Maggie and Me

I couldn't resist the title. I just watched Marley and Me for the second time. I don't know why I did that to myself. For anyone who has not see it yet I don't want to ruin it, but I will tell you that I cried my eyes out. It just really hits home because I have a 13 year old lab named Maggie. I have to share her story with all the other dog lovers out there.

....In 1996, I was working at Market Basket on Hwy 105 in Beaumont and a customer came in saying that they thought they heard something crying outside. We all went outside to listen and sure enough there was a sound coming from a garbage can on the sidewalk. My manger started going through it and to everyone's surprise he found a little, shivering, scared, black, lab puppy.

Nobody could take her home so I said I would. I was still in high school at the time and we lived in Sour Lake. I still remember the first night I brought Maggie home. I got a bowl out and tried to give her some milk. The only problem was that she was so little she couldn't reach the milk even with a small bowl. So, I found the smallest bowl I could right out of my mom's china cabinet. She came home and saw a puppy drinking milk out of her nice china bowl. She still tells that story. She said I told her that we never use it so I didn't think she would mind (there's a lesson-use your nice china!)

We made a little place in the garage and put newspaper down for her and put her in there overnight. We had three other dogs over the years as I grew up so we knew that the next morning there would be a mess to clean up. We were shocked when we went to check on her in the morning and there was no mess-she didn't even use the restroom. We knew she was a special dog! She never did go to the bathroom in the garage. She basically house trained herself day one.

We took her to the vet and we were concerned that we didn't have a fence and we couldn't keep her inside. We had decided to find another home for her, but the vet said that she would not run away because we had saved her. All our other dogs would take off the minute you opened the gate so we didn't believe it. By now we were already too attached so we thought we would give it a try. Sure enough she stayed right by the house and she had been with us ever since. She was never put on a leash or fenced in!

There was not a leash law where we lived so it was perfect. She would stay in the garage and lay in the yard, but when we moved to Beaumont she had to be locked in the back yard for the first time ever. It broke our hearts because she would cry and cry to get out and finally we gave in. We lived on a dead end street near a school and we knew she would stay in our yard and garage. So, we kept her in the back yard while school was in and we let her out after school.

All of out neighbors just love her and they don't mind we let her out. She has become the neighborhood dog. About a month ago the doorbell rang and one of our neighbors was standing there in his suit, just home from work,and he said that Maggie was acting weird. He said that she always greets him when he gets home and he gives her a treat but that she wasn't acting like herself. He said that we don't really know how much Maggie means to him. He went on to say that he looks forward to coming home everyday and her being there and that she is the light of his life (I am not making this up, those are his exact words). After he left I looked outside and saw him kneeling in the wet grass in his suit and tie petting her and loving on her. It was so sweet! It's amazing the effect she has on people.

Watching Marley and Me just reminded me how blessed we are to have Maggie. She is the best dog in the world! I know everyone says that about their dog, but she really is :) She has become a part of our family. Those of you who have had a dog this long understand. I love this saying I saw once that said...I wish I were the person my dog thinks I am. Isn't that the truth! I like the end of the movie when it says, "A dog doesn't care if your rich or poor, dull or exciting, tall or short, they just love you unconditionally."