B. B. Brandy

B. B. Brandy was also "outside the house," but he deserves his own story. When I was in 8th or 9th grade, friends and I used to go riding on the local roads and trails after school, on the weekends, and as much as we could in the summer.

One day, Judy and I heard whimpers in the bushes next to the road, not too far from our house. It was a litter of puppies! Some cruel person had dropped off puppies, perhaps 8 weeks old. They had their eyes open, and the beginnings of their spotted coats, but still made those tiny-pup noises. We each grabbed one (were there only two? were there more of us riding together? I don't remember) and rode carefully to my house. My mother was out working in the yard or garden, and I ran to show her the sweet little puppy.

Before I asked, she said, "No, you cannot keep the puppy!" Mom......... c'mon. You can't be so mean. Should I take it back so that it DIES!?

"No, no, no."

In defeat, I asked if she would hold the puppy while I got back on Feather's back, so we could try to find a home for the poor little thing. Then magic happened. The puppy snuggled against her, and made those little puppy noises. And that was it, she fell in love.

Mom and my sister Kim named him B. B. Brandy, for unknown reasons. He seemed to be at least part Springer spaniel, and wow did he have the "springer" part! At this point, the door to the back patio was a door with a window on top, and if he was begging to get in, he could jump up as high as that window! It was so funny that even my Dad would let him in sometimes. Really, we all fell in love with him. Even Smoky our other dog enjoyed his company and playing with him.

This story has a sad ending though. One day I was late to the bus or it was early. The bus usually picked me up at the driveway. As I raced across the yard and down the little hill and through the ditch, I didn't notice that Brandy had followed me. I can't remember exactly what happened next perhaps because it was too awful, but Brandy ran right under the wheels of the bus and was killed.

The house was very sad for many weeks. In fact, on the anniversary of his death, even when I had forgotten the date, I came home to find my mother and sister sobbing in grief. At this point, I'm still missing him, but also smiling to remember his beautiful, loving, bouncy spirit.

Rest in peace, B. B. Brandy.