Isn't She Cute?

Isn't she the cutest? Well, so, ok, I'm partial to her.

This is "my" dog...Little Bear. I got her shortly after high school graduation, even though Dad said, "No dogs" when we left to house to go look at her.

I was depressed that year, quite badly. I had just been kicked out of college for being depressed, and was feeling quite the failure. And I thank God that this pup came into my life. She gave me friendship, and someone else to think about other than myself.

Little Bear was never able to forgive me when I went out and got a real job, and so became my mother's dog. She wouldn't give me the time of day for years. Until I moved out on my own...now she can't get enough of me when I visit. How typical!

She's going on 12 years-old now, which is like .. alot .. in dog years. She only ever had one litter up puppies...underneath my bed...in the middle of the January 1996 flood. She was fixed shortly after that, which is why she's a little bit of a porker in this photo which was taken Easter Sunday in my mother's driveway {{{And for those of you wondering --- those feet in the background belong to my mother!!}}}