In Tribute to Maggie

When your daughter BEGS you for a dog, you might feel safe in saying,
      "FINE, you know I'm allergic to dogs... if you can find one I'm not allergic to, well we can get one."
Just be aware she will go onto the internet and FIND non-allergenic dogs. 

Dani was a clever 11-year-old and found them - it turned out there were at least 3 breeds to consider.  We read about them and decided Soft-Coated Wheaten Terriers were the best match for our family.

Then we called the town vet to see if there were any nearby, and there were.  So we went over and met them, to see if I would react.  Nary a sneeze or wheeze.   Ditto when we met a breeder in D.C., and he had a house-full of 3 bitches and 2 litters of cute puppies.  He was eager to sell to us, but only if we'd guarantee we'd show the dog and maybe breed her.   NOT what we were looking to do.

So instead we found a breeder in Iowa and Maggie came out via airplane right after Christmas 1999.  She was 12 weeks, I believe.  I took Danielle to the airport on the premise her dad, who kept flying to Texas, had left his laptop at the airport.  We went to the back side to pick her up where all the cargo came in.  There she was in her carrier, looking like an ewok. 

She whined the first few nights, but soon got used to our house and living in her doggie crate. 

When she was a few months old, we started letting her live in the kitchen if she was tethered to the heavy oak table, with all her toys and bowl nearby, and a linolium floor in case she had accidents.  We got her a dog bed, a huge comfy foam pad covered in corduroy - but she TORE IT UP the first day we left her there with it.... it was ALL OVER that kitchen in shredded pieces.  She didn't get another bed until about 5 years ago. 

In Massachusetts, the dog next door became her mentor. Skittles was a Golden Retriever, and she took it upon herself to teach Maggie the tricks of the doggie trade.  They found sticks to chew on, they jetted away to the nearby pond when we weren't attentive, they bobbed for treats in the kitty-litter box, they even found a dead animal to ROLL ON (I had no idea dogs liked to do that, but they do.)  And then one day Dani came home and announced, "Uh, Mom, we need to keep the toilet seat shut now."  Thanks so much, Skittles!

Maggie really liked sleeping on our bed once she no longer slept in her crate.  But she was fickle.  When our movement disturbed her, she moved to her bed on the floor. When she got warm, she moved to the tiled bathroom floor, virtually wrapping herself around the toilet.

She liked sleeping with her legs straight up in the air. She liked her squeaky chew-toys, liked pizza, bell peppers, carrots, and bones.  And ANY MEAT that was in the house, she came running the second we started unwrapping it.  She knew if you had a plate with meat on it, and if you sat on the couch to eat whilst watching a show, she sat across the floor in front of the TV, STARING at you as if she could will you to give her some.  We only fed her in her bowl and she was not allowed to be in and around the kitchen table while we ate.  But she tried, she was sure that we would not notice her as she kept sneaking in, sniffing around by our feet hoping for a morsel. "OUT" was a word she knew well, and ignored if at all possible. 

The first word she learned was OVER, when in the car.  She caught on immediately!  Then someone suggested we say OFF instead of down, when she jumped up on you or a couch or something, and she did well there.  Once I wanted to teach her to back up.  She already knew the word UP, so as I had her behind the couch and kept saying BACK UP in that confined space - which I thought was a brilliant way to teach her - she simply jumped UP onto the TOP of the couch!!  Wheatens are amazing leapers, clearly they can jump very high.  When she got excited she was a canine spring!

She did catch on, though, and could back up, turn in a circle (if you offered a treat when you asked,) roll over.  I loved her discipline - if we placed a treat on her nose, she would hold it there till allowed to eat it.  She learned to WAIT when a treat was on the floor.  She'd look down at the treat, then up at your face, then down, then up expectantly... but she did wait until you said OKAY!  And if you handed her a treat, she took it slowly and delicately from your fingers like a lady should.

(Maggie when the groomer fluffed her out like a sheep last winter)


She arffed a lot, and never on the tile.  It was ALWAYS on the carpet.  Wheatens are an arffing breed, they are usually allergic to several foods, and consistently to wheat, as ironic as that is.  When her arffing got so bad last few years and she lost a lot of weight, we finally got her Venison/Sweet Potato kibble, and that made all the difference, she started gaining weight again.

When Jamie was born and came to the house almost 11 years ago, Maggie was SO INTRIGUED by this new smelling creature, and just HAD to have a taste!!  We finally put the baby carrier up on the couch because we were tired of shooing Mags away.  But that didn't stop her, she made a mad dash into the family room, up on to the sofa, and quickly LICKED Jamie's little face, then jumped down and out of the room.   She tried this with all the babies, she just had to taste each new member of the family.
She liked to sing along when Jim played his clarinet, if she was resting and he started playing some jazz.... she would lift her head and just howwlllll along with him, it was really cute.

She was divine with the kiddos, very tolerant of their playing with her.  Jemma would attach the leash and try to lead her around, and Maggie would look at us with this pleading in her eyes, "Please don't make her do this for very long, okay?"  The last few years she got to where she'd just run upstairs or under the dining room table, she'd had enough of little kids. But it would never occur to her to nip or anything.  But she was game for a walk whenever the children asked to take her.

There is plenty more we could say in praise, she was a wonderful dog.  We'll miss her quirky personality and loyal love.   And hopefully we'll get to see her again in heaven.