Thursday, December 17, 2009

“One Gallon Dog in a Ten Gallon Hat.”

Over the next few days, I’m going to post pictures of the greatest dog I ever owned. Her name was PooPa. How’d she get a name like that? It’s the sound of the words children in Germany use to say “little doll.”

Several years ago, I was interested in developing a picture book with this small wonder, and add captions to my photographs. PooPa loved to perform and to please. I call the following picture:

“One Gallon Dog in a Ten Gallon Hat.”


I hope you’ll post a comment about the best dog or cat you’ve ever owned. There is nothing quite like the connection we have with our pets.

More pictures to follow over the next several days.

Max Elliot Anderson

21 comments:

Kristi's Book Nook said...

We used to own a black lab named Jay-J. He would talk all the time. He loved to swim in the river. He was so smart I forgot sometimes that he wasnt human. He is missed often. Thanks for sharing, your dog is really cute.

Crystal Laine said...

I love the name of the dog and the photo! Could you still do a book? A calendar?

I loved all of my pets (and all the strays I could gather...LOL) and as a kid I loved, loved animal stories the best of all my books.

It's hard to pick my favorite. Maybe my German Shepherd, Rin. He saved my mother from a rattlesnake and got bit being a hero. (And he lived to wag another tail.)

Anonymous said...

I love a good dog story. I know an author that writes books for reluctant readers. He could write a killer story about Poofs. If I could just remember his name. lol Hope all is well.
Happy Holidays,
J. Aday Kennedy
The Differently-Abled Writer
www.jadaykennedy.com

Trish Perry said...

Max, that's an adorable photo! What a patient little thing.

My favorite was Buck, our white German Shepherd. The kindest, most gentle sweetheart ever. Not the smartest fella, but he could melt your heart.

BF Admin said...

What an adorable photo!
We have two poodles and a Yorkie right now. They are all wonderful, but I'd have to say our best ever was Missy, the sweetest little sheltie ever born.
I just finished illustrating a book on greyhounds for another writer on our list. Being a dog lover, it's always a pleasure to have them as a subject.

Vonda Skelton said...

How cute! I think a book or a calendar is a great idea!

Grace Grooks said...

Max- What an adorable picture. I love animals and have always owned a dog, or cat. Which is my favourite, or which one did the most for me is hard to distinguish. I owned an Malamute, the lead dog in my dog team. At the time I thought there wouldn't be a more intelligent dog than Dengray's Dixie. Several times she saved my life by refusing to move forward on command because of thin ice or other bad conditions ahead on the trail. Now there's Smoke in my life, a plain mutt mostly black with white feet and white on her chest. She's remarkable. She's protected me from muggings while on walks and she seems to know when no gooders are about the property and sounds the alarm. Bad guys have learned not to fool with Smoke, although she isn't a terribly big dog.
Maybe you should publish a book about pets, a collection of stories from your followers.

Anonymous said...

That picture is great :)

I don't have a favorite pet - they've all been so unique that I love the differences (though they have all been cats). Although I have a cat now name Midgie who likes to crawl under the covers and snuggle during the winter :) She keeps me warm!

Mary Allen said...

I've loved everyone of my dogs, but I admit I had a favorite. "St. Dail, The Angel Dog" is what my children called him because they said in my eyes he could do no wrong.This 90 lb. chocolate lab was the calmest, kindest, and gentlest dog I've ever met. He was packed with personality. Every hot summer he'd get skin rash until he got medicine. He'd get up on the exam table himself and hold very still.After getting the shot, he'd turn to the vet and lick his hand once as if to say, "Thanks, I needed that."

audrey4j said...

Can't pass up the opportunity to rant about Puff, the sweetest smartest mutt ever made. Maybe I'll post a blog about him tomorrow at www.audreyhebbert.com. I really think he was a Christian, and smart enough to act like a three-year-old child. He understood anything you'd say to him because my daughter talked to him all the time.

Tribute Books said...

What a cutie :)

Annette Agnello said...

The best dog I ever had was Trudy, a Collie/Airedale mix. She was interesting looking; she never made it to an adult dog. In her short time life she was fiercely loyal and very friendly to family members. She was protective. She objected to a very large friend of the family getting to close to my bike. She was just a pup and warned away a man over six feet tall.

Annette Agnello Windsor, VA

max said...

I've been enjoying all the comments to this post. Isn't it amazing the way our animals can get a hold of our hearts? We're dog less now, but I have a cat that is the feline equivalent to PooPa. The cat's name is Aubey, after the mascot for Auburn University. Our daughter graduated from there - War Eagle!

And our family is getting ready for a truly once-in-a-lifetime event where Auburn plays Northwestern University in the Outback Bowl. Why is that historic? Because our son did his undergrad there, and graduated from their School of Law. Now I ask you, how ironic is this, that our kids' two schools would end up playing each other - one from the SEC and the other from the Big 10?

Keep the great animal stories coming.

Max
Author Web Site
http://www.maxbooks.9k.com

Debra Shiveley Welch said...

Great picture. What a sweet baby.

Merribuck was the dog of my life. A Sheltie/Border mix, with the softest fur I've ever felt on any animal, she was the sweetest soul I've ever met.

Loyal, kind (would try to suckle stray kittens) and gentle, she would often nuzzle me when she knew that I was upset.

I miss her terribly and still visit her grave when I need help, advise...comfort.

I hope to be with my sweet girl again some day.

Donna J. Shepherd said...

She looks like a "Half-Pint Dog in a Ten-Gallon Hat." LOL! Love it.

Pantera said...

Nice blog I've got this history: Working dogs make excellent pets as long as potential owners realize that these dogs must be given 'work' to do. Dogs that are not to be used for their original purpose must be trained from a young age and are best suited to active persons and families. Obedience training, dog sports, informal or novelty shows, and trial work are all excellent channels for these breeds' energy. At the very least they must have daily walks or other exercise at an appropriate level for the breed, given toys, played with, and provided with human company.

Working dogs that are chained, left alone, or ignored become bored, vocal, and even neurotic; they may exhibit malaise, lethargy, destructive behavior or attempt to escape. Working dogs inappropriately chosen as pets are often surrendered to shelters for these reasons.

shoe shopping said...

Dogs are commonly used as search and rescue workers in cases of lost people and disasters. The St. Bernard was historically used in Europe in the case of avalanches and lost travelers. Search dogs are used in lost person searches each year saving human lives. Several breeds of dogs were used during Hello.World War I to locate wounded soldiers in the field. Several cities in Italy are experimenting with working dogs as rescue swimmers. In this situation, a strong and well-trained dog is equipped with flotation devices and dropped in the water near a floundering swimmer. The swimmer then grabs onto the dog, and the animal tows the swimmer to shore. The Newfoundland has long been used for water rescue, not only on shore, but from fishing boats as well.Thank you

Dog Containment Collar said...

Glorious read, I just passed this onto a colleague who was doing some research on that. I'd also encourage everybody to bookmark this page to your favorite service to assist spread the word. Thanks!

max said...

Thanks for all the nice comments. We DO love our pets, don't we?

Esther said...

It would be so hard to say our favorite, as they have all been so special and unique in their own way. Really love your pic and the sweet story behind the picture. Thank you for sharing it!

max said...

Thank you Esther.