From Kennel Help to Dog Driver

Two Footie of the week... Erin... aka Puglette

"Hey Gwen, is Erin adopted?" my friend Tony recently asked me after reading my blog....

I still remember the first time I laid eyes on Erin. I was desperately in need of some dog minding as my regular dog sitter was unavailable and I had some travel to do. Erin was recommended to me by a former 'step-father', cause she was "good with animals and worked in a pet store". I rolled my eyes at that one, thinking 'yeah, pet store... great'. But time went by, and no one was to be found so I gave her a call and we arranged for her to come to the house and meet the dogs. My first impression of this kid was a tiny cute blond waif, who showed up at my house in shorts and a t-shirt, wearing flip flops and sparkly eye shadow... and I thought "oh good grief, the dogs will walk all over her". But not liking to judge a book by its cover I brought her in, we talked for a bit, and I started to rethink my first impressions fast. Then I dressed her in coveralls (my friend Joe Loveless has since commented that Erin looks like a little kid wearing her Dad's clothes in those over sized coveralls) and proper dog yard shoes, and took her out to the dog yard. Oh yes, they were all over her, and she shrieked and laughed, and they wagged happily, bouncing around and off her, and I watched her start to take control of the situation. I think what did it for me, however was her comment that she would take photos of each of them on her cell-phone, so she could memorize their names. That was in 2008, and since then she has grown to become an integral part of the dog operation, but more so, one of my dearest friends. We've had our ups and downs, and certainly knocked heads a few times.... (thanks Mom, for your always wise advice about dealing with teenagers), and I've watched her become a trusted dog driver. Recently I pulled up at the border crossing and after reviewing my passport and dog records the guard said "you don't have your daughter with you this time?" which rendered me speechless for a moment! I thought of Tony's question, and would have to say "yes, Tony, she is!"

thanks to Ron Gasser for the photo