My Sister and Daffeny did not get along at all I suspect this is because their personalities were to similar. So she quickly became the family pet who was especially attached to my Mom. Jim, one of my Mother's co-workers called Daffney my Mom's little buddy which was so true. Daffney liked my Dad and I, she even loved us but my Mom was her whole world. Daffney's one constant (to put in in LOST terms) in her crazy world was my Mom. I left for college and my parents split up shortly after that so Daffney's world was in turmoil, but my Mom was always there.
Most people thought she was a mean dog but I am sure she came from an abusive background and once she spent some time with us and discovered we weren't going to hurt her she became fiercely protective of us. Her bark was an earth shattering Piercing high pitched explosion of sound, and the smallest thing would trigger it. Cars driving by, people coming and going, the wind blowing, any small disturbance and she would loudly disapprove. The funny thing was even after you finally got in the door and she knew it was you she would keep letting out little yips and barks almost as if to say, well I know who you are but I am still the boss, all while trying not to pee with excitement that you were home.
Daffers would have loved a life where she only dealt with my Mom, my Dad and Me. Unfortunately Mom ran a day care out of our house so there was a constant stream of people in and out all the time causing Daffeny to explode with pure puppy protective anger every time a parent was there to drop off or pick up a kid. Even after she would realize she knew the person coming in she would run to the top of the stairs and continue her tirade. Amazingly she was great with the kids, never once getting aggressive with any of them (obviously she did not take after me on that one). I have a feeling she tolerated the daycare kids because at lunch or snack time more food ended up on the floor than in the kids mouths. Just like any dog she lived her life for the possibility of table scraps.
She was a notorious shoe thief. I don't think my mom has had a complete pair in the last 17 years. Daffney would take one of my Mom's shoes and sit on her bed awaiting my Mother's return. Nose tucked firmly inside, or resting right on top. If you even walked in the vicinity of she and her shoe you would hear a low rumbling growl like the first sounds of an avalanche. God forbid you had to go into my Mom's room you would be met with a ferocious onslaught of growling, barking terror never before seen or heard since.
And then there was the puppy kisses. I know most people think it's gross but I have never minded puppy kisses and Daffney LOVED to give em'. And I could take it longer than most. Sometimes I would just let her lick and lick to see if she would ever stop and honestly I don't think she would have. Even at 105 years old (in dog years of course) she could still raise her head and lick a face almost right up to the end.
Daffney was a weirdo. She was her own little person with her own little personality and her own little set of routines and oddities. Which a lot of people mistook for mental illness. It was easier for people to assume that she was a crazy bitch rather than face the possibility that this cute little puppy hated them. Sometimes she would change her mind about out a person. For instance my dear friend Julie D. It only took Daffeny 12 years to get used to her and stop nipping at her heals when she came over. I think Julie D. put it best in a Facebook condolence she left Daffeny "Oh daffers, after many years we put aside our differences and quietly tolerated each other, it was lovely. Perhaps you are now hating on Katie Sue (Julie D's Dog) in dog heaven." I bet she is, I bet she is.
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