Beau, Beau, Beau

Medical Update:  After a visit to the podiatrist and having x-rays taken, it is official.  My injured right pinkie toe is broken at the base of the toe.  As my friends have said cleaning and retirement can be dangerous. 

A Further Update:  I am waiting for confirmation from my mother but I have misnamed the dog in this post.  After thinking about today, I am beginning to think the dog's name was Bernie.  Doesn't change the sentiment of the story but I do so want to be accurate.

But I think I'll stop obsessing about my toes for awhile and jump into the Way Back Machine with Mr. Peabody and Sherman...

and go back to a time when Miss Emily was about eighteen months old.  We (Danny and I) decided to take her to Kentucky to see the great grandparents.  We just gloss over that two day car trip with a toddler and get to the point where we got to my mom and dad's home.

Now, at the time my parents and Mark (my brother)  had a dog named Beau.  I have known, but have since forgotten, what kind of dog he was.  But one thing is for sure, he was big.  Not just big but huge.  And apparently his breed of dog was used for herding smaller (of which there would be many animals).  I guess to Beau, Miss Emily was just another small animal for him to care for and watch.

That's Beau eating a cookie from Miss Emily's hand.  Notice that his mouth is big enough that if he wanted to he could put her entire head in his mouth. But instead he eats peacefully from her hand.

And here he lays on his back to her.

Of course the friendship between Beau and Miss Emily had a downside.  Every morning, at about 5:30 or so, Beau would go down  my parents two city block long driveway and chase the trucks on the road below.  Perfectly acceptable behavior for a dog.  However, Miss Emily would sneak out of her bed and join Beau in his morning chases! So let's get a mental picture.

Beau chasing a speeding pickup truck down a gravel road with Miss Emily running behind.

So one of the adults would have to get up and go with her, you know so she wouldn't get run over!

Beau has gone on to his reward but the memories live forever.