I'M A COCKER SPANIEL MOM.....

My first "dog" memories as a child, were of our black Cocker Spaniel, Smokey.  It was also my first introduction to the tragedy of losing a pet.  As a little girl, I still remember the day that my dad had to sit with me and tell me that Smokey had been hit by a car.  Many years later, our 8 year old daughter begged us for a dog.  As I searched various adoption days and shelters looking for the perfect family dog, I came across an 11 month old, purebred Cocker Spaniel.  Forty-eight hours later, Eleanor Rigby came to live with a big family on Sandybrook Drive - where he would spend the next fifteen years.  Yes, fifteen years.  By now, all the kids were gone and Bob and I were left to deal with a very old, very deaf dog.  Our hearts broke in late October when we sent Rigby across the Rainbow Bridge.  I told myself that our "dog days" were over.  Our kids were gone.  We traveled a lot.  We didn't need another dog.  And then I made a very big mistake.  I stopped at the Pet Shop at the Mall and I looked at Cocker Spaniel puppies.  I came home and I started looking online, for adoptions or local breeders.  I didn't really want a puppy, but I also didn't want a "senior" dog.  Couldn't face that heartbreak again in the near future.  In my searches, I came across a Cocker Spaniel breeder a couple hours south of us.  I called about a 6 month old - crate trained and housebroke.  Unfortunately, someone had already spoken for this little guy.  But the breeder told me, "I have another - a two year old - crate trained and housebroke - a brown roan".  I asked what a "roan" was and she said, "let me send you a picture."  She did.  And I responded with ONE word.  "SOLD".   A few days later, I drove to Delphi, Indiana and met this beautiful AKC Registered Cocker Spaniel, with a name that was so long I couldn't even write it all out.   And I brought Sgt. Pepper home to South Bend.  Every now and then, I look at Pepper and think of Rigby and I smile.  They would have been good buddies.