As I have mentioned before, my former married life was excruciatingly painful. I often felt overwhelmed and badly in need of an emotionally supportive friend at home. God sent that supportive friend in the form of a dog.
God knew what He was doing when he made dogs. Annie was the best friend a person could want. It was spring of 1986. My three children then were five and under. As an avid animal lover, I jumped at the chance to get a lapdog when I heard there was a litter of designer-puppies. Free! They turned out to be a Lhasa-apso-terrier-mix. The owner did not want to deal with selling the mixed-breed pups. For over a week I begged my then-husband to give a puppy a try until he finally conceded, but was adamant he didn’t want this dog, he wanted a Doberman.
There was only one female left by the time we got the puppy. She was blonde, very affectionate and cuddly, with a curled, shaggy tail.
The kids and I were exhilarated when we brought her home. Months before we knew of the litter, I told the kids someday I wanted a girl dog named Annie. After that, my two year old son told everyone “My doggy name Annie,” so we named this puppy Annie.