in memory of a great friend

To all those I adore,

My dog of 15 years died yesturday. For those of you that never met Molly she was a pure breed cocker spanial. She was a good dog all around. She may have barked a lot in her youth, but it was mostly out of excitement. We got molly on a cold Christmas morning, my parents had to turn the radio on their bedroom alarm clock on so my brothers and I could not hear her wimpers and whines the night before Christmas. The next morning after ripping and tearing through our presents my mother went into our kitchen (this was before the remodel) and opened the door to the sun porch and out comes running the tiniest little puppy. She ran to Jeff first as I recall and of course he instantly thought it was his dog since he had been asking for one for years. She went around the room sniffing and licking everyone in turn. She was the cutest puppy.

As years passed she developed her odd personality. She learned a trick every superbowl as my mom would sit and feed her Cherios while patiently teaching her to sit-up, lay down, and roll over. Soon Molly had learned to only do tricks for treats. You could tell her to lay down but after you said, "good dog" she would instantly bolt for the cupboard where her treats were stored. I may have called her a dumb dog many times but we all new she was very cunning and smart.

She was one of those rare dogs that are afraid of water. I recall going to the John Day River to go water skiing and coming back to shore and trying to get Molly to come and swim with us. My brothers and I coaxed her for what seemed like hours to finally come in. One paw at a time she slowly paddled out to us, and of course right before she got to us she turned around and swam back only to run back to where my mother sat in a lawn chair.

Anyone who has ever played fetch with Molly would recognize this behavior, she always was a tease and a butthead but still very fun to play with. You could throw a ball and she would sprint after it grab it and start to run back to you like any other dog, then as she approached closer she would see you start to bend over to grab the ball and she would veer off in another direction. I always called this her victory lap, however, she took many laps. At this point in the game you had two choices, one you could call out to her and see if she may come back to you and give you the ball, or the more likely one, you chased her. Even when she would bring the ball back she was such a butt she would drop it five feet from your feet and even then it was a challenge to race to the ball before she decided to pick it up again. I think Molly figured if she had to run so did you.

Molly was a dog who not only liked to be chased she also loved to chase you. All you had to do was start running and she instantly knew it was time to play. I am sure everyone can remember in my house is the useless hallway that is but the stairway. I remember we would run around that trying to outsmart Molly and hide from her, she would listen and try to hear which side you were on and then come after you running as fast as she could. Socks were always hard to play in and eventually she would catch you and immediately bark at you and jump on you and lick and knaw at you because she was excited. She loved to do that a kind of hide and seek game. I recall once hiding from her by putting a pillow over my face, she looked everywhere for me. She went upstairs looking for me, then back down, then up again, and finally when she came down again I had removed the pillow and she came at me barking and wagging her butt.

Everyone knows Molly couldn't hurt a fly. Probably because she forgot how to almost immediately after getting her. We would always play with her and she would clamp her mouth around your hand or arm but you would never feel anything because she never played too rough. She was very good at knowing how to play nice. I recall our neighbor's Rottweiler Dolly got out one day and was in our yard and Molly went tearing after her barking like she was rabid. She was at Dolly's ankle trying to remember how to attack but all she could do is bark real loud and act tough. Luckily Dolly was very docile and simply sniffed Molly. But that was my dog, she was funny all around.

In her later years she developed health problems. One of her ears eventually got so bad that they had to perform surgery on it and she lost all hearing in it. But there was no real difference in her because Molly chose when she wanted to listen and when she didn't. She really listened when the word "bone" was involved. Her health continued to get worse and her heart started to gather fluid around it. My parents had to feed her several pills a day for it. Eventually she lost hearing all together. But she never stopped being a loving dog, it meant the world to her if you would rub her ears for her you were her best friend. Eventually the fluid around her got to great for her to bear and her body started to shutdown. It got so bad that yesturday she could not walk across the room and my father took her to the vet, where it was determined best to put her down so she would not suffer anymore than she already had.

Molly was a very good dog and I will miss her very much. She was always a comfort when you needed one. She was a pain sometimes but overall she was an wonderful dog. I have many good memories of her and will cherish them forever.

Rest in peace Molly Tamale Wingfield, we will miss you. You truly were man's best friend.
Love and kisses,Rick

To leave you with a quote:
"A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself."
~Josh Billings

p.s. Sorry I do not have anymore pictures of her, I will try to dig some up.