my three dog life

Jake, baby Winnie Dixon & my golden girl Emma Jane Louise - Em for short circa 2003 at the Gulf Shore Picnic Park Beach

People say bad memories cause the most pain, 
but actually it's the good one's that drive you insane. iliketoquote.com

I received an email on the weekend from someone named Tim who'd been using a metal detector at the Gulf Shore Beach and found a dog tag, Jake's dog tag with my name & address & phone number but minus the postal code. He Googled my name, instead of calling me (of course he did after all it's 2014 ;-) found this blog, found out about Jake - the much adored red retriever and also that Jake had passed on. He wanted to know my postal code so he could return the dog tag to me - how sweet & thoughtful. He and I exchanged a few emails and a few photos - I sent him this one he sent me one of his swimming fetching Corgi's (a rarity apparently ;-)

Back in these seemingly carefree & wonderful three dog days I was so much crazier braver ! I would take all three of them in my tiny little blue hatchback Mazda 323 early in the morning to avoid people or disturbing any non-dog people they do exist among us - be warned !  We would park, walk down the huge, long, grassy hill & onto the beach and I would let all three of them off leash !!! today I shudder at the thought (in fact I've shuddered often at the memories of all the potentially awful what ifs that could've been but thankfully never were - a nasty symptom of my affliction).

As you can see by this photo of very happy, wet dogs we would walk, especially far at low tide when the sandbars stretched on & out forever, we would fetch sticks, they would swim. We would all pile back into the car and be home before 8:30 & they would be beat at least until mid to late afternoon.

When I was young, elementary school age my best friend was Joan Henry and I spent practically all my non-school time at her house, her very motherly mother Mabel would ply us with mugs of tea (always made fresh in a pot which was then covered in a homely knit tea cozy) and homemade tiger cookies. Joan had older brothers, something extremely exotic and thrilling for me who had only one sibling a younger sister. Her older brothers used to play The Best of Three Dog Night* on repeat - Joan and I got so we could sing along to every song. This was my favourite song. * oh youtube I think I love you as much as I love google