The Beetle

I don't know if everyone else is as corny as Jim and I - but, we make up some of the craziest songs, sayings, slang . . .I think it all started with our first "baby" - Mackie. Soon after we were married, we were living in Austin and decided it was time to start a family. Soooooo, we got a dog. In fact, one would think that this would not be a difficult decision on what breed to get, big or small, long hair or short hair. . .but, this was one of our first major disagreements. Jim wanted a English Bulldog - you know, the University of GA dog - and, I did not want a short-haired, wrinkled and slobbery dog - I wanted a pretty one. A dog who would curl up with me and watch a movie, sit next to me in my car as I ran errands, you know, more like a Yorshire Terrier. Well, we met in the middle and decided on a Scottish Terrier - a tough dog with pretty hair. What a GREAT disagreement this turned out to be - because she is the BEST dog . . .EVER!!

We have many nicknames for her - getting back to the point of this story. Her full name is Lady Bear MacGregor - we call her Mackie. But she has also been known as: Beetle, Beetle Bear Itis (which is Inflammation of the Little Bear), Beetle Las Vegas (sung to the tune of Viva Las Vegas), then we shortened it to Vegas for the sake of time or if we didn't feel like singing. Other names include The Mackster, Mac Attack, Mackie Bear, Bear, Da Bear . . .the list really goes on.

A lot of people say that Terriers don't make great pets for young children - but, I have to disagree - at least where Mackie is concerned. She never flinches or even tries to snap at the girls - she has been ridden like a horse, pulled on (Maci finally believes that the tail will not come off afterall) and chased through the house. We also get to howl with her (this can be hours of fun) - Maci has been known to howl from her crib in order to get Mackie to start howling. When Maddie was a baby, Mackie would bark to get my attention if she had started crying. She was like a little momma helper.

This dog is hilarious - she makes this "arrrrrrooooooo" sound when she gets so excited that she can't contain herself. Also, there is nothing in this world that she hates more than a motorcyle - it doesn't even have to be running and she will want to attack it. We met another Scottie while in Austin and his thing was the UPS truck -weird, I know! She believes she is a human - she has no idea that she is not "entitled" to a spot on the couch or on the bed - blissfully unaware of the other dogs in igloos out there. She is allergic to grass - I mean, really, what are the chances that we would end up with a dog allergic to grass - so, at night, I take Benadryl, and so does Mackie and we all sleep peacefully knowing that we have the sweetest, most energetic, most loyal companion ever! And, Mackie is content that she finally has her family trained.