4. American English Coonhound

Introduction

From the tme I was a litle girl, I always loved dogs. My sister and my brother were much older, so I grew up like an only child. My best friend? My beloved dachshund named Penny. In fact, she was my only friend for quite some tme. We lived in a nice neighborhood in a small town in southern Indiana, but there were no children who lived nearby. Once or twice a year, a little girl named Angela would visit her father who lived next door, and that was nice. I looked forward to her visits, but two visits a year didn't make for much of a friendship. So Penny became my best friend.

We were inseparable. She was a great playmate. Sometimes, I'd tie a bonnet on Penny's head and drape pearls around her neck. Then I'd put on my floppy hat and my mother's high heels, and we'd have tea parties. Of course, I'd pour real water in Penny's cup and give myself imaginary tea. It was always great fun, and Penny was the perfect guest.

Other times, Penny and I would sit in my sandbox, and I would make up stories. I'd tell her all about the princes and princesses who lived in my tree house. And sometimes, I'd make up stories about her. She liked it when I'd mention her name every so often. She'd wag her tail and give me a lick as if to say, “That's good. Go on. Go on.”

Penny was a great cheerleader too. When my dad taught me to ride my bike in the alley behind our house, Penny would bark and run in circles, cheering me on to life without training wheels. When I'd fall and scrape my knee, which I often did, Penny would run to my side and lick away the tears. She was always right by my side.

On my first day of kindergarten, Penny rode with me in the front seat of my mom's car. As I walked away from the car and waved goodbye to that wet