Penny, pretending she is Rin Tin Tin — 1981

I’m always delighted to find photos of our various dogs from the 1970s and 1980s. Penny came to us as a tiny puppy from a pet store called Fin, Feather, and Fur in late 1978 or early 1979. I know that she was slightly less than a year old when we took her on our 1979 road trip to Canada. She happily ruled our back yard for many years as well as the inside of the house! Still, she didn’t mind at all when Phoebe joined our family in 1983, or when my sister’s dog, Charlie, came over for a visit.

Apple tree in our back yard

A dog’s life

Queen of the Hill!

Phoebe

Buddies — Phoebe and Charlie

Penny and Charlie

Penny wearing the flea collar she despised

I was surprised to find even a couple of photos showing Penny wearing the “natural” flea collar we bought for her one year. It consisted of several large wooden beads strung on a thin piece of leather, infused with pennyroyal oil. Penny absolutely hated this collar, and she made it very clear she thought we were trying to torture her as soon as it was put around her neck. A quick search on the internet these days brings up information that its effectiveness as an insect repellant is questionable, and that it may actually cause contact dermatitis or even liver failure in dogs and cats. So even though we were trying to do something good for her, maybe it was a just as well that we gave in to our little “drama queen” and got rid of that collar.