In Remembrance of Molly
In November, 1991, I drove up from Florida to Youngstown, Ohio to adopt a Portuguese Water Dog. I didn’t know what puppy from the litter I was going to choose but as I was playing with 4 of the puppies, out of the corner of my eye I saw a puppy huddling under the table. I asked about her and the breeder suggested I choose one of the other 4 as that puppy wasn’t very social with people or the other puppies. As soon as I heard that I immediately chose her. She was 10 weeks old. Her full name was Molly Mas Macho.
There were some rough times growing up, especially when her aggression was so bad she’d break through the screen and try and bite little old ladies who were walking home from the bus stop. And she’d act like Cujo if someone came close to the car. But I told her that no matter what, I’d stick by her. And she slowly found herself.
We did a little competition training, a little agility and some water training. We pretended to hunt at the local preserve which means she chased squirrels and ducks. She never caught one but she was very proud she was able to keep them off the ground.
We went to waterdog camp where she learned to jump out of canoes and off piers, swim underwater and retrieve stuff. She was a tremendous swimmer.
We traveled around the country doing dog training seminars and she loved the motels.
But her all-time favorite thing was visiting grade schools. My Paws for Peace program teaches children to be kind to one another by being kind to dogs. Molly was the star.
As the years passed, her eyesight began to deteriorate. While we were making a presentation in a grade school, she was asked to do her favorite trick of answering the phone and then throwing it in a waste basket when I said the words "bill collector." But I knew something was wrong when she missed her target. It took her three tries but she persevered and finally completed the trick. That was the last time she could see a waste basket. She went night blind at the age of 7. And she was totally blind at the age of 8. But she didn’t seem to care.
We spent 8 more wonderful, joyful years together. More than 16 in all. She helped teach all my other dogs what it meant to be a dog…and what it meant for me to be a better human…have fun, live in the moment and love everybody. She was simply awesome. I was blessed beyond words when she chose me.
Here’s to celebrating Molly.
Molly Owens
Born Sept. 28, 1991
Jumped over heaven’s gate
Thursday, May 15, 2008