Feliz dia de St. Valentine...Happy Valentine’s Day.   Valentines is traditionally the day to celebrate love. But I remember it in a different way.  It is my dog’s birthday. 

Several years ago, I was visiting some relatives in a rural town .  I had gotten up early and drove about 45 minutes from the large city where I was living.  It was a typical Saturday.  My plan was to return the same day.  My relatives lived on the outskirts of the small town, off of a dirt road. The old farm house set back from the road.   It is a quiet place with scruffy mesquite trees and an old barb wire fence. It was meant to keep the cows in but did little to restrict the big bogs that roamed free.  They would hear a passing car and chase it until it was over the next hill.   Then they would mosey back they way country dogs often due. The dog tongues would be hanging out, as they were trying to catch their breath.  They would wonder the property and explore until the sound of another approaching car.  There were five dogs in all. They were all different breeds, but large in size. 

I remember sitting at the kitchen table and looking at the cabinets.  There were smudged handprints on the painted doors.  The farm house was old and worn but still charming.  The walls were covered in family photos including the smiling faces of kids playing and grandparents who were no longer living.  I sipped on coffee while talking.  The visit was a good one.  I had mentioned how much I missed my dog Missy.  She had died a few months earlier. It was hard to see her suffer, so we had her put to sleep to end her pain. I remember how quiet the house was after that.  I always loved little dogs and Missy was the cutest Pomeranian.  She was champagne colored with big eyes and a fluffy tail.   
Then I heard a dog barking in the next room. My relatives told to me that there is a small dog that had been found.  It was a small Chihuahua.  A neighbor gave it to them. I asked to see it.  The door opened and in ran the cutest dog that jumped right in my lap. She was tan with big eyes and a tail that for some reason looked like it had been braided wet.  The fur on it looked wiry and crinkled.  It was love at first site.  That face was adorable.  She was a dog in need of a mama.  She was a skinny.  She had been kept in the house so the other dog would not hurt her.   “What’s her name?” I asked.  The family kids had been calling her “Whiskey. “ They had heard it in a country song. "Whiskey Girl" is the title of a song co-written and recorded by American country music singer Toby Keith. It was released in March 2004 as the third single from the album, Shock'n Y'all. The song reached the top of the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart on in July 2004. The name fit. 

I took her home that day.  She was covered in fleas and was what I call “dog naked”....that is kind of a joke at my house.  A dog with out a collar is “naked”.  I bought Whiskey a red collar and used to paint her nails red to match. She quickly became part of my family.   She was young, not more than a few months old but I didn’t know where or when she was born.  So I set February 14th as her birthday.  She is the best dog I ever got for free.  She needed a home and my broken heart needed her. 

I have pictures of her wearing one of my rhinestone bracelets around her little neck.  She was that small.  And she would even let me put clip on earrings on her.  But they didn’t last long before she would shake them loose.  She became my baby.  She was once small enough to lay next to me in the recliner. Now she sits in my lap and still looks at me with her sweet innocent eyes.  She is so calm and quiet unless she hears a noise.  There have been times where I felt like the world was against me, but I had Whiskey to cheer me up.  I still talk to her about the people we miss.  I think she misses them too.  I tell her everyday that she is my ‘pretty puppy’.  Every girl needs to hear that even though we loose our looks and get older.  I hate to think of a day when I will have to say good bye to her.  I love that little dog.  

Happy Birthday my little Whiskey Girl!