I won't ever forget 14 Christmas's ago, 1997, Dave surprised me with a precious Yorkshire puppy about as big as my hand. I was like a gleeful child. All Yorkies are black when they are born, so the name
Ann's Christmas Truffle. She was like having a chocolate drop in one hand. Many times through these years Truffles' name became Trouble, Truf, Truf Truf, & Boo to name a few.
We got her when she was 6 wks old. We also had a German Shepherd about 75 lbs named
Titus. Dave was so fearful that Titus would eat her alive. Well, Titus became the mother of this dog. All Truffle wanted to do was stay outside & play with Titus. Many times you would see Titus curled up in the sunshine with this black spot tumbling all over him. This is where we believe Truffle thought she was as big as Titus.
As Truffle got braver, & about a pound bigger, she became the
leader of the pair. We lived in the country at the time with a driveway about 2/10mi long. From time to time that little dog & her cohort in crime, would be found by the road after traveling down that long driveway. Before Truffle, Titus would never left his post by our back door.
One of Titus's favorite games was chasing after the soccer ball. Well, Truffle couldn't be left behind. I hope you can imagine this scenario. We would throw the soccer ball, Titus chases it, Truffle chases Titus. As she would get near Titus, this 2-3 lb dog would then start jumping up, while running mind you, to bite onto Titus's tail, which then became a ski for her; all the while Titus' tail would be going back & forth with this bump swinging on the end of it. It was too funny. We did get it on video. I now wished we would have sent the video into America's Most Funny Videos Show. I bet we would have won.
Do to her size, Truffle could get herself into some
jams. Several times I couldn't find her anywhere. We had just moved from our country home to our city home in Valdosta, leaving behind Titus. She had never been a yapper but she would have this annoying soft bark. She would make her noise, then you would wait for about 45 sec or more before another tiny whinny bark would come. It was like a dripping faucet. As soon as you would change your thought process or ignore her, here would come another whimper. Anyway, she got away & ended up in our neighbors garage all night. I sure felt odd having to walk over to our new neighbors before daylight to ask them if I could look in their garage for my 4 lb Yorkie. Sure enough, there she was. Another time she got caught in the pantry for a while.
First, Truffle was a country dog, then a city dog, then a mountain dog. She even loved the
beach. My side of the family loved going to St Augustine Beach for many years with my parents. My Daddy loved taking Truffle on her walks. There was a long bridge from our condominium to the beach. Underneath the bridge was plenty of plant life that housed snakes, turtles, & rabbits. Truffle would shake with excitement starring through the railings just to look at those rabbits. Well, Truffle had a memory & she would remember every year about those rabbits.
One beach trip Daddy was taking Truffle for a walk in the parking lot where all the ponds & ducks were. Daddy was so proud of himself that he was teaching Truffle to walk beside him WITHOUT a leash. I told Daddy I always wanted Truffle on a leash, plus the complex wanted all dogs on a leash. Well, Daddy didn't think Truffle would get away. You guessed it. Where did she run? To the rabbits. Yes, she was under the bridge with the snakes chasing the rabbits. My Daddy immediately ran up to our condo to get my niece to help him get Truffle. Obviously, he didn't come & get me, because he knew he was in trouble with me When they all came back, He looked at Truffle who was happy & panting her heart out, saying "Bad dog, Bad dog!" I immediately looked at my Daddy & said, "No, Bad Daddy, Bad Daddy!" They were a pair.
Truffle's most famous mountain story was when she chased after a
mother bear & her two very tiny cubs, & lived to tell about. Very briefly, Dave & I had gone our separate ways that evening. It was early Spring & the bears were just moving about in Highlands. They had gone to our door while we were out. Dave got home first, thank heavens! He let Truffle out to go do her thing, & off she went to chase those bears. Dave went after her in the woods. She yelped in pain & Dave knew she was dead. As Dave was looking for her dead body, he came across some huge bushes that he had to make a choice to decide which way to go. After his decision, he made his way through the thick woods. All of a sudden he felt some leaves & bark falling on his head. He looked up & there were the tinest bear cubs he ever saw. They must have been right out of the den. About that time he heard the mother bear huff. His next thought was, "I'm dead". He got out of there so fast & walked around the block. When he got home, there was Truf at the door, bleeding. That mother bear just picked Truffle up in her mouth & slung her. You could see the mouth bites of the bear on Truffle's back & stomach. Amazing how well Truffle healed up. What is so crazy about this story is that Truffle would go after them again. She never learned her lesson.
SOME OF TRUFFLE'S WAYS:
1. Truffle was a person in a dog suit.
2. She was definitely a lap dog. When Dave got home after a long day of working, he was ready to be by himself & veg. Well, Truffle prefered to show how much she luved Dave by laying in his lap. Dave just luved that. Wrong!
3. I loved seeing that tiny head pop up in the window of my car as she would be watching for me.
4. A. Truffle loved my parents. After a 6 hour drive, she knew when we were near their house. Truffle would start her whinning as soon as we would hit their neighborhood. When we arrived, I'd open the house door, & she would run throughout their house to say hello.
B. She loved sitting on the back of their couch looking for squirrels.
C. My Daddy put a basket on the front of his bike for Truffle to ride in. As soon as we would arrive, Truffle was ready for her bike ride.
D. All I had to say to her was, "Do you want to go see Grandpapa & Grandmama?" & she would go crazy.
5. Truffle never met a stranger unless, if it was another dog. She loved people & everyone loved her.
Everyone thought she was a puppy, up until she passed away.
6. Boy, could Truffle walk & hike. She walked about 3 mi, even up to the end of her life. When living in Highlands, she would hike Whiteside Mt about 2x a week during the Spring, Summer & Fall. Since we had moved to Maumelle, Truffle knew when Dave walked in the door from work that it was time to go for our walk.
7. She was my constant friend for 14 1/4 yrs. She slept with me, went on my errands with me, traveled
with me & naturally was there at home for me. She was a sweetheart.
Thank you Dave for giving me
this sweet friend.
Good-Bye sweet Friend
ann :)
Besides these dear friends that I turn to, I also have a dear childhood friend named Kay Wiggins Adham. Our lives have seemed to run parallel since we were born, & even more so since our fathers died three weeks apart at the end of last year & beginning of this year. Since then we have been in contact pretty frequently.
