BRIDGET

It is said, "Money doesn't buy happiness" however, on Nov 20, 1984 for $150 I bought a little bundle of joy I named Teddi Bridget. To be known by one and all as Bridget . She was 5 weeks old and looked like a little white sausage. From day one she was determed to be top dog and in reality, she was.

I already had 2 cats, Casey and Missy. They looked down from their cat tree at this little doggie and knew things would not be the same again. Her first home was a small cardboard box in a big cardboard box with a rolled up towel for a sleeping mate. She only whined for the first couple of nights and set right in to the household. I was single at the time and lived in a double wide mobile home and she soon learned she could make a circle, out the bedroom through the family room, living room, dining room, kitchen , family room and back to bedroom. The cats could only look on amazed. She soon out grew the boxes so I made a plywood 'yard' for her in the corner of the family room with a shower curtain floor, 4' square by 2' high.

We developed a daily routine, in the mornings she was allowed to play around the house while I ate breakfast then when I showered and dressed for work she stayed in the tub playing with water and sometime I left it trickling to keep her busy. This began her life long love of water. In the mobile home park there was a small duck pond. The ducks only interested her slightly, it was the water she slapped trying to catch the splashes. We discovered a park in town with 2 man-made lakes and a waterfall with a stream connecting them. On the weekends I would take her, she played in the stream trying to catch bubbles and anything floating by. At the base of the waterfall was a pond and when I waded out to the waterfall she would follow swimming as fast as she could to keep up. Bridget developed a diving technique that made people laugh. I would place her on a rock she would go in head first, make a circle and come back for another jump. During our travels, I always made a Bridget stop when there was a road stop near a lake or river.

Bridget was always busy even in the house so I supplied her with many toys, however she always found nontoy toys. One day I heard a thunk thunk thunk and there she was running her circle pulling a tennis shoe by the shoe string then she would stop running and sling the shoe around. She had a small round rubber chew so I put a shoe string through it and this became her #1 toy.Her other delight was fetching. When she learned I would throw the ball after she brought it to me there was no stopping her. "No, No Bridget, no more". One evening she dropped the ball at my feet and I said, "Not now", after all the newspaper was very important. Suddenly there was a whack and the ball dropped in my lap. It could only mean that Bridget had thrown it. I tested her by tying her to a door knob and we played ball and sure enough she threw to me averaging about 3-4ft. I began to move backward and after playing many times she was able to throw it 8-10ft. So here was another game that continued through her life.

Bridget, the mom., My mother thought Bridget should be bred and as I didn't have the time to care for a new family she went to live with Mom and Dad. She went when she was about 1 1/2 years old. They found a Rat Terrier breeder and She became the mom of 5 little sausages. Three females and two males. The babies stayed with my mother and Bridget came home to be a lady of leisure.

Bridget was a runner, why walk when you can run? As long as we were in that home she ran her circle usually pulling her rubber chew. When she was about 9 years old we were out walking where the local high school practiced their cross country runs when a group of girls came running by. Bridget perked up her ears and started running after them. She ran about 500 feet then stopped and looked at me, shrugged her shoulders [really :)] and walked back to her slow mom. When I married my second husband Bridget was 5yrs old, my husband was a jogger . Bridget went with him many times eager to keep him going as fast as she felt was necessary. On a sunny day in the yard she love to chase the shadows made by butterflies and hummingbirds. When we moved into the new house she became an outdoor dog and really seemed to like it better Checking the fence several times a day and night to make sure no strange cats were in the yard. One night an opossum was in the yard and what a ruckus, by the time everyone got outside Bridget was the winner. If a mouse happened to get in the wood pile she would tear it down to get at the vermin that dare to be in her yard. Her dog house was on the patio where she could watch us inside.

At Christmas time, Bridget always had a gift under the tree. A new chew or toy wrapped just for her. After the first couple of years she remembered the routine. She would be allowed to sniff amoung the gifts until she found hers. We always helped with the unwrapping as we were more eager than she was. However no one was allowed to touch the new gift [Grrrrrrrrrr] until Bridget thoroughly tasted and tried whatever it was. Then she would drop it at someone's feet to be thrown to check it out and make sure that that part worked too.

Bridget had her dislikes, One odd one was bridges, if it looked like a bridge she would not walk across. So many times I ended up carrying her rather than dragging her. I don't think she ever fell off. She also held grudges. The first time I had to board her for about 4 days she was not at all happy to see me when I went to get her. No jumping or licking just sitting. When I put her in the car she stared out the side window until we arrived home. It was several days before she warmed up to her old self. Heat bother her and she did not like to do much when it was hot. One hot day when my husband was going jogging she clearly did not want to go but he took her anyway. When they arrived back she went to the far side of the yard, sat down with her back to us. It was almost 6 weeks before all seemed to be forgiven.

As she aged the black spots around her eyes started to show gray hairs but she still liked her walks and games and would give little chases after Casey who started living outside too. Her biggest threat came when she was 8 years old. She had cancer in one of her breasts after surgery the Vet was sure it had all been removed and seemed he was right. We moved about 4 years ago and she did not like th new place as well. New walks to learn, hotter summers, the back yard much smaller. There were deer here so something new to watch. She seemed Bridget up close to the end. Suddenly she stopped eating and was walking very tenderly. A visit to the Vet proved that she was very sick and had kidney failure. I had bought some baby food chicken that day and she seemed to like it, eating it all. The next day it was decided she was too sick to cure so the time had come for her to leave us. When we took her back to the Vet we had to carry her in her bed as she couldn't walk well. She sat in the bed and stared out the window while I sadly watched her dreading the goodbye. The Vet gave her the first shot outside so we could sit with her under the trees.

Casey and Missy[B: ?/1984 - D: 10/30/99] are still with me, their age showing too, but for now they help with their love and Casey seems to be looking for Bridget now and then. Those who don't have pets often wonder what the fuss is all about and those of us who do still wonder how one little doggie can leave a 25lb hole in your heart. "Yes, Bridget. Yes, I will throw the ball one more time."