When we see the term “puppy love,” we generally think of young love, but you know, I think plenty of youngsters have experiencec puppy love in a more literal way. I know I did when I got my first puppy. I wanted to sleep out in the shed with that little pup. My parents would never let the puppy sleep inside with me. Farm dogs were outside dogs. That meant I was outside a lot too.
Mary had some of that kind of puppy love too as her dad took her on a surprise ride with him.
We had many pets as we were growing up—cats and dogs with a lot of farm animals sprinkled in. My favorite was a dog named Millie. That dog was a true treasure for me, because I had four other siblings, and I was the middle child who was chosen for a special evening task with Daddy one night.
That particular night, as all the other siblings headed to bed, Daddy pulled me aside, and Mom gave me a wink. Dad told me we were going to take a little surprise drive. I had no idea what he had in mind, but I always knew when Daddy took only one or two of us on an errand, it would become an adventure, and something special would come of it.
Without making a fuss, we drove down the gravel roads, then turned onto the highway, me standing on the seat next to Daddy in the pickup truck. (Nobody wore seatbelts in those days, and I’m not sure our truck even had them.) It was already dark when we turned down someone else’s driveway. A man saw our headlights, came out, and shook my daddy’s hand. By then I had jumped out of the truck and was following the two men as they took long steps to the barn that was lit up nearby.
The man opened the big barn door and I immediately heard the yips of…
Puppies! Roly-poly, playful, furry, cute-as-a-button puppies! There had to be about a dozen of them playing there, and I squealed with joy as I realized we were going to be taking one home! It didn’t take me long to pick out the puppy I wanted more than anything — the one who was vying for the most attention!
During the ride home, Daddy and I talked about what the new puppy should be named. We finally settled on “Millie.” It was a great pleasure the next morning for me to lead my brothers and sisters out to the barn for Daddy’s and my puppy surprise! What a fun escapade we had.
Millie was a sweet pup who grew to be a well-loved dog. Unfortunately, her life wasn’t as long as it could’ve been due to an accident out on the farm, but she made our lives happy, and she had the loving attention of five kids. My daddy knew she was special to us, so he helped us plan a little funeral for her under a nice tree so she would always be remembered.
Thank you, Mary, for sharing your story. I’m sure there were many tears on that day for Mary and her siblings. You said in a follow-up email that remembering Millie brought up some great memories and thoughts about your dad.
The picture is of my granddaughter a few years ago after her family adopted a dog from a humane shelter that turned out to be with pups. They had a great time taking care of those pups and found good homes for all of them, including adding one to their own family.
Did you ever have puppy love for a pet dog or maybe cat or horse?