Hmmmm..... Purple You Say

When immigrants came to America from Europe to Ellis Island the health officials in the United States would check these new Americans for several physical ailments including heart disease. The telltale sign for heart disease was purplish-blue lips designating poor blood circulation. In most cases the colors purple and blue are usually not conducive with mammals, with the exception of Elisabeth Tailors' blue eyes. So when a dog opens it's mouth to pant and a long purple tongue darts out it can be a little startling. Thats exactly what happened that summer evening when that big, red dog opened his mouth. At this point I thought this dog had walked right off the set of Star Trek. I couldn't wait to find out what was next. Maybe a roar instead of a bark, or wings would come out from under his fur and he would fly around the playground ! The purple tongue was the deal sealer for me at that point I knew I had to have one of these dogs. I didn't know if they were a mean breed, or if they were big pussycats, but I knew i had to have one. After later research I found out that the only other animal at that time that had a blue\ purple tongue is a bear. How could this dog not be the coolest breed ever created.

Some Things You Just Don't Forget

Memory is a tricky thing. Some thoughts come and go in a nanno second, other events are held in your memory as vivid today as they were when they happened. When you think about it your memories may be the only, truly timeless happenings in out lives. I remember the first time I ever saw a Chow Chow, and yes it is still as vivid as yesterday. Standing in left field I looked over my shoulder an saw four silhouettes coming towards me in the late afternoons setting sun. I could make out two people and something that looked like a small horse. As the shadows grew closer I could see that it was not a horse, but a St. Bernard. The two other figures turned out to be a couple of kids from school. The fourth sihlouette was that of another dog, but it was like no dog that I had ever seen in my thirteen years of life. This beast stood about knee high at his back with a massive round skull that was as broad as a mans flattened hand across the top from ear to ear. A long coat of fur that was as dark red as Hungarian paprika. The tail was a large furry plume that curled right up over the back and rested just off the left side of where I thought the ribcage should have ended, it was had to get dimensions due to all the fur. The legs on this dog, even though relatively short were as big around as my wrist. Then he opened his mouth to pant...........