so well together. They slept in between Mark and I at night in our queen size bed up until Keaton was born. And I literally mean born. I remember being 9 months pregnant with Dixie and Lady both still sleeping in our queen size bed with us. (I guess that was getting us ready for kids, LOL) Once the baby was born, they were not allowed on the furniture.

Dixie has always loved water. When she was a puppy Jane and Ed watched her at their house while we were in Puerto Rico. She swam everyday, even jumping off the diving board. Her hair clogged their pool filter that had to be replaced. She loves to wallow in mud puddles and even taught Lady to love it also. I have a great picture of them in a huge mud puddle together.

They both accepted the kids easily as they were demoted in the family from our 1st children. They are great with the kids and tolerate the noise and their running around. Dixie is very happy go lucky and never meets a stranger. Lady is the protective one of the two, but they both can get into mischief. Poor little animals that wander into our yard, it never ends well for them. Dixie and Lady have killed possums, squirrels, birds, rats, a skunk, and even had their way with a cat until Mark intervened. The skunk, a fun story I will try to make short. After Cort was born, the dogs slept outside for a while. And one night a skunk made the mistake of entering our yard. We heard the noise around 4:00 am and Mark fell to his knees at the back door from the smell. It was horrid. Needless to say the dogs were banned to the yard for a good month until the smell wore off. No matter how many times you bathe the dog or in what....the smell stays.

Over the years, Dixie has been overweight (averaging 85-95 lbs, Lady is 55 lbs) for a female Golden Retriever and also had some hip arthritis issues. Now as she is getting older I suppose her activity in the back yard every day is declining so she finds entertainment in licking her front legs. This creates hot spots that she will lick until it is raw. We bandage her legs, but she will have chewed through the bandage by the next day.

One of my favorite memories of Dixie is back again at our rent house. We left her in the kitchen when we went out for dinner one night. While we were gone, she helped herself to the Cheez-Its on the counter. When we returned home she greeted us with a cheesy smile!!!

Happy Birthday Dixie Dog, we love you!