D is for...

This is my 6th year for doing the challenge. To learn more go to The A to Z Challenge Blog.

This year it's all about the 

The A to Z of 
A LIZARD'S TAIL

In which I will describe, show pictures of, and otherwise expound on plants and animals mentioned in the novel.

D is for The Dog - Happy

The dog in A Lizard's Tail, is based directly on a real dog we had named Happy. It was a most incongruous name for he was the orneriest dog we ever loved. He was devoted and loyal to us, but woe to the person or animal that came into our yard or home unannounced and uninvited. He was cantankerous, stubborn, smart, and fearless, well, except for bath water and the ocean which he hated with a passion. He had short fuzzy honey colored fur that stuck up like it was full of static. And he had a tail which my father said looked like someone went to cut it off and missed.

Me and Happy. I was about 6 years old and he was about 6 months. I picked him out of the litter, dragging him out from under a couch, him growling the whole time. "Are you sure this is the one you want?" asked my mother. He was so big and his mother so small, that he was born with a broken rib. It's no wonder he was ornery.

At about a year.

He had a tendency to doze standing up in the sun.

At about 9 or so.

He dozed in the sun while sitting too.

Me and Happy at the beach. I was about 14, he was about 11. He loved tearing around the beach and rolling in the sand, particularly if there was something stinky, like rotting seaweed or a dead fish. 

HappityWappityPuppityWuppityBoy.

 The Dog. 

When he decided to make you a friend, he was a friend for life. It meant you were a member of the family and that he would defend you with his life.