Project 365 Day 319: The Dog with Three Names

Canon 5D Mark ll, 50 1.2L, 2.2 aperture, 1/160 shutter, 250 ISO

When my kids were small, we read the book Three Names by Patricia MacLachlan. It is a story of a well- loved dog who is actually named Three Names. It is told in the voice of the author describing her great-grandfather and his dog. It is a sweet and peaceful story with wonderful imagery. Patricia MacLachlan continues to be one of Annie’s favorite authors.

This is our beloved Indiana, a dog whose eyes seem as if they are reading the title page of your soul when she looks at you. Intelligent and wise Indiana. She came into our lives as a scruffy little mixed breed puppy five years ago. We had recently lost our dog of 12 years, Taylor. She was an amazingly loyal and beautiful English springer spaniel. Cowboy was lonely and needed a friend. (Okay, I wanted another dog.) We bought her from a fellow home school family. She was a mix of terrier and Welsh corgi. When we arrived, her mother, an orange (also scruffy) dog named Pumpkin, was perched on the front porch steps taking in the view of all of her puppies in the yard. Laid back but attentive , (a foreshadowing of what Indie would become). Indiana was the only female left in the litter and also the only tricolored puppy they had. I fell in love with her. I scooped her up, paid a small fee for her and placed her in my lap for the car ride home. I knew she was a perfect fit for us. When we got home, Cowboy came scampering out of the house to meet us. Happy and naive Cowboy.  That is when Indiana showed her true colors. All of her hair stood straight up as she barked Cowboy back into the garage. He was 20 times her size. It  Then she promptly hid under the car shaking. Chris loved her for this from the beginning. She was a dog who showed great courage even though she was terrified.

Annie was the first to name her. She called her Independent Sunshine, two names which seemed to suit her. She was content to do her own thing. Chris then got into the name game and called her Indiana Appleseed, as only my husband would. The name Indiana stuck. Now we just call her Indie.

When Indie was only 6 or 7 months old, she became pregnant with a litter of puppies. We had no idea she was even ready for that. I can’t remember how many there were, but I do remember it was too many for her to carry. She had to have an emergency cesarean section. I got to watch them all be born, with our Ellie being the runt of the litter. When it came time to find homes for her puppies, several of our friends wanted one. To this day, we get to hear weekly reports on at least three of them. They are all great dogs. There was Buster, Judah, Ellie, Tootles, Ella, and several others that my kids could probably remember. I loved having puppies and cried when each one left. It reminded me of my childhood. We raised miniature poodles when I was little.  The smell of puppy breath is hard to beat. So sweet!

Independent Sunshine, Indiana Appleseed, or just Indie, it doesn’t matter. She is ours and she is one of a kind. I am so glad we found her.