When my husband Val first introduced me to Max, it was another one of those "surprises" he had for me that I was not desirous of nor prepared for.
Val knew, as I had told him many times, I only liked small dogs. Period. Then 9 years ago, just before Christmas, he surprised me with Max.
He wouldn't let me in the living room until the "surprise" was ready. "You can come IN nowwww!" Like it was going to be the greatest thing since Pizza. And there, in the corner with a big red bow around his neck, was gangly 3 month old Max. I didn't show my disappointment, but I groaned inwardly.
My husband knows I haven't liked big dogs since being bitten by a german shepherd when I was 10 and, of course, Max is half german shepherd.
"Merry Christmas!", my husband sang out while I did my best to look over-joyed.
The cliché goes, as fate would have it, guess who ended up being with Max MOST of the time? And guess who's carpet he always pee'd on because Val didn't get him out in time?
The sad result was that, over the next months I grew to almost hate the poor dog. With all of the care he needed and the terrible stress I was under living with some difficult people at the time, Max was way too much. I almost dreaded getting up in the morning because I knew that the full load plus Max would be on my shoulders. This, of course, caused some pretty heavy arguments between my husband and myself not to mention difficulties with our neighbors due to Max constant barking.
Now flash forward to today, 2005, 10 years later. Everything has changed or I should say, everything has changed me. When I got away from the pressures I was under at that time, I started calming down. We got away from the things and people that Max presence made more difficult. And because I calmed down, I began to notice things about Max. His protection, for example. Being kind of a natural worry-wart, since my husband worked at night, I felt safe having Max with me.
Due to our work in Romania with abandoned babies, we frequently travel there. For years we experienced our car being broken into. But not since we've had Max.
Max has protected us over and over again, but aside from that endearing talent, he's funny. He acts funny. He sleeps funny, he even sits funny.
He's smart in a sneak-thief sort of way. Even the time when he ate all the butter on the table and then ate half the chocolate chip cookies I'd just baked, I love him. He spreads hair EVERYwhere and still I just love him to death.
His loyalty humbles me. His devotion touches me and just knowing that Max is around, I feel everything's okay.
I had to slow my life down in order to learn to love Max, this wonderful dog that only offers us his undying allegiance.
Name: linda turner
