First there was Red Rachel, later sister to Blue Leafy. Leafy had to be put down because of the BIG C. Rachel then despaired of her world and took a nosedive into one of those big Highway Dept. dump trucks. Devastated, we searched for another dog.
We went to a shelter a couple of towns to the West. There was a beagle-sized being there who sort of looked like, maybe, wishfully, hopefully, a Golden Retriever puppy. But we wanted to check out another shelter by the Seacoast. So off we went. That first dog played on our minds and there wasn't anything we liked at the other shelter so we hastened west across NH to the original shelter, pulling up about 7 minutes before closing and announced we'd take the beagle cross. Of course the volunteers there were just thrilled to have to do an hour or so of paperwork.....But we took her home.
Turned out the dog had been returned from a failed adoption the previous day. And she didn't have any Golden in her--- just about everything else!!! She was part Beagle, German Shepherd, Collie, and Lab. She had a tannish-reddish coat and wasn't very big. As a matter of fact, she remained on the small side her entire life---beagle-sized.
She proved to be an outstanding animal and we named her Hannah. She was loyal and great with family members. But she hated strangers. One of our son's friends never could get into the house without a frenzy of growling, barking, and gnashing of teeth from Hannah. Unless he got down on his knees so he'd be HER size---then there would be peace.
We had some very good friends and we'd alternate dinner and a movie/video at each other's houses on a semi-regular basis. The hosts provided the movie and dinner; the guests, dessert and wine. Well T's specialty was carrot cake---absolutely scrumptious. But something about it stimulated Hannah. The dog would just stand in the kitchen pointing at the carrot cake on the counter. God Himself couldn't help any cat or other creature who strayed by and got between Hannah and that cake dish.....
So what's all this got to do with the Captain? Well might you ask-----It was Hannah who gave the Captain her moniker. My wife liked Hannah but the dog was a little too aggressive and growly for her taste. She longed for a dog with the mild temperament of Pete, the Cocker she grew up with. So one summer's day after school was out and I was at work, she drove to a town north of us after responding to an ad in the newspaper. There she met a woman who bred Cock-a-poos. She found a curly-haired black bundle and wrote a check for the dog. She brought it home and christened it Emma. Now it being around the time that Dodge had decided to re-introduce America to the Hemi engine, everyone was talking about "Yeah, it's got a Hemi." So it wasn't much of a stretch to nickname Emma "Hemi".
Now Hannah, the famously infamous "tan dog", took some exception to this simpering puppy following her around and generally being, in Hannah's opinion, obnoxious. So, by simply adding a couple of syllables to her nickname of "Hemi" that described an ailment of the posterior, Hannah changed it all and Emma became "The 'Roid". Soon after this renaming, Hannah succumbed to the BIG C and Emma was able to assert herself a little. But it took the adoption of Leny, the move to NM, and the acquisition of the final Pirate Dog, Weets, to enable her to become the Captain.
And the rest is blog-istory..............
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