Just about this exact time of year in 1996 — give or take a week — my wife, Danny, and I began the search for “Baby Dog.” It was nearing my daughter’s third birthday and she had been heavily influenced by the Disney movie “Lady and the Tramp.” Or, that’s what I wrote in this space that week anyway. I was thinking about that search this week and went back into my archives to see what I actually had to say about it at the time.
It appears, per my writing then, that Rachel-Johanna had asked for a puppy, for “Baby Dog” and wanted one that would pop out of a bow-tied box just like on that movie. Every little girl needs a puppy, we thought, and we wanted one that would be short-haired, small-sized, and easily cared for.
Back then there was no Internet, no Google, no Facebook Marketplace, none of the social sites of today where one can type in a couple of words and a whole host of possibilities pops up on a telephone or the computer screen. Back then there were classified ads in the newspapers and the Tradewinds sale paper.
We turned to those and our quest led us to a little place outside of Bruce, MS, and a lady in a mobile home with a bunch of little, tiny, teacup Chihuahuas. They were all about the size of a rat and as cute as could be.
The one that caught our eye, though, was different than all the rest. She was a black and white polka-dotted pup, she was the runt of the litter, and she is the one we got. Trixie Pearl was her name and she was just about as carefree as they come.
Trix went everywhere Rachel-Johanna went, even riding in the basket on the front of her bicycle, up and down the road. For 16 years Trix went everywhere we all went, from camping in the mountains, to the beach house on the beach, to back home again.
There are dozens and dozens of photographs in our house of Trix and Rachel-Johanna over the years. Both of them liked to sleep a lot and often were seen curled up on the couch, or on the floor in front of the fireplace together. Trix had the pointiest big black ears — the biggest part of her just about — and their velvet texture was quite captivating to my daughter. When she wasn’t asleep she would stroke those ears and for some strange reason, I hate to admit, could be seen with one in her mouth every now and then.
For the past 25 years, it seems we have just about always had three dogs. By the time Trixie died we had added another little Chihuahua, Dottie, whom my daughter claimed she rescued from a bad life, but I think she just bought it from a tricky lady. We had also added a Yorkie, Bella, whom my daughter thought she had to have because a middle school teacher she loved had one. Bella was a sweetie.
Then, believe it or not, in college Rachel-Johanna fell for the rescue scam again and purchased/saved another Chihuahua, Roxie, whom still lives with us even though our daughter does not.
Bella died of old age a couple of years ago, and Dottie is getting on up there these days too. Rox is just kind of weird, but we love her just the same.
This week, once again, we are on a quest for a baby dog. Twenty-six years later we’ll be hitting the road for North Alabama to pick up a German Shorthaired Pointer pup that will be named Lady.
Baby dog shopping is a lot easier in 2022 than it was in 1996. Rachel-Johanna has already picked out Lady, from photos on her cell phone and she will come vaccinated, and chipped, and all that good stuff. She’s pretty. She is definitely not a rescue dog. And, she is definitely not coming to live with her grandparents. She can come visit anytime, but now that we are down to two pups, the weird one and the old one, I think we are just fine and dandy.
Danny and I do look forward to meeting Lady, and we did buy her a lot of goodies at Christmas when we held the “puppy reveal” and the baby puppy shower.
What is the phrase, I’m looking for? Wrapped around her little finger? Yep, that’s it! After all these years it still applies.
Welcome to the family, baby dog. Welcome to the family, Miss Lady, ma’am.
