Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Unfit Parents

They told us we were unfit parents. That hurt. But maybe they were right. I will let you decide. Here are our stories.

Hannah
I can still remember the day we brought Hannah home. Megan claimed ownership, but all three girls were so excited to have her.


When we moved to the country, we thought Hannah would relish the space. Unfortunately, two months after we moved, she was hit by a truck and killed. We think she was chasing a rabbit.


Megan was crushed. She grieved deeply for her dog. We decided to bury her out beside the pines. However, Gary didn't dig the grave deeply enough and well, I still remember one of the girls running into the house, screaming, "the ground is moving, the ground is moving." Apparently, maggots were doing what maggots do, only usually they do it 6 feet deeper.
Reba
Then came Reba. I only have two memories of Reba and one was in a previous post. The other was when we had Brace and Brenda and their kids overnight. Leslie and Brett opted to sleep outside in our tent and stocked it with their sleeping bags, snacks, their student Bibles (aww, such good kids), and other paraphernalia.
The next morning they came in for breakfast and when they went back out, they found that Reba had literally chewed up everything in the tent. All ten of us ran out to see the damage. There was polyfil stuffing all over the place from chewed up pillows and sleeping bags. Empty snack bags were in shreds. Even their student Bibles were chewed up. (Gives "feeding on the Word" new meaning!)
Gary immediately rounded up Reba and locked her in her kennel just outside the garage. One by one, we followed each other back into the house, and as each of us passed the kennel, you could hear, "Bad dog, Reba!" or "Dumb dog", or "BAAAAD!" Ten scoldings from ten people was probably more than that dog could take. I think she ran away soon after.
Cocoa
Cocoa was a chocolate lab. She was the prettiest dog we had, and the dumbest. Except for Reba, who was dumber. I don't really remember much about Cocoa. She ran away, too.
Bailey
Bailey was my personal favorite. She was the only that did her "business" back in the trees so there was never the chance of mowing over it, or stepping in it. Bailey was the most content of all of our dogs. That is, until the neighbor's new dog led her astray. Bailey had never wandered until "new dog" showed her that there was more to her world than our yard. That was the beginning of the end. She would be gone more and more until one day she never came back.
Well, those are our stories. I think we do better with grandchildren than we do with dogs. At least we haven't lost any of them!

7 comments:

  1. I was excited to see a new post from Marla! Long time no see!!

    Love the post! The only dog I think I remember was Bailey :)

    (Hannah story was really funny!)

    Sarah

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  2. i have been thinking lately how long it's been. thanks for the smiles. :)

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  3. I think luck with dogs growing up was something similar. One includes our neighbors prize-winning chickens and another was deaf and had asthma and therefore got hit on the road b/c he couldn't hear the cars coming!! The guy felt so bad but we didn't really care! Great parents as well!

    ashley

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  4. Marla!!! You posted!!! I LOVED these stories...you truly have a gift in writing!! Oh dogs...and little girls...and Gary...guarantees for good stories! :)

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  5. Yeah! A slice of watermelon is back in business...or is it season?!

    Loved the stories...they made me smile a big smile :)

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  6. laughing..I bet that dog felt terrible since you all are sooo good at scowling and scolding...that is such a funny picture!
    You need to post more often! love it!

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  7. Wow, Marla May posted!! I thought maybe I have been missing them...until I scrolled down...I remembered the last story :)! Welcome back to blogging...i love your stories. I love you.

    Barb G

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