by Luann Dawkins

Created on: September 05, 2008

I have learned so many lessons from my animals, but I've lost count. One of my biggest lessons came in the form of a puppy and her best friend. This precocious, trouble making, often annoying little Basset Hound puppy and her new found "older buddy," were not friends from the beginning. Babygirl, a Chow and Shepard mix, is nine years senior to Ellie May the Basset Hound.

We brought Ellie May home from the breeder and she was all big feet and huge ears. She couldn't walk two steps without tripping over those big ears, but it didn't slow her down, she would jump up and start again. You had to respect this little pups' tenacity. Babygirl, on the other hand, had become set in her quiet life and enjoyed the spotlight and singly directed attention. She is a DIVA and does not like any kind of discourse in her world.

Then the doors open and in bounds the pup from hell! The look on Babygirls' face could have burned holes thru us where we stood. Ellie May immediately saw the new dog and jumped onto the dog bed with aforementioned DIVA and proceeded to lick and bark and make a general nuisance of herself. Babygirl is not a confrontational animal, quite the opposite, she is the peace keeper, utterly opposed to strife of any kind. She wasn't sure what to do with this little annoyance so she stood her ground and tolerated the showering of glee.

Over the next few days we slipped into a routine with the new addition to our family, save for Babygirl. She couldn't lay down that the pup didn't pounce on her and bite and tug at her ears, legs, tail. Over the next week she seemed to accept her fate begrudgingly and learned of ways to avoid Ellie May. Ellie May couldn't abide this behavior and would bark at the top of her lungs for attention from her new best friend.

As I said before Ellie May is a trouble maker. I asked my husband one day why he thought God made her so cute, he said why? So I wouldn't kill her. Don't get me wrong, that is only a little sarcastic joke, but she can certainly push you to your limit. I would never hurt an animal no matter how far she pushes.

I came home one night tired from work, wanting only to vegetate in front of the TV long enough to make me sleepy. I opened the door to a ransacked house, and was reaching for my cell phone to call the police when I caught movement in my peripheral vision. Under the tossed cushion from the couch pops ears and feet. "Ellie May," I exclaim," what have you done? " As I spanned the room I couldn't move from the spot where

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