Friday, February 12, 2010

Meet Annie

Her full name is Colonel Anne, after one of my ancestors, Lady Anne MacIntosh, who rallied a bunch of troops from Clan MacIntosh in the 1700s during the Jacobite uprisings in Scotland. The king (deposed king? Scottish history is convoluted and I get easily confused by it - if it were the 1700s BCE, I'd have no problems with it...) - anyway, some king nicknamed her Colonel Anne. The really cool part? Lady Anne fought on the other side, not her husband's. At one point, her husband was arrested and put in her custody then when the political tides turned, she was arrested and put in her husband's custody. I think that's hysterical. I'm hoping to find an account of their personal lives together. That's probably some juicy reading.

My brother, Jason and his wife, Claudette, had decided to breed their golden Lab, Shiloh. She had eight puppies on the day I went in to have a cancerous mole removed. They were calling her Annie since she was three weeks old and it stuck. Annie was born 30 November and came home to me on 31 January. She is such an Annie: "Greek name: (meaning) gorgeous, kindhearted, rebellious, gentle towards others." (urbandictionary.com); or "a variant of Ann (Hebrew) and Hannah (Hebrew), and the meaning of Annie is 'favored grace'". (thinkbabynames.com)


I now get up at 6am. We have a fairly regulated eating schedule, which is new for me. She loves manhole covers and rocks. I call her My Little Geologist every time I pry open her mouth to remove the latest stone she's picked up. Even when she's sleeping, she's knows where I am and will wake up to follow me into the next room then flop down and pass out. Her favourite chewtoys = Curious George, froggies, beef tendons, and my hands. She likes cheese and hot dogs. I just found some recipes for homemade dog treats so will now bake for humans and dogs. She loves everyone she meets and will actually stop, sit and watch wistfully as every single person who has talked to her walks away. Funny and exasperating, all in one move. Her eyes are a stunning, clear green and I was told recently that they're very close in colour to my own.


The photo above is of her watching a big screen TV for the first time at Greg's, one my neighbours. She doesn't get to do that around here. We're more radio folk. Her current CBC boyfriend is Jim Curran. She likes traffic.