photos by Boss

Now Playing: Darlin Little Pal of Mine

*****I've been told that my momma was a corgi and that my papa was border collie. I'm built low to the ground and long with long reddish brown hair that hangs down behind and covers my stub of a tail. I have been told by some of the ladies that I'm quite handsome. Well, anyway I live on the Konigsberg in Greenbrier County, West Virginia with my beloved leader of the pack Okey. I just call him "Boss."

Alex's Farewell Comments and His Eulogy.

*****I don't remember much about my life before I came to the Knoigsberg. It's all a fuzzy haze of squirmy brothers and sisters that were always trying to knock me away from momma's teats. I remember Mama as just a nice big warm thing who would lick and nuzzle me. My brothers and sisters and I had just began to play well when I was taken away and given to Boss's son. He brought me home and showed me to Boss's daughter. She took me into see Boss who was on his bed. Joy, the daughter, sat me on Boss's chest and I waddled up to his face. After one big smell and a good lickey kiss, my life was changed forever. In that instant we bonded, and I have never wanted to be anywhere but where Boss is from that moment on. Boss's son didn't like it, but, I couldn't help myself.

*****I suppose I am a bit fastidious, but I could never bring myself to go to the bathroom in Boss's house or around my own little house. Sometimes it is hard, but I have to wait until Boss takes me on a walk around the yard or just "out" before we go to bed. Once, when Boss didn't take me out, I couldn't hold on any longer and I made a little puddle on the hall floor before the outside door. I was so embarrassed. I hid in the closet.

*****Being short is not always a piece of cake. Once when I was growing up, Boss took me for a walk higher up on the Konigsberg and I got separated from him because of the high weeds. I was so scared, and I heard Boss yelling franticlly for me. Finally I was able to find my way to him. he picked me up and carried me the rest of the way. From then on, I go on a leash. I feel more secure and so does Boss. In the winter time when we have deep snows and we go for a walk, I have to leap way up high just to see where I am going.

*****The little feller with me in the picture is Boss' grandson Jonathan. When he first came to live on the Konigsberg, he was about the ugliest little red naked boy pup that you could ever see, and I wasn't sure if I was going to like him or not. I guess he just seemed a little strange to me. Living here on the Konigsberg, I seldom see anything new so I am leery of new things. Then as he got bigger and started running around and getting in all kinds of trouble, I kept my distance. But, I came to love him too and I always want to check on him the first thing in the morning to see if he is ok and to give him a little kiss. That is... I do if he is still asleep. In the picture you see me taking Jonathan for a walk in Greenbrier State Forrest.

*****I haven't mentioned another important member of the pack: the Mistress. Mistress is Boss's mate and I guess you call her the alpha female. I love her a lot too...as much as I can after giving my heart to Boss. I'ts just so hard for me when I am separated from Boss. Boss goes away in the summer for a week to Camp meeting. How I hated that week. Then, one summer, I felt so bad when he left and was so worried that I just set on the back of the couch staring out of the window wishing for him to come home. I didn't want to eat or sleep. I was so afraid that something had happened to him. Then, after a couple of days of this, Boss called home. They told him what I was doing, and he asked to talk to me. Joy put the phone up to my ear, and I heard Boss's voice. He told me that he was "ok" and that he would be back. After that I felt like eating and sleeping, but I still missed him so. Then the next summer, when he went to Camp Meeting, HE TOOK ME WITH HIM! I have been going to Camp Meeting for four years now. I don't get to attend services and I have to stay in the camper while he and his friend Woody are gone, but i can see through the windows and see the folks "dancing in the Spirit." Woody had a new little four legged friend with him this year. His old friend Ducthess passed away last winter and that was hard on him. Woody now has a little beagle, but it took me a few days to get used to her.

......I'm eight years-old now, and I'm getting a little grey arleady. I hate to think of getting old and leaving Boss alone. I just don't know what I would do without him. And, I know he feels the same way about me. I overheard him tell Mistress, "If Alex amd I go at the same time, bury us in the same coffin." I think Mistress thought that he was just kidding, but I know better. Well, boss wants on this thing, so I had better get off of here. Please excuse my English and my spelling, and I may write some more later.

*****I'm back. I slipped onto the "puter" while Boss got up to do something else. I just wanted to tell you a little more about myself. I am sort of an athlete. I love to play ball and frisby. In fact, I just came in the house just now from playing frisby with Boss. I had a great time. Now that it is cool, I feel more like running and playing. This long hair of mine might be pretty, but it is hot and I don't like to play much in the heat. I don't like those large frisbies. My mouth is too small and sensitive. But, I like the fresby rings and can catch those quite well. Sometimes I'm even a little acrobatic. I like to toss the frisby to my self and catch the ring around my head. Once, I gave the ring a flip, and it sailed all the way to boss just as "pretty as you could please." But, most of the time, I just run back to Boss with the thing and pretend I don't want to give it to him.

......I also love to play soccor. I can take a plastic ball with my nose all the way across the yard as fast as I can go. I can also dodge in and out with it keeping it away from Boss. I'm just to fast for him. But, those plastic balls don't last long, so, Boss got me an enexpensive volley ball. I was tickled with it. Darn it though! I got so excited that I tried to pick it up with my mouth and I stuck a tooth into it. It went fizzzzz, and shrank. I felt so bad, and Boss did too. Here he had bought me a special ball, and Boss don't have much money to spare, and I had ruined it the first day. I guess I looked as droopy on the outside as I felt on the inside. I had ruined my brand new ball! But, boss loved on me and let me know that he wasn't mad. That helped some.

.......I don't like hitting. If I see someone hitting someone, I get all upset and try to stop the hitting. No one had better pick on my pack...especially the two-legged members. And, you had better watch your step around Boss. I won't tolerate any one messing with him. I may be little, but I'm not a wimp! Oh, yes. I am not especially fond of kids and cats. I don't take kindly to overtures by strangers. I want to get to know you first, so keep your distance. My body belongs to me and Boss, so don't go touching me unless I give you consent. I won't put up with it. And it's not because I'm mean. I'm just reserved with those whom I don't know. Well, here comes Boss again, so I had better scat. I'll be back later.

My cousin Plop from the suburban sprawl of Detroit City would like for you to pay him a call at his page.

This morning, I nearly died. When I woke up, I felt very bad. I think that it was a combination of things. It has been so hot and I have such a full fur coat. My gums have gotten tender, and It has been hard for me to eat my regular food. It had been awhile since I had had a good bath amd boss decided that a bath might help me to perk up and not be so down. I know that he was worried about me, because he kept talking to me, but, I just didn't feel like talking back like I usually do.
..... Well, boss ran some water that was just warm and I climbed in the tub. I didn't used to do that. He got down the dog shampoo that the mistress had bought and put a little in the water and began to lather me with it. As he was rincing me, I got a little of the stuff in my mouth and I started feeling really sick. When he got me out of the tub to dry me, things just wasn't normal. I usually take the towels away from him and try to dry myself, and then I kind of carry on getting my self dry because this is my favorite part of the bath. But, this morning, I went to Boss' bed and just stretched out flat. It just seemed that I didn't have much breath and my eyesight was getting fuzzy. I realized that I was dying and I couldn't do anything about it.
.....Boss was having a terrible time. I could hear him crying and saying, "Alex! Don't do this to me!" I guess Boss has seen enough death that he knows it when he sees it. We were all alone since everyone else in the family had gone somewhere. This went on a few minutes with me getting worse. I wanted to turn to him and give him a kiss, but, I couldn't. Then, though his sobs, I heard Boss talking and he wasn't talking to me. He was praying. You might say that God dosen't have time for dogs, but, I know better, because I started feeling better! I felt the wetness and I started to roll some to get dry. It wasn't the normal rolling, but i was rolling. Then, I give a little grunt like I do when I am drying, and Boss knew then that I was goiong to make it. That was one happy and thankful Boss. I was too. Still, I was far from being one hundred percent.
.....When the rest of the family came back home and heard what had happened, Boss's son and his wife, who were visiting from Richmond, went to Walmart and bought me some vitimans for old dogs, some soft yum yums and some cans of dog food that I would be able to chew. I reeally like the taste of the vitimans and the yum yums and, later, I almost ate a whole can of the alpo dog food. I feel so much better this evening, and I am so happy that I am still here for Boss. Now, boss would have bought me all those things, but he has to buy food for all of these other dogs here that belong to other members of the family. He dosen't have much left out of his spending money which also has to go for gasoline and oil. He never has enough for extras such as a hamburger for himself. Then, there's one of these dog's that likes to get loose and get into other folk's trash which causes Boss trouble. You know I love my Boss!

August 6, 1999

.....After a three day stay in the hospital, I got home today. I had a blood transfusion. I had grown steadly weaker and weaker and Mistress made me an appointment but It was for the next day. Boss and Boss's daughter decided that I needed to go that day, so we were able to get to see another doctor. Boss was afraid that I had cancer like Dutchess had had. He was about sick with worry.
..... To our horror, I had been the victim of an attack by a huge horde of fleas. I had lost a great deal of blood with my blood dropping from about 45 to just 8! Boss felt so bad and blamed himself, but he has had dogs all of his life and he had never seen anything like that. Doctor said that July and August were the worst time for fleas.
.....Boss had to leave me. He went home and began a war on fleas, but it is a battle that hasn't been won yet. I am fine now even though I stll have a few pests. I feel fresky and hungry again. When I got in the car, I gave everyone hugs and kisses. BUT, Boss and i want you to know that, if you have a good four legged friend, don't take fleas lightly. They can be killers.

.....UPDATE: No more fleas!

.....Happy next to the last year of the Century! Yep, we still have one more to go folks. "Gotta wait until January 1, 2001." You humas get in too much of a hurry and want to fiddle with the calander.

February 29, 2000

......I just went through a hard time. I thought that I was going to lose Boss to pneumonia. He was very sick and they were not treating him for the right thing. When he went out of the door to go back to the doctor, I nearly went out of my mind. I was so afraid that I would not see him again. But, he came back, and they had put him on entirely new medicine and had given him a thing to breath with. He started immediatly to get better, and I was so happy. I never left his side except when someone had to take me out to see a dog about a man. Now he is getting stronger. Why...we even played a little frisby today! I want to thank you folks for your prayers for Boss.

This is my latest photo. I needed a bath and a brush but it was too cold for a bath and Boss wasn't able to brush me. See, I'm looking a liitle long in the tooth.

September 9, 2000

.......It's time for me to inrtoduce our new girl pup Maria LeeAnn Price, Maria was born on July 24 and weighed in at ten pounds four ounces. It's strange. While I was standoffish with Jonathan, I took right to this little girl pup. Maybe it's because she is a girl.

.......So Jonathan wouldn't feel left out, I took him for a walk. We went down to the pond to see what we could see. One day Boss and I saw a little rat snake. Now Boss don't like to kill things. He go awfully mad last year when some one shot his granddaddy blue racer. He and I liked to see him once in awhile. We try to teach Jonathan not kill things like that. All we saw down at the pond this day were some frogs. We didn't seem them, but there are some humongus bullfrogs in this little pond. In the summer there are water birds and a lot of other things come down to drink and to hunt. It tickles me to be able to smell their spoor and know that they have been there. I may not be a hound, but I have a decent nose. Like Boss, I never try to kill anything, but I do like to chase things or try to herd them. Well, until next time. Bye bye.

Summer 2002

.....I guess it's time for me to check back in again. I hate to complain, but I am not doing well. It seems that I may have something called diabetic insipidis which means that I am drinking water all of the time and going to the bathroom a lot more than I used to. Instead of being able to go all night to go see "A dog about a man," I sometimes have an accident in the hall. The doctor wants more than $70 dollars for a blood test, but Boss dosn't have it. I have also gained about eight pounds and I just can't seem to leave food alone even though Boss has put me on a diet. And, this oppresive heat has been awful this summer. I won't be displeased to see fall come.
.....I know that boss feels bad because he dosen't have the money for the blood test or the money for the expensive medication that will be called for. I know that if if wasn't for his insurance he could not go to the doctor either. Before Mistress got the job with the insurance, Boss used to tough it out every time he got sick and used to say, "Poor folks not on welfare and without insurance will just have to lie down and die."
.....But, summer hasn't been all bad. I got to co to Camp Meeting again with Boss, Woody, Jonathan, and Mistriss. Then, the other day, we went for a ride across Kates Mountain where it was cool. I hope that I can make it though a few more years because I love Boss and Boss has had enough heartache lately. Until cooler weather.