Girlie is a Brittany spaniel who just turned 13 years old. She is quite a character and we have owned her (or rather she owns us) since she was born. She was born in our bedroom, we had her mother Lady and she was part of a litter of 9 puppies born that day.
Now unless you have seen baby Brittany’s you cannot imagine how cute they are! Move over Dalmatians, they should be doing stories about Brittany Spaniels. Not only are they so cute you can hardly stand it but they are great family dogs, I have never known one to be mean or grumpy really and they usually love kids and have lots of energy to go along with the children too.
Anyway, Girlie became a ring leader among the puppies leading them on excursions up the hill and into the snow and making me have to chase after them. They were born in the fall.
We found homes for all of them but we had decided we would keep Girlie and she has wrapped herself not only around our hearts but around our schedules and home as well.
For instance she knows when we are supposed to be home when you are late she is sitting at the top of the basement stairs waiting and gets all excited when you walk in but is also like well where have you been so long!
She has been the queen of guarding the yard for years and when the deer come into the yard I could say go get them out of the yard and she would chase the deer right to the edge of the yard and then come right back with a happy swagger like look what I did! That also applies to bears, foxes and other critters but in recent years she cannot see as well or hear and cannot move so fast so I won't let her do that, she could get hurt.
She lost one of her eyes due to Glaucoma and had to have surgery and ever since then we have called her the Pirate Dog , she is happy even without it although it took her awhile to get used to not seeing on one side.
Over the years she has participated in birthday parties that included treasure hunts, Easter egg hunts, hikes and camping trips and lots of trips to Wyoming, etc. She likes to scrub scrambled egg pans and is better than a scrubber pad.
She has even starred down a mountain lion and then dragged our youngest daughter back into the where she then proceeded to wet herself she was so scared, but she is a tireless and loyal brave friend.
Lately, she has decided that the couch is comfy and sneaks up there when we are not home, although since she cannot hear well anymore she does not hear us come in so we end up catching her!
The reason I write about her is to honor my dear friend who is as much a part of our family as anyone. Love you silly dog with a big heart.
Update: 4-17-13
A few months ago we had to put our sweet Girlie to sleep as her health took a big decline. We all miss here very much and she will always be in our hearts.
