And then there are the dogs...

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Dogs are big in this house.

Well, only the one is large.
The favorite is smaller...
Don't tell Holley! (T's spelling)

Basset is the Queen, simply the best dog ever!

She wasn't the 1st.
That was Peaches, a yellow labrador retriever.
Solid and compact, she was a bouncy smiler and panter.
Delighted to touch the hems of our garments! (plagiarizing Jesus)

She sat obediently by the front door.
Sweet and loving, she'd bark her head off if the doorbell rang.
Labs cannot be contained from over-excited welcomes.

But no watch dog, she; if a burgler crept up, the tail would be wagging in a second!

She would sneak onto the couch if no one saw.

She'd scared us when she'd trot off and away, having never figured out the command "come!".

One time she brought home a big ole dried fish head!
One time she came rushing in the front door after an encounter with a skunk!

Two times she became pregnant by the rascal yellow lab next door! One time on our own premises while locked in the dog pen...made with "no climb" wire fencing and 8 foot posts, in cement! They were determined and a fence in between was no obstacle. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes we would have supposed another virgin birth.

We irresponsible owners ended up with a total of 18 beautiful yellow labbie babies and got to watch puppy birth and growth. Our children were delighted and experienced dog wranglers.

Topper, the pup that every prospective family chose, stayed with us, was strawberry blond, lanky and long legged. As mellow as Peaches was excitable.

We lost Peaches to a hit and run on our busy street.
We lost Topper to old creaky broken hips.
Today Opal is the Queen.

She has her own leather rocker. Sometimes guests sit down unaware that drool has dried on the arm. Opal is very gracious.

Bassets are disgusting.
They need pants.
They need drool bibs.
Their charm makes up for the above.

Opal, hogs the bed and has never slept alone in her 12 years!!

Holley is a rescue retriever.

We discovered there are reasons people give up their dogs, Holley is as hyperactive as Opal is loungy. She is a big goof, jumping all over everybody, whether they are uncomfortable or not.

We're not allowed to have birds because Holly will "retrieve" them and not with a "soft mouth" as advertised. The next home owner will need to sand and patch walls and refit the window screens, and may need to replace doors.

The fences won't need repair. They have been repaired a dozen times. She goes next door when she has dug out; we get calls, "Holley is in our house". She waits guiltily until we retrieve the retriever.

The long ago family dogs had their problems:
Barking Boo.
Garbage hound Tia.
Bicycle chasing Jenny.
Biting Sambo.
Sheep killing Ralphie.
Such a bunch of trouble, though we loved them all madly.

The next dog will not be problematic, no, rather little and obedient and no shedding, no jumping.

Anyone know where to find the perfect dog?

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