Murphy the Bed Dog

A few weeks ago I decided it was time for me to get another dog--one that would like to share my bed. You can own a dog, as opposed to a cat which owns you. I sent out e-mails, contacted rescue groups and posted fliers at veterinarians' offices seeking a Bed Dog. There were no responses. I responded to a classified ad about a small dog (not what I was looking for, though) and was referred to a rescuer named Gail Gentry. I went to her shop to look at some newly-rescued chihuahuas (too yippy!). Over in a cage in the corner, however, was this perky terrier named Murphy who had been rescued from somewhere out in the country. He was under treatment for heartworms and was being kept quiet--not easy to do with a terrier, but he was getting along OK. It was love at first sight. I "borrowed" him for an afternoon to have him meet the family. We all got along famously. After his next heartworm treatment I brought him home to stay with me. When he gets a clean bill of health from the vet he can be mine permanently.

Murphy is a funny fellow. He lies on the bed or in his crate most of the time. He sits by the door to the back yard and starts spinning around when he thinks I'm going to let him out. When I open the door and tell him he can go, he bounds across the deck and launches himself over the steps with great enthusiasm and optimism that he's finally going to catch that rabbit that lives in the berm or one of those pesky squirrels who jump from tree to tree high over head. He trots around the perimeter of the yard and through the trees, sniffing all the while, then returns to the door when his feet are cold or he just wants to hold down the covers of my bed again.

Often one ear is up while the other is down. He doesn't much care for cheap hard dog biscuits, but loves the very expensive dried chicken strips his rescuer fed him. He cowers in the presence of men (one probably abused him), but can't get close enough to women. Like many men, he wants to be petted and rubbed in strategic places in the mornings before we get out of bed.

He was a lucky find for me. We make a good pair.