Montana

I’ve been reading all the stories in Athena’s Dog Bark Park team on Etsy and have had such a good time hearing all the stories of the pets and how they ended up with each owner. I decided to tell the stories of my five furbabies starting this week…

My oldest baby, and therefore the king, is Montana. He’s a Maltese and was ten last year on December 12. I’ve loved this breed from the time I was a child -- mainly because the ones I met didn’t love me back: They were too focused on THEIR person to give me the time of day. I waited for the day when I could have one of these gorgeous, soft balls of fur that would live for me only. I got my chance in 1990 when I moved to my first home (trailer) that was owned by me. I got my first Maltese, Einstein. I don’t believe anyone could have loved their dog more than I loved him. He went everywhere with me and was everything I’d ever hoped he’d be. He even was smart enough to love the man of my dreams when I (finally) found James. At times, James, to kid me, would tell Einstein to go get his stick and bag and they were off to big sky country. Einstein lived to be ten and he was loved by all who knew him, a true gift. All this is the pre-history for Montana, who sits snuggled to me as I write, which is where you will always find him.

We went to get him two days after Einstein’s heart gave out. I was frantic to find another Maltese and finally did find one puppy 350 miles away in Mobile. So my now husband, James, drove me there and back in one long grief filled trip. But we got home with our new baby and of course he was named Montana, after the big sky country that Einstein had now gone to. We walked in the door and set him down on the couch. He looked around, threw his had back and let out the longest howl I’ve ever heard. So that’s how this tiny little ‘devil’ started his life here. He has been king since the beginning. We had another, larger dog from the pound, so he had a court. Her name was China and she was the greatest dog that ever lived, but that’s another story…
Montana watches the food and water bowls to let me know when they need to be filled by swiping them with his paw, louder and louder until I get up and do his bidding. He’s had only one toy, a monkey, that somehow caught his fancy and got to keep his squeaker. When Montana goes to get Monkey, it’s bedtime. He’s taught his replacement, Jake, to steal our things when at all possible because we ’buy’ it back with a dog bone (since we can’t catch them to get it back ourselves). He also waits these days for a lift up or down from the bed since it is too high for him to jump anymore. He loves Watson and Watson loves him back, calling him ’sweet baby’ when I pet him and saying ’Mamas brush Montana’ on the rare occasion that I brush him myself as I‘m supposed to do. As we add to or sadly, lose, one of our pack he is always okay with it. He’s the little man around here and he deserves that name, watching out after everybody.

I hope you enjoyed meeting my baby Montana. Next week I’ll introduce you to Buster Brown, Montana’s polar opposite…

Alice

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