My Dog

I begged and begged my parents for a dog. Finally, they caved in and we made a trip to the local SPCA to rescue a dog. So on my brother’s 16th birthday I got a dog. We brought home what they told us was a cockerdoodle, he was not a cockerdoodle but he was cute.

I was 11 years old and completely in love with my puppy but could not think of a name for him.

For several days everyone in the family kept suggesting names but nothing really seemed to fit. In the meantime we just called him puppy. He was a wild and crazy dog so we were always calling him our silly puppy. My brother suggested Buddy. I tried it out calling him Silly Buddy but that just didn’t seem to be his name. I totally considered just naming him Silly Puppy Dog as it was a good enough name as any but thought it might get confusing when we took him out and people asked what his name was.

stranger: “What’s your dog’s name?”

me: “Silly Puppy Dog”

stranger: “ummm…..”

Yeah I know. I was 11 years old and shouldn’t have been talking to strangers in the first place.

Anyway. Someone mentioned that it sounded like I was calling him Silly Putty, you know the silicone polymer that was created by accident during World War II as a substitute for rubber but is now sold as a children’s toy by Crayola.

Silly Putty, I thought that would be a funny name for a dog.

But I still couldn’t make up my mind.

Puppy, Buddy, Putty, Puddy.

That’s it Puddy!

We will name the dog Puddy.
My Silly Puddy!

Puddy was a good dog. He was all sorts of crazy but faithful and loving. Most importantly he was my dog. He slept in my room. We went for walks together. We cuddled on the floor and watched TV together.

Everyone in our family loved Puddy. We even included him in our family photos. Everyone pitched in to take care of Puddy. My mom was forgiving when he chewed up the legs to her dining room chairs. My brother tried to use the dog to pick up girls. My dad pretended like he didn’t care for the dog but he secretly loved that dog. When I went away to college my parents took care of Puddy.

As Puddy got older he calmed down a lot and started to suffer the effects of old age. finally in the late 2000’s we had to put him to sleep. He was suffering from several different ailments but he would have seizures and strokes that left him almost incapacitated. It was a sad day but we all knew it was best for him.

It’s funny how a dog can impact and entire family so deeply. For 13 years he was my best friend. I’m glad that my husband had the pleasure of meeting Puddy before he passed. I don’t think I could have explained how much that dog meant to me. I still don’t think I can express how great my silly puppy was.

Puddy was a great dog and I will always have fond memories of him.

I am blogging about dogs as a part of the “What’s in a Name?” Campaign brought to you by dog bark collar. No matter their name, dogs love their human companions unconditionally.

This post is sponsored by Dog Bark Collar. The opinions expressed in this post are my own and not influence by the company.