Red Rover, Red Rover...

I'm picking the prompt, "List the names of five dogs from your lifetime.  Write about why one sparks a stronger memory to you than the others."

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I have a confession to make. My family is weird about animals. There I said it. We are not dog people, or cat people. We are "please don't sniff me there" people.

We never had pets, don't particularly get what all the fuss is about, and several of us are allergic. The only pets I've ever had are fish, and given my allergies, the same will be true for Pie. Though her fish are pretty cool.

But I have had several dogs influence my life...

1. Lassie - Not because I actually watched the show, but more because the phrase, "What is is boy? Is somebody in the well?" comes up more than you can imagine and never fails to crack me up.

2. Clifford The Big Red Dog- I loved these books when I was little. Despite being a dog, there's something very appealing about Clifford.

3. Old Yeller - Let's just get straight to the point on this one. I hate this book. Hate it. It was sad and awful and I think only added to my bizarre dislike of dogs. What do you mean they get angry sick and then I have to shoot it out back?!

4. Claude the Dog - To offset my hatred of Old Yeller, here's a dog book I love. It's such a sweet story Claude shares all his material gifts with a homeless dog, Bummer, because his family is the best gift. Everybody now...awwww. As a bonus my mom always read it with a French accent (I have no idea why. Mom?) so it was Clod zee dowg und heez frond Boom-air. And that, of course, is how I read it to Pie.

5. Harold from Bunnicula - If you don't know the Bunnicula series, I highly recommend it. I can't wait until Pie is old enough for these. These stories are told from the POV of the family dog, Harold. And are about Bunnicula a vampire rabbit who drains the all the color from vegetables. The stories are really funny and have such great memories. My mom used to read them to us on our never-ending, family packed into a station wagon vacations.