This morning on Facebook I was nominated by a friend to do one of those 5 day Facebook posting challenges. Now I typically hate those kind of things, but this one was about dogs… and well, I love dogs.

Because I cannot follow directions, I modified the rules to suit my fancy. As I typed up probably my longest Facebook status ever, I thought no one is ever going to read all of this… if only there was a platform for long meandering thoughts and pictures.

Oh yeah, my blog.

So forgive me friends of Facebook, while I steal my own content to re-publish here. I can’t help myself. It’s been a busy work week with not much going on in the horse world due to rain, and truthfully when I write about these dogs I love so much I get a little misty eyed. Plus y’all have never “met” a few of my earlier canine friends, so let me introduce you to the five heart dogs of my life.

Honey the Wonder Setter

Honey was an Irish Setter mix my parents rescued before I was born, who eventually learned to love me but only after destroying many of my mother’s left shoes and panty hose in protest of my arrival. We used to wander through the neighborhood together in a way that I think is permanently lost on kids now. She stayed around our house without a fence or pen, and when we went on short weekend trips my parents would roll a giant bag of dog food open so she could eat out of it at her will and ask the neighbor’s to refill her water bowl. Honey lived to be 18.

Mocha the Labradozer

We got Mocha when I was in middle school and Honey was towards the end of her life. While Honey required no training or really attention, Mocha was the opposite. She was hyperactive and loved to snarf down as much stolen food as possible. In true Lab fashion, she ate through drywall and pulled metal bars of the fence up so she could escape out of the yard. Though not unlike a feral brown bear cub, Mocha was sweet and constantly happy in a way only Labs can be.

Eliot the Spaniel Rage

I picked Eliot’s breed, color, gender and name out before I even met him. He’s named after T.S. Eliot, and is my moody literary buddy. The most beautiful dog I’ll ever own, he’s perfect in my eyes even though his actions and behavior are decidedly UN-perfect. Still, I wanted a dog that thought I was the center of the universe and Eliot has always given me the gift of unfailing companionship and love.

BT the Companion

BT’s real name was Claudette, but that never stuck… so we called her BT for Boston Terrier. She was Tim’s dog, not mine and made sure I knew it. I was always second to Tim, and not even a close second. Still, she was a funny creature and made us laugh constantly with her attitude. For a little while the AKC was considering changing the Non-Sporting group (which Boston Terriers are in) to “Companionship Dogs”, which Tim and I thought was perfect for BT. Not one for exercise or extreme weather, she could constantly be found “companioning” with Tim while he worked or watched a movie or napped. I miss her deeply.

Pascale my Heart

Pascale is the mutt puppy that showed up at the barn at a time where we REALLY didn’t need a dog, but desperately wanted one anyway. She came into our lives with a goofy personality, high levels of energy and unending gratefulness for her new family. Pascale was BT’s best friend, and helped extend the life of our elder dog for years with all the playing they did together. When Tim died, Pascale protected me from the darkness in the way that only dogs can. She’s slept next to me every night since we lost him, and has not stopped making me laugh with her stellar personality and sense of humor. Pascale is proof that the right dogs find you when you need them.

Should we extend this Facebook challenge to the blogging world? Not much is faster to bring a smile on my face than dogs.

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