Muffin

A few words about my beloved dog Muffin - 1985-1996

by Carol Lyn Hutton
My beloved dog Muffin left this earth in March 1996. She was just a little tan dog who spent her early years getting some but never enough attention. She came to live with me in 1994 and her life changed. When I was home she never left my side and she was always ready for an adventure. We spent long hours walking in the neighborhood. Everyone she met was an instant friend.

On our evening walks, we would pass an old house with several rundown apts. There were usually 8-12 children of all ages playing on the sidewalk. They'd come running when they saw Muffin coming down the street. We'd stop and, as they took turns petting her, we'd have a little lesson on proper dog care. With these children, the only dogs they were familiar with were attack and guard dogs, many dogs made viscious by mistreatment. For just a little while, Muffin taught those children that there are lots of dogs you can pet and play with who wouldn't bite or chase you.

One boy about 12, we would visit every night. His mother explained that he had been badly attacked as a toddler and was terrified of dogs. Through our nightly visits, Muffin seemed to know he was afraid and was especially gentle. Eventually he was able to feed her a treat from his hand.

After that, all the kids in the neighborhood would show up at my door asking if Muffin could go out to play. As we walked around the block, each child got a chance to learn how to hold the leash and how to talk to her.

Muffin had the biggest heart of any dog I've ever known. She had a grin on her face and just radiated her love for people. Toward the end, as she grew blind and deaf, she would struggle to climb up into our favorite chair and offer herself as a book rest across my lap, snoozing gently with her head on my knee as I read in the evening. When her time came, I held her as she made her last climb and as she waits for me at the Rainbow Bridge, she is a dog star, shining down on us below. You were my first dog ,Muffin,and I still miss you every day. I think of you through smiles and tears.

Muffin, "Grandmom" doesn't remember much of anything now, she's old and sick as you were, but she still remembers your warmth and love and how you two would sit together in the big blue chair.

Thank you for sharing your life with ours.
Mom