KJ's Ramblin' Molly Rose Turns 9

Happy 9th Birthday Sweet Molly !!!

A few posts ago I wrote about the "anniversary" of Hunter's passing in 2003.  At first John and I didn't know whether or not it would be a good idea to immediately bring another Brittany into our life and our first reaction was to wait awhile.  The pain of our recent loss was real and devastating.  We did feel that if and when we decided to get another Brittany it would have to be orange and white and a female that had lines leading back to the same breeding behind Hunter. What I didn't know was that John had been working behind the scenes to find such a dog.  What John didn't know was that I was doing the same thing!  One thing led to another and soon we were on the phone with a Maine breeder whose Brittany was due to whelp soon.  (As we have found to be the case so often concerning "All Things Brittany" the breeder, Karra Folkner, became a good friend.)  Karra stayed in touch with us as the due date of her "Sassy" drew close and notified us on the day of the long anticipated temperature drop. Soon the good news came our way that a beautiful healthy litter of pups had been born with plenty of girls to choose from!  Molly was 1 of  7 girls in a litter of 14 !!!!!  We were ecstatic and it wasn't too long before we took the 2 hour drive from our house to Karras to get an initial peek at the litter.  They were so beautiful, I'll always remember how special that visit was. Pups were not old enough for us to really interact physically with but Karra knew how much we were hurting from Hunter's death.  Even so, as I watched the puppy pile grow larger underneath the heat lamp there was one determined little girl who kept making her way to the very top. I laughed at this because that's exactly what Hunter did when he was a neo-natal pup. He had to be at the top of the pile.  So from the start Molly stood out.

Well it was at that time too that I thought I may want to try showing a dog and consequently I had the pick of the litter of girls. Even so, as John and I returned again when the pups were older that became less important with the actual interaction of all 7 girls.  Karra had separated a few for consideration that she had her eye one.  Molly was determined she wanted to make that cut though and every time I tried to visit with another pup, Molly came over and made sure I paid attention to her antics. Molly decided she'd found a permanent place - sitting on the back of my legs as I kneel on the floor. This made it very difficult to be objective in my selection.  So I said "okay you - let me see what you're all about since you insist on making yourself known." Many wiggles, wags and kisses later she fell asleep in my arms.  All the time John is saying it's up to me what pup to pick so he was no help either.  Well, we all know the rest is history.  Several weeks later Molly came to live within our hearts and our home. The first night at home we had lofty plans for crate training to begin. Only John and I had never used crates before.  We did not know what we know now so gave in rather quickly to Molly's protests.  She quickly scrambled down under the covers by John's feet. (Remember? Hunter was NEVER allowed to sleep on the bed!!) Although she certainly was crate trained eventually that remains her favorite place to sleep.  Likewise, Molly enjoyed (and still enjoys) cuddling up with one of us on the couch when she's up in the house with us.  She wasn't very old in the picture of her and John lying together.

Also born that same month in 2003 was our oldest grandson. There was never any concern about Molly's behavior around our 2  grandaughters (then 1 & 2) so we were confident Molly would be fine around a new baby. With close supervision of course, which is ALWAYS the rule for interaction with dogs and children anyway, Molly was introduced to our grandbaby.  They are pictured together in the collage above. This is how it always was with Molly and our grandchildren, but especially so with Cal. I wish the picture wasn't so scratched but I was happy to find it.  She and all of our crew have grown up around children.  There's also a picture of Molly and I taken at York Beach that summer. (I introduced her to water early on but she never was quite crazy about it although several of her pups do seem to enjoy swimming and water retrieves.)  

Tomorrow on March 6th Miss Molly will turn 9 years old.  These years have flown by and life has changed in a lot of ways since we first brought Molly home. She is still just as playful, bouncy, and fun as she ever was.  You never quite know what to expect from her!  One moment she could be curled up by the woodstove, the next minute running from one end of the house to the other trying to initiate play of some kind.  She's the one who demonstrates for the rest of the crew how fun it is to run from the couch to the chair to the kitchen then around the dining room table and back to the couch to do it all again.  Outside she loves to kick up her heels and have all the attention focused upon her. Even now!  In the woods she has proven to be a very independent hunter.  I have always said she's like a prima dona or a princess in that you know she's a very 'girlie girl' when it comes to hunting. But when she's had enough of that she's done. That's it. We have hunted her often with Jack and they have worked well together in the past. But these days, she will simply go through a few impressive motions, find the bird, and that's it.  Molly and her daughter Rosie are very connected and close, in fact they are inseperable.  And both of them have very special places in my heart.  (There is a really cute glimpse into the life of Rosie at this YouTube Link on our channel.) But then again,  you all know that I feel that way about each Brittany dog in our life. 

Although Molly had started to show some signs of premature graying around her muzzle before her emergency C-section last year (See When Things Go Wrong) the aging process for her seems to have accelerated since that time.  (I do know that this was the case for her own mother too.)  Lately John and I have noticed some changes in her which point to hearing loss and diminished eyesight.  Even so Molly remains happy and content, full of love and joy and just as energetic and playful as she ever has been.  We learn to never take one moment for granted as the years go on. That applies to family, friends, and of course dogs.  Life happens, and sometimes quite unexpectedly. I'm very thankful that we can "celebrate" Molly Rose turning 9 years old (63 in human years). Happy birthday Miss Molly with all our love, we look forward to enjoying life with you for many more years to come! You're always welcome to sleep in your most favorite place of all as far as I'm concerned.  In closeing, we once again thank you for your interest - take care and God bless you and yours always - John, Ann, Molly & ATB