Oreo

Oreo was our first dog at Woodman's Lee. Her ashes are buried there, under a little stone marker.

Our neighbors didn't want Oreo so they offered her to our kids who were thrilled to get a replacement for our beloved Labrador who recently died. I didn't share the thrill, voted 'no' but I was overruled. She was a mutt, which is fine, but she was also part pit bull, which wasn't. Pit bulldogs are obedient and loyal to their owners, but they cannot be completely trusted to behave around kids or animals.

She was an intelligent dog, probably the smartest one we'll ever have. The focus of her existence was eating, which seems to be the standard job description of our dogs. We let her roam around the property but she stayed close to us. I think she was afraid of deer and I know she was afraid of thunderstorms.

Oreo would bring you her dish when she was really hungry and although she's guarding this particular toilet, she would never drink from one. She also liked to go for rides into town or to get water from the spring near Stickney Bridge.

One day we bought a couple of packs of extremely cheap hot dogs at the Grand Union in AuSable Forks that turned out to be nearly inedible. Oreo ate an entire pack, 8 hot dogs, one right after another. Although I got in trouble for it, I think that was the happiest day of her life.