In Memory

Dawn's Lady Griffin

(Ch. Siegel's Royal Coachman X Jean-A-Lee's Michelle)

"Griffin"

Griffin was my first boxer. A kinder, gentler soul you have never met. I brought  Griffin home when I was sixteen. My previous dog had disapeared, and I was told that she had been found dead. I was devasted.

What can I say about this girl? She had big shoes to fill....and yet she did. She became my best friend. I spent nearly all my time with her. I trained her in obedience, and every trick I had ever seen a dog do on tv, and in the movies. She had never been overtly protective, yet rose to the occasion when needed, and to only the degree neccessary. Once there was a friend of mine pushing me around. He was joking, but I was getting upset. All of a sudden he stopped and his eyes got huge. When I turned around to look, there was Griffin coming to my rescue. Her hackles up, rumbling coming from her chest. She meant business, and he knew it. Boy did I give her praises for that. I had always wondered if she would defend me if it was necessary.

"Drifty"

Drifty was the first dog I ever had of my  own. She was an Airedale Terrier. I got her when I was seven. We went everywhere together. I remember putting her in the garage one day. I was going horseback riding, and Drifty had always found that she couldn't resist nipping at the horses heels...so in the interest of her safety, I was going to leave her behind.  However, my step father didn't know that I had put her in the garage for a reason, and he let her out. Drifty tracked me out into the Idaho desert, and she actually caught up with me. And yes, she had to nip at the horses heels.

Drifty was one of the smartest dogs I have ever met. I could teach her anything within five to fifteen minutes. She would do basic obedience, and we did very well in 4-H obedience trials. She didn't really like it though. I remember teaching her how to climb a ladder at a friends house. All of a sudden she understood what I wanted....and the next thing I knew she was on the roof. My friends Dad had to come out and get her down.

My German Class in High School put on a play for an Octoberfest. The play we put on was Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. Drifty had a part in the play. This play was based on the original story, not the Disney version. In that version the Evil Queen commands her huntsman to bring her the heart of Snow White. The huntsman slays a wild boar instead and brings the Queen the heart of the boar instead. Drifty played the wild boar. She was to start across the stage on one side, wearing a cake heart wrapped in tin foil around her neck. Half way across the stage the huntsman was to start hitting her (not really) with the axe, and she was supposed to play dead and he would take the heart from her. Well....Drifty was surprised at this guy pretending to hit her with the axe, and so wasnt really paying attention to my hand signals. So she only got half of the signal. To her credit, she tried, but instead of playing dead, she crawled the rest of the way across the stage, and then played dead at my feet. The crowd loved it. After the play she had probably a dozen people ask if they could buy her a sausage.

I still very much miss these two dogs. There is rarely a day that goes by that I don't think about them. They were so different from each other, but they were both very much loved and treasured. When as an adult I was ready to get a dog it was a difficult choice to make....A boxer or an Airedale. Evenually I made my choice based on the coat. An Airedale's coat requires much more grooming than a boxer.

Good bye my sweet girls. Wait for me at the Bridge.