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My little puppy dog is old.  She had her 11th birthday last week, and according to her breed she is 65 years old.

When I was younger, I had a pet fish, a pet hamster, then more fish and another hamster– but always wanted a dog.

We got to Texas and began looking around.  There were some cute dogs at the rescue shelter, and one stood out, but she was adopted before we could get her.

Then we looked at the pet stores, and found one at the Willowbrook Mall.  She was an Alaskan Malamute, I believe.  But she had bad breath.  And so I said no.

She just wasn’t right.

But then we came to a pet store across town and ran across the cutest little cocker spaniel puppy.  We held her, let her run around, one of us even dropped her…

Just right.

We brought her home in January of 2001.  She was too cute for words.  We thought of names.  In fact, we have a list of all the names we considered.

Nike, because she had a white swoosh on her back (but it’s long fuzzed out).  Dutchess.  Snoopy.  But eventually an amalgamation of options was our choice.

Lady Goldilocks Weppler- Goldie for short.

Over the years, she has come to know the kitchen/living room/backyard as her world.  She sometimes escapes past the gates to other parts of the house.

She also knows the vet, the groomers, Grandmas’s, and a bit of Waco.  But for the most part she has a small world, a small family.

She has never enjoyed walks or being with other dogs.   She is kinda lazy.  But she will get moving for food, fireworks, if Dad is outside, or for the pool robot.

Goldie loves all things orange- Oranges, Cheese, Carrots, Cheetos– but not orange pepper.

She knows a few tricks.  Close the door, which she does rarely.  High five, which she does passive aggressively.  And wait and sit and lay down.  And “No!”

She has her spot under the table by my feet or off to the side to watch Mom.  She sits on any and every couch, sometimes on the top, somehow in perfect balance.

She wears a little collar with a Baylor bandanna that shouts “Sic Em Bears!” and a little red heart tag that bears her names.  Often she has cute bows in her ears.

Oh, her ears.

Her ears have a bad wax build up.  And it got worse recently.  So the vet put some anti-biotic in her ears– and it looks like she might now be deaf.

It’s been coming for a while.  She’s had bad hearing, but could still hear.  But now you call her and she just can’t react.  It’s sad.

But she seems quite satisfied with the life we’ve given her.  She likes to sleep, and does so all the time.  She has pillows all over the place and always gets her spot.

She is chubby but not obese- at least right now.  She gets snacks but we don’t spoil her– any more.  She explores the backyard like a little kid, enjoying it all.

She also has her favorites in the family.  Grandma and Haskell are top notch, but among the Wepplers, it goes like this.

4. Me- I love Goldie, but she gets annoyed with me.  The others will say otherwise, but when she has her choice, she’ll go to someone else.  But I still love her.

3. Amanda- She is seldom here, which means for Goldie getting to hang out with her sister is a rare treat.  She is sweet and gentle with our old dog.

2. Dad- When he gets home, she is always up wagging her tail.  When he is working outside, she HAS to be there.  When he pets her, it’s like it’s Christmas.

1. Mom- Hands down.  We could argue about the other spots, but Mom is Goldie’s dream.  She feeds her, pets her, cleans her, lets her lie down with her.

Love is built up over time.  And Goldie has had the most time with Mom.  There is a special connection.

But likewise, Goldie has been here so long, she is a part of my life.  I will miss her once I’m gone further up north.  Who knows if she’ll miss me.

But that doesn’t matter.  She is still my wonderful puppy dog, Goldie.  She is old.  She snores.  But she is still our puppy dog- Goldie.