My Puppy

Back at my parent's house in Utah, is the 4th Stults' daughter- Miss Spankie. We have had her for over 10 years but even though a little gray is starting to appear, she will always be my puppy. Some of her other nicknames from me include "Spanks","Pups", and "Wolf Cub". As you can see, with her long hair, this terrier mix resembles a wolf cub.

I truly adore this dog- she has had a hard life. After being attacked by a huge dog not on a leash, Spankie had to have a full hip replacement and so her one back leg never fully recovered (she uses it a little). Then, to make matters worse, she has fairly bad arthritis. Given this, she has gotten to be meaner in her old age. My sisters are afraid to pet her because sometimes she growls at them. BUT, she has never done this with me. I spent a good amount of time rubbing her and cuddling with her.

I think that she likes me still because she knows that I will always take her on a walk. I run in the mornings and so she will see me getting ready and follow me around until I take her. She understands the words "you ready" and will immediately head for the door. Here she is on our walk from my visit last week with all of the pretty leaves in our neighborhood.
And how can you resist this face! Yes, as my dad says, this dog is "manipulative". She truly is so smart. She will go into the laundry room where we keep the treats and bark until she gets one- it is especially bad when we do laundry. Another funny thing she does is that since she has to take medicine, my parents put the pills in some meat. There was awhile where she didn't like some of the pills so she would manage to eat just the meat and spit out the pill. It made my mom so mad. My mom calls Spankie "The Toddler" since she can be so demanding at times.

For example, my parents take her on a walk in the evenings. They used to just go to the high school, but then she would refuse to get out of the car and they would have to drive around to another school or park before she would get out. And there has been multiple times where they would get home and she would refuse to get out of the car. The trick is that they cook some meat so she can smell it . . . and then say the prayer. Yes, my dog Spankie is a religious dog. She will not eat her food unless we say a prayer. Thus, if we are going out to eat, we still have to say a prayer so that she will eat. She can be in another room but once she hears us saying the prayer, she will run in and give a little bark to let us know she's here. Hilarious. These are just a few of the reasons why my puppy cracks me up. And who couldn't love a face like this