Our dogs provide waaaay more entertainment than they cost (a bag of dog food and a box of bones a month!). My sister Joan has a night t-shirt that says "Dogs are proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy." Amen sister.
Maggie was the first. We hadn't had a dog since we lived in Peru where our housekeeper had a small wire-haired fox terrier named Inti. She was a pistol. When we moved home, we lived for quite a few years in rentals and places with little room, plus we had busy lives and were not home much. After we moved to Highgrove, we had more room and in theory had decided to get a dog. My sister Joan knew that I had carried a torch for a Great Pyrenees for a very long time, having been introduced to the breed by some friends from Arizona who had them in Tucson back in the 70s. The hitch is, Great Pyrenees are truly "great" in that they usually weigh more than 100 lbs and have a giant coat of fluffy white fur. You need room and a few extra $$$ for grooming costs. We finally had both, so one weekend after I had been away I returned to find my sister and my daughter with Cheshire cat grins - Joan had found an ad for a Pyr in Winchester. Off we went to see "Angel." She was a mess, having grown up on a horse farm, outdoors, never been groomed, had not been spayed yet. The family had her father, a great BIG boy, and didn't need another dog. She was obviously good-natured and came to us easily, and Joan swore that she would clean up. So off we went with her, her first time in a car, stuck between Joan and Laura in the back seat of my car. By the time we hit the freeway, she had a new name, "Magdalena" immediately shortened to Maggie, in honor of her Spanish/French heritage.
Within two days, I had spent $800 on her. That was soon followed by dog training with Brevela, who just loved her. Maggie was still a silly puppy when we got her and not house trained. She figured that out in about a minute, but decided that the best way to tell us that she had to go out was to jump around on the couch all 80 lbs of silly puppy. I finally had to convince her that NO, this wasn't the way to go, by dragging her off the couch, getting her down on the floor, and growling at her. She looked shocked, but I was the Mama and she rolled on her back and said, OK MOM, YOU WIN!!! She never jumped on the couch again. She is also great on a leash and I can take her anywhere - she is very friendly and people can't NOT pet her, her fur is lovely. She loves to get in your face and smell your breath (what have you been eating?) but doesn't lick.
Maggie is the queen of Highgrove. She feels that it is her duty and role to guard the entire neighborhood from evil and barks at any dog she hears ANYWHERE, and would love to take out the garbage truck - she barks, and it always goes away! She loves our neighbor who barbeques in the afternoon and chats with her and scratches her head through the fence. Right now, she is groomed and cleaned up and looks wonderful. That will last for a week or two until she rolls in the dirt, but right now she is spectacular. She loves big guys and absolutely dotes on our friend Joe, who does yard work for us, and Joan's son-in-law Rod, both of whom are good sized. She is also on a first name basis with the UPS man, who thinks she is wonderful.
Maggie also rules the roost when it comes to the "pack" too, although I am still the alpha female. She regulates Wiley and Athena when they get in her business - they are not allowed to bark at boys walking by, but recently Wiley has been allowed an understudy role...
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