QUEEN BESS OF THE M-BAR-W

That’s her official AKC name – “Queen Bess of the M-bar-W.” Never mind if it strikes you a little strange. Most official dog names are strange – some of the horses, too.

We call her Bess – or Bessie. Some have called her Bessie Boo – I like that one myself. Then there’s Bossy Bessie, and that fits, too.

 

Now she's four months old and she’s still seems no bigger than a minute, though she’s slimmed up and leggier. She likely won’t be a big dog, and that’s fine with us.

In her first weeks with us, she seemed to remain aloof, hence the “queen” in “Queen Bess.” I would say it took her a good six weeks to decide she belonged to us. She will now curl up at my feet or press her chin to my knees – but only when it’s her idea. No way does she want to sit on my lap.

Her eyes sparkle with mischief. She loves to gnaw the inserts in Mike’s loafers and can obliterate a shoe – or a sprinkler system – or a computer cord -- in 30 seconds flat.

My Swiffer is still my best friend, though we have fewer of those accidents now. Still, Mike and I aren’t sure if that’s because we’re trained or she’s trained. It takes a while for a pup to get the picture.

When she first came, she declined to walk with us or went home on her own. She thought a walk was cruel and unusual punishment. Now you should see her romping all over the countryside – and pointing the birds. There are very few embankments she can’t conquer, but she still trips and tumbles head over heels as puppies do.

It’s amazing what she knows. How does she know that apples can be found under apple trees, that hawthorn berries are good to eat, and that it’s cooler in the shade?

She seems stronger and more venturesome every day. Today was the first day she followed Nellie to the neighbor’s pond as we took our country walk, and now she knows where to get a drink. Nellie gets right in to cool off, but Bess doesn’t care to get wet.

 

Nellie is her heroine, her idol. She loves to be a big girl and move side-by-side with Nellie. Even so, she thinks it’s just the best fun ever to torment Nellie by nipping her ears or her chin. “Poor Nellie,” we say, but then we see that Nellie is wagging her tail. KW