Maddie

She is a small dog with enough scrappy for a mutt five times her size. Brown, she is, with a black stripe down the middle of her back that reaches to the tip of her short tail. That tail is always wagging in its funny back and forth way. Hampered from a real good wag by the curl in it.

Some folks think as she must have some pug in her. Wouldn’t know it by her face though. Narrow-snouted but not as narrow as some and not as long as some, but not short either. Just about right really, if you must know. And eyebrows. Let’s talk eyebrows. Light tan and so expressive in a face that is dark brown. Her eyebrows are always moving.

Brown-eyed, she is, big-eyed too. You could get lost in her eyes.

She has sharp little teeth that she almost never shows. Because she doesn’t need to. She can stop other dogs in their tracks with just a look. Doesn’t matter how small she is. She’s got presence.

She almost never barks. When she does, it is high pitched and piercing and you can’t help but pay attention. But her growl is low and meaningful. And though it is quiet, it still means business and you know it. Dogs know it too.

She’s a dog you’d want with you just about anywhere you might go. She sees things you missed and smells things totally beyond human ken. Her nose is the most amazing thing. A little black button, wet and sensitive and always questing. It doesn’t miss a trick. It knows where the bunnies have been and where the squirrels have lingered. It knows where something met its end and when it had done that.

She has the biggest ears. Ears to match her scrappy. Semaphore ears that will tell you as much about what she’s thinking as you’d ever want to know. The hubby likes to say that we paid extra for those ears.

Her legs are a little too short and her back is a little too long for her ever to be called pretty. But plenty of folks, young and old, have called her cute. Exceptionally cute would be closer to the mark.

Her left kneecap slips a bit when she lopes, so she just doesn’t use that leg when doing that. Someone once said she looks like she’s skipping. But her knee is fine at the walk, trot, and flat out run. And fast. Fast doesn’t do her justice. Lightning fast says it better. And with those short little legs, you should just see how she corners. The most expensive sports car doesn’t have anything on her.

She has kind eyes and a smile a mile wide. Seeing her smile brings a smile to my face.

She’s energetic and enthusiastic. When she’s been left at home and we return, her greeting is like nothing you’ve ever seen. She’s so dang happy her little body can barely contain it. Makes it hard to leave her, yes it does.

She’s smart and has a great memory. Especially if food is involved. But really, she’s just plain smart. Learns things quick. Makes us look good. Yes she does.

She comes when you call, but she has a mind of her own. So you have to give her some time if she doesn’t come right on the spot. There might be something that needs some extra smelling or is just begging to be peed on. But you always know for sure she heard you. She’ll look your way, her eyebrows will go up, and her ears will say, “Gimme a minute.”

She loves to sit in your lap. She could do that for hours. She’s not big on hugs. But she’ll take a good massage any time of day. And she’s expert at flipping your hand with that button nose to let you know that you really haven’t yet scratched all the places that so desperately need scratching.

Saw her on an adoption website I did. Knew the moment I saw her that she was the one for us. There was just something in her pose and the look on her face. There was an aura around her that came through the Internet and flew right into my brain. I can’t explain it. The in-home interview went well and I fell in love with her the moment I laid eyes on her.

When we were approved to adopt her, it was a day I will never forget. Ran the gamut of emotions from despair because we didn’t have a fenced yard, to joy at the phone call saying we could have her.

If someone were to ask me to describe the perfect dog, I could do it in one word:  Maddie.