Writer's Workshop - Five Dogs

For Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop today I chose prompt #2:

"List the names of five dogs from your lifetime. Write about why one sparks a stronger memory to you than the others."

When I was growing up, our dogs were:

1. Anja

2. Gleda

3. Charlie

My dogs now are:

4. Lucia

5. Lily

Anja and Gleda were Norwegian Elkhounds. Thus the Norwegian names. Anja means "favor or grace." Gleda means "one who is happy."

Charlie, who was a beagle-mutt-mix, got her name from the park where we bought her - Charlotten Park. There was a vegetable stand that said, "Puppies and Produce." Who could pass that up?

So Charlie became our very own.

She was an awesome, small dog with a big personality! She had a beagle nose and a penchant for getting into trouble.

One of her "incidents" occurred when my father was getting ready for a backpacking trip out west.

Charlie carefully opened his backpack, slid out a freeze-dried food package, and ate an entire Mexican Dinner for Two. The next day, she lay around bloated and ill, but with a smile on her doggy face.

Another time, Charlie jumped onto a chair, then onto the kitchen counter, where she discovered a pie. But after one bite of the Mincemeat Pie, Charlie decided she liked the crust better than the inside. She nibbled the entire crust off the pie, leaving the actual pie intact.

But most of all, Charlie was always there when you needed a hug and a friend. Good dog.

I hope my daughter has memories like this of our dogs. But mostly, I think she'll remember our cat and how she crazy-loves his furry self.