The last words Laura told me when she put a wild haired beast puppy I had begged and begged for was, “Be careful what you wish for. You might just get it.” I am the luckiest human in the world for having had 16 years and 9 months with Chuck Norris’ worst nightmare and my best dream.

There are special dogs. There are heart dogs. There are creatures of legend bestowed upon us by the dog gods purely for their amusement and for my absolute joy. From the day she was born, Penelope was firmly in the last category. She was joyful. She was naughty. She gave zero fucks. She was the undisputed Queen of Everything until her last breath.

May the soil be soft, the quarry plentiful, the hardwood floors non-existent and for the love of all things holy do not ghost murder Emma on the other side.

"Penelope Anne"
VCH RATCHX4 UFR UCH Dalwhinnie Penelope ME CGC BPS CG RN MBM ONYX TFE-II JD-B SRD-S RATI FF-B TT TKN UL-IX Iron Dog, 2005 Fastest PRT in U-FLI
Groundhog, Gray Fox, Red Fox, Marmot, Racoon and countless pigeons and rodents
October 5, 2003 – June 20, 2020

Written 10/18/2015, celebrating Penelope's 15th Birthday:

Fifteen years ago I had a dream the night before the PRTAA National Specialty about a litter of parson puppies. There was one girl in the litter and I was supposed to take that girl to Nationals. She was naughty, hairy and naughty but we had to do all the things. Dreams are interesting things because sometimes they come true.

The actual litter was born the following day and just as I dreamed, there was one very naughty hairy girl. The problem was that I knew I was going to have to beg, plead and very likely beg some more to convince Laura are Dalwhinnie Farms to let me have her because that girl puppy was one of the very few and highly coveted daughters of her Phoebe. Phoebe's daughters simply were not available but I knew THAT BITCH WAS MINE. I persisted and whether as appeasement, punishment or for comic relief Laura relented with a, "Be careful what you wish for." She has reminded me most days since then of that and rightly so. Thanks for letting me have that precious hairy beast puppy, Laura!

Penelope stepped off a plane and promptly went to ground in pitch black darkness. She was, and still is, a furious tornado of havoc and destruction. She was naughty as all get out and absolutely the most amazing and perfect of dogs. In the past fifteen years, Penelope has been to many Nationals in several sports. She leaves it all out there on the field, and if we're lucky only one or two carcasses of whatever she killed out there too. At this year's PRTAA National Specialty she was awarded her Versatility Championship. This September she competed in her last National Championship. She qualified in both her runs, competing along side her daughter, granddaughter and great granddaughter. If you ask Penelope, she won the whole damned thing and no one is telling her otherwise.

These past fifteen years have been incredible, not always easy but always amazing. I wouldn't trade this fiesty tornado for anything. Be careful what you wish for because you might just get it. Happy Birthday, Penelope! I don't know how many more adventures we have together, but I promise they will be filled with things to shred, critters to chase and all the steak you want!