Ode to Megan- our "Nanny" dog

(on her silk pillows- her favorite spot to relax)

So I woke up this morning to a screech and Megan's loud scrambling to get out of Oliver's room. She knows how to get out through the closet and the "secret door," but it does cause quite a commotion. I quickly realized that one of the smoke detectors needed a new battery (why is it that those things always run out in the middle of the night?). I knew the offending detector was not in Oliver's room, so I put Megan back in, and started my search. For some odd reason the red light on the detectors only turn red when the battery is dead... not dying, so it was no small task. I finally found the problem, it was in the room that will "someday" be my craft room, right next to the girl's room. I could hear the girl's talking, so I went in to reassure them that everything was okay. Guess who else was in there? Megan! She hadn't been trying to get away from the sound, as I initially thought. She was trying to make sure that her girls were okay. She was lying in bed with them, shaking like crazy, but "protecting" them, nonetheless.

It made me think of all the other crazy things about this dog. Like how she "chose" me. When I called Wasatch Humane, they told me that they didn't have any female Aussie's available, but they wanted me to come down and meet them, with my kids, so they could match me with a dog when one came. I went to the lady's house, but as I approached the fence, a scraggly dog came up to the gate. She didn't jump up or try to lick me, she just came up and looked at me. The lady came out and said, "I think you just met your dog." She told me that Megan had been promised to another family, but she hadn't responded to anyone in the couple of weeks that she had been at the shelter. That was the most response she had given to anyone... so she was mine. She looked so awful, but I couldn't leave her there, and I've never been sorry.

The day after I found out Mama was sick and I laid in bed all day crying, Megan laid in bed beside me. Every time she hears me throw up, she scratches on the door to get into the bathroom (even though she HATES bathrooms) and if she can get in, she nuzzles her head under my arm.

Or the funny things, like when she stole Dan's piece of pumpkin pie that he left on the coffee table, but left a half-eaten miniature Snickers bar she found in the girls' trick-or-treat bag. Or the brownie she took from Georgia's plate and left a piece of dog food.

As I remembered all of these things this morning, it made me feel almost guilty as I had to drag her in to the groomers. Almost... but she was stinky and I'm not up to bathing her! Even though Ollie says he's "gone get a cat when Megan dies".... we love you, you silly dog.