Thankful Thursday: Faithful Four-Footed Friends

For about fifteen years, Mr. Magpie and I had the great pleasure of being the human friends of two very incorrigible and quite adorable Miniature Pinschers. If you don't know what a Min Pin is (and that is what they are called among the knowing), please allow me to set the record straight. A Min Pin is not a miniature Doberman. On the contrary, it is a breed that is much older than the Doberman, and the two are as different as a Poodle is from a Great Dane.

Furthermore, as one Min Pin owner was quoted as saying, "Min Pins are not to be mistaken for fruit bats!" And from the picture below, I would like to add that they are not to be mistaken for Snausages, either. ;-)



A Min Pin has all the cunning and clownishness of the Terrier mixed with the grace of an Italian Greyhound and the heart of a Dachshund. They prance like little Tennessee Walkers with a hackney gait, and they are as diligent about guarding their homes (and their food) as a dog twice their size. They have no clue that they are miniature. They are small dogs with a giant's ego and courage to match, but many would just as likely lick you to death as deign to bite you.

That being said, I am very thankful that we had these two little friends in our lives. They were dearly loved. After their passing this past year, I find myself for the first time in my entire life without a pet. Mr. Magpie, same thing. It's been an awful feeling, and one we intend to remedy later this year. :-) In the mean time, I thought I would share both some pictures of "the girls" and some dog quotes I particularly like. Since our dogs were very funny little creatures, they would like that very much. :-)

The great pleasure of a dog is that you make a fool of yourself with him and not only will he not scold you, he will make a fool of himself too. ~ Samuel Butler



If you can look at a dog and not feel vicarious excitement and affection, you must be a cat. ~Author Unknown

If you get to thinking you're a person of some influence, try ordering somebody else's dog around. ~Will Rogers



Dogs feel very strongly that they should always go with you in the car, in case the need should arise for them to bark violently at nothing right in your ear. ~Dave Barry



If you think dogs can't count, try putting three dog biscuits in your pocket and then giving Fido only two of them. ~Phil Pastoret



Why, that dog is practically a Phi Beta Kappa. She can sit up and beg, and she can give her paw - I don't say she will, but she can. ~ Dorothy Parker




Fox-terriers [Actually Min Pins] are born with about four times as much original sin in them as other dogs. ~Jerome K. Jerome, Three Men in a Boat








From the dog's point of view, his master is an elongated and abnormally cunning dog. ~Mabel Louise Robinson




Outside of a dog, a book is probably man’s best friend, and inside of a dog, it’s too dark to read. ~ Groucho Marx



Any member introducing a dog into the Society's premises shall be liable to a fine of one pound. Any animal leading a blind person shall be deemed to be a cat. ~Oxford Union Society, London, Rule 46

My little dog - a heartbeat at my feet. ~Edith Wharton

In Loving Memory of T & T and in Thankfulness for Their Faithful Companionship...



For More ThankFul Thursday posts, please join our gracious hostess Rhondi at her blog Rose Colored Glasses. You'll be glad you did!





Thankfully,


Mrs. Magpie (Sheila)