In January of 2006, we adopted our lovely dog, Daisy, from a colleague. Daisy was the shy dog of the litter, and we nearly fell on her, trying to get her to come to us. She whimpered all the way home while we excitedly discussed her name. No matter what we suggested, we finally accepted the fact that her given name-Daisy-fit her best. I'd always thought my first dog would have a literary name, and I finally realized there was a Daisy Buchanan in The Great Gatsby, so I agreed that Daisy would be the perfect name for our new dog.
Daisy is a caramel colored dog with chocolate brown eyes, white tipped paws, and a long white spot on her chest. Her tail curls up and her ears are large and floppy. Daisy hates confinement, which is why putting her into a crate was such a bad idea. She'd pee and poop in her crate, and then she'd huddle in a corner until I came home. We learned quickly that if Daisy doesn't want to do something, she's not going to do it. In that she is much like the rest of us; it's hard to make us do what we don't want to do.
9 months after we adopted Daisy, we adopted another dog to help her learn to be a dog. She, up to that point, had destroyed our yard with digging and eating anything made of wood. She destroyed the fence line as she ran up and down all day long, barking at the dogs next door. Our house was equally unlucky. When left to her own devices, she would sit on the back of the couch, eat batteries, pee in the bathtub, and eat our son's toys. An older dog, a dog we named Jesse after Uncle Jesse of the Duke's of Hazzard,was our best bet to help Daisy figure out what it meant to be a dog.
Jesse taught Daisy a great deal, and when he died a few years later, Daisy assumed her position as 'head dog' of our little family. She keeps us in line; she mothers us, telling us what to do. She follows me everywhere. It's a bit like having another child in the house because I'm never alone, even in the bathroom. She sleeps on our bed, protects our house, and reminds us to walk her regularly. With the installation of dog doors, Daisy is now able to stay in the house with access to the outside.
She also loves to be out in the snow, and there's never a shoveling experience that doesn't involve Daisy "helping" in her Daisy way...chasing the shovel, eating snow, jumping into snow piles. Another of her loves is sitting in front of the screen door in the summer, smelling summer's life. When we sit out front, Daisy likes to sit with us, watching life go back and forth. It doesn't matter where we are, Daisy is nearby.
Walks are always adventures with Daisy on the leash. She likes to bark all the way down the street, letting all the other dogs know that Daisy's on a walk. She hates small dogs, so she will always charge them, nearly pulling our arms off in her attempts to fight them. She loves to play with other dogs though and has rarely met a dog she didn't like. We explore all sorts of areas together, and Daisy is always sad when a walk is over.
Surprisingly, Daisy has some best doggie friends: Titus from down the street who looks like her brother; Spirit from up the street; Patience who is always getting out of her yard and coming into ours...but she lives around the corner. Her best friend is Buddy, who is so short and squat, Daisy can stand over him. She likes going to his house as much as he likes coming to her house to play.
Daisy has changed our lives immeasurably. We have become a family of dog lovers, who talk to their dog as though she truly understands what we say. Daisy isn't often left behind since she loves walks; she doesn't like camping as much as we do, however, but she'll grudgingly go because she can ride in the truck and be with us. Ultimately, being with us is Daisy's priority. And we are a better family because of her.
