RIP Murphy

Friday night, I got the call no one ever wants to get...it was my Mom...Murphy wasn't doing well...they were at the vet...and they were going to have to put him down....two hours later, I called back....he was gone...

Needless to say, I lost it. The Watts family are dog people, and we had just lost a family member. Everyone was devastated. I was really upset I couldn't be back there to see the boy one more time. It was awful....

When we got Murphy in 2002 a few months after Rusty (our first golden retriever) had passed away, I remember being angry. No dog was going to be able to replace Rusty, and I was mad my mother had gone out to get a rescue dog that couldn't possibly measure up. I told here, "I'm going over to your house, but I'm not going to like this dog."

So I stopped by while the parents were at work and met Murphy for the first time. He was a mess, all ratty and scabbed, because he had been on the streets before the rescue group got him, and he smelled to high-heaven. But, there was something about him. He was all about playing with the tennis balls, and all he wanted to be was loved....after an hour, I called my Mom and told her "Dammit, its awful hard not to like this dog."

And that was that...Murphy became part of the family. He was a great dog. He was obedient. He was gentle. He put up with just about anything. All he ever wanted was for you to play ball with him. He'd drop the ball in your lap, or near you...and then walk away and stare at you until you threw it...some people would be a little thrown by the intensity of the stare...he just REALLY wanted to play ball...

I'll remember lots of stories and quirks about Murph, but here are a few:

-- When I was substitute teaching, I would stop by my parent's place in Roseville to see Murphy on my longer breaks...and I always gave him a cookie...this quickly became a routine for him, and in fact, whenever he saw me, he'd get up, greet me QUICKLY, and then run over to the cookie jar and look at me....some spoiled dog, eh???

-- Murphy never barked at anyone, in fact I never saw him get upset at anything, except just once. Jen and I had just got Cooper in November of '04, and we took him over to my folks house for Christmas that year...Murphy had got a rawhide treat in his stocking and he was chewing it in the family room, and Cooper decided to investigate...well, he got as far as Murpy's nose, and Murph unleashed several large barks at Coop, sending him scurrying for Jen...you could do a lot to Murphy, but you weren't allowed near his rawhide...

-- And Cooper did beat up a bunch on poor Murphy. Watching the two of them together was like watching the two dogs from the old Bugs Bunny cartoons....Cooper with all the crazy energy, and Murphy the wise one putting up with it all...Cooper would jump on Murph's head, fight him over tennis balls, chew on his tail, and basically bounce all over him, and Murphy would just put up with it with a slight sigh...such a good boy....

I'll miss that dog so much...I can't imagine coming back to my parent's house in April and him not being there...anyways, I can't write much more without breaking down again, so here's a video that pretty much sums up my feelings at the moment....Goodbye Murph, you were the best dog.

Mike