monday's mutt

Hi Ho. . .Hi Ho. . .it's off to SC we go!  Monday's Mutt has landed in Tega Cay, South Carolina this week at the home of the Tuckers.  For those of you who are geographically challenged, South Carolina is 'south' of North Carolina where us Monday's Mutt folk live.   Really, it's just over the border and on the other side of Charlotte so it's not like we traveled ALL that far.  Any who. . .this lucky mutt is the beloved pet of my friends, Debbie, Dan (Big Guy), Quinn, Keigan and Isobel. 

It is with great delight that I introduce:

Murphy

GT:  Murphy!  Can you tell everyone your breed?

Murphy:  Sure. . .it's kind of a long story.  You see the Dirty Dog Depot (where my mom and dad found me) said I was a purebred Beagle. . .but my dad (I call him 'Big Guy') thinks somethin' got into my biological mom's pen because he's never seen a brown beagle.  I tried to tell him it's just that I am so special and so unique. . .but he is convinced that I am part Weiner dog so he calls me Weagle.  So I guess I really do fit into Monday's Mutt, eh?  Big Guy also says I'm called a deer dog in South Carolina. . .although my ties are to Canada.  Big Guy says I have a Canadian accent when I speak.  

GT:  And how old are you Mademoiselle Murphy?

Murphy:  I am 7 dog years and 1 human year.

GT:  Where do you live?

Murphy:  I live in Tega Cay, South Carolina.  My friend Luna lives up on Lake Norman.  I live on Lake Wylie.

GT:  How did you get your name?

Murphy:  Big Guy got naming rights because he was supposed to be the one taking care of me during the day.  My grandmother had a beagle named Murphy when Big Guy was a Little Guy so I'm named after another beagle.  BG also didn't want a name that was too girly.  My eyes are outlined in black so he said Cleo could have been a name too.

GT:  How long have you been with your family?

Murphy:  Well. . .my mom brought me home on March 1, 2008 so I've been here for a year and a month.  I was a baby when they first brought me home, so really I've been here forever. 

GT:  How did your family find you?

Murphy:  Mom was hanging out at the ice cream shop next to the Dirty Dog Depot when one of my sisters was adopted.  She saw my sis and came over to see the rest of us in the cage. BG wanted my brother but mom loved my coloring.  She says she bought me on an impulse. So glad she is a quick shopper.  

GT:  What is your best trick?

Murphy:  This is a good one. . .looking like I did NOTHING wrong. . .even though I just pooped on stairs.  

GT:  Who is your best friend:

Murphy:  Well, when my mom is home, she is my best friend.  I follow her everywhere.  I just wish she would stay in one place because just when I get comfy (it's all about me, you know), she gets up and moves.   When I don't hang around my mom, I love to play with my brother, Buddy the lab.  I just LOVE playing with him. . .but sometimes I don't think the feeling is mutual cuz he gets cranky and growls at me.  Old man.  There is this white and black animal here they call "Bessie the Cat".  I don't understand her.  We could have so much fun together, but she hisses at me.  She looks like she wants to play when she swats her paw at me, but then she runs away.  Talk abowt mixed messages (ooops. . .there is that Canadian accent BG imitates).  Outside the house, my best friend is Lola.  She taught me how to wrestle.  Two girls wresting. . .it's pretty funny.  I LOVE it when Lola spends the night.  We have so much fun wrestling and playing ball.  But I'm a growing girl and I'm now bigger than Lola, so sometimes she gets tired and hides on 

my mom's lap.

GT:  Do you have a favorite food?

Murphy:  Ice cubes.  LOVE them.  Occasionally if I'm really trying. . .I can catch them when tossed.  Every time one of my litter mates (mom calls them "the kids") get ice for water, I stand there waiting for one to drop a cube.  You'd think they'd just drop one for me, I mean really. . .is it that hard to give little Murphy an ice cube every once and a while?  Lately, BG has been giving me a piece of "happy meat" once a day.  It's because I was recently "fixed"??  I don't know what that means but I pretend something really hurts because BG seems to think it's making me feel better.  Hee, hee. . .I'm going milk this one for a loooong time. 

GT:  What is your worst habit?

Murphy:  Well, sometimes when I have to go. . .I really have to go.  It drives dad crazy sometimes, but I just can't help it and I wind up leaving a wee little present on the steps. I feel really bad afterward and just go lay in my crate.  Mom says I give myself away when I've done something wrong.

GT:  How about any pet peeves?

Murphy:  Ugh.  That little big guy (otherwise known as Quinn). . .he tries to intimidate (see how smart I am. . .I know such big words too) me by stomping his foot or shoving a lacrosse stick at me.  I get back at him though when we are playing in the house.  I nip his butt.   ROFL. . .isn't that SO funny??  And how about my use of internet slang. . .pretty clever, eh?

GT:  Do you have a favorite TV show? 

Murphy:  Whatever mom and the BG are watching. . .then I can cuddle with them on the couch or chair and get away with it.  Although. . .I become very interested when I hear dogs barking on TV.  That is usually when they are watching Animal Planet or Dog Whisperer.  Mom tries to use that commands that Cesar uses but I have no idea what she is doing (neither does she, really).

GT:  What about nicknames?  Do you have any?

Murphy:  Murph-a-lock-a-chocolate, Murphinator, Murph and Weagle.  I think we covered Weagle earlier.

GT:  Do you have a favorite walk?

Murphy:  Oh yes!  I LOVE doing the circle. We walk round the block using the black path. Sometimes though, I can't wait for someone to take me.  So if they just happen to open the door, I spring out at full speed, run down the street, down the black path, up our neighbor's steps, through the backyard and onto their driveway next to our house.  I'm really not running away but sometimes I just need to feel the wind in my ears (being a Beagle, I have long floppy ears!).

GT:  What about a favorite toy?  

Murphy: Any stuffed animal I can get out of Keigan or Isobel's rooms.  Mom calls it carnage after I'm finished with them because I love to see the stuffing fly around the room.  I also have a "thing" for Barbie dolls.  BG says I'm a serial killer because I like to chew the hands and feet off.  They are just so tasty.  Come to think of it, I should probably add that as my favorite snack.

GT: What is one word to describe you?

Murphy:  Sweet