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The survivor of a litter of two, Manny was Shortie's first puppy. He
taught us more about loving and raising puppies than we could ever imagine. He
was a gentleman and cared for all the girls that inhabit our home. Though they
fought often, Manny had a unique relationship with his half brother Grantly. He
loved him in his own way and Grantly knew this as well.
Manny crammed a
lifetime into the decade that he was with us. He tried to go to the (dog)
show(s) as his papa Harmon, the great Ch. Anstamm All American had done, but
Manny preferred the home life. Sometimes underfoot, sometimes under the covers,
he always wanted to be where we were. And be there he was as Manny witnessed
the birth of over 19 puppies in 4 litters. More importantly, Manny was there
when we arrived home from the hospital with our little bundles of joy, Jonathan
and then Noah. Along with his mom Shortie, Manny inspired us to choose a career
in caring for pets and proudly saw the creation of Minglewood Kennels grow from
a bold dream to a successful reality.
Our “little man” was a
constant source of entertainment. He loved to play “tunnel” where we
crouched down on all fours while Manny crawled underneath us snorting and
barking. Manny had a favorite version of fetch which was really disguised as
“keep away” and aptly named “Gimme that Manny, gimme that.”
His best skill was that of a mimic. His repertoire was slim but his
impersonation of Bruce the shark from Jaws was right on the mark.
Our unsuspecting boys would walk around with their sandwiches and Manny would
strike and devour in the blink of an eye. The kids learned to eat at the table
after that. The behavior experts would cringe if they knew how we spoiled
Manny. He had a fine taste for barbecued shrimp and never met a pizza crust
that he didn’t like.
Manny is at the rainbow bridge where he is
running with his mom and his sister Maggie. He will be in our hearts forever.
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The puppy always seemed to get lost in the shuffle since he was used
to marching to the beat of his own drum. Adventuresome, inquisitive and a wee
bit skittish, he skirted some potentially sticky situations only to scurry away
at the first sign of trouble. He loved his littermates even though they
occassionally picked on him. From an early age we could see that he was quite
handsome, with a magnificent head and dark piercing eyes acquired no doubt from
his dad Quinn. Our very own Cary Grant we thought and quickly agreed that he
would carry the call name Grantly although he answered more to his "anxious"
nickname "Boo." Eventually he stayed on with his sister Maggie while the others
went to their new homes. If a suitable home arose, fine but if not he was ours.
And that was that.
"Alpha Dog" Manny quickly sized up the situation and
deemed Boo his very own pet. How one dog could have another for a pet is
debatable but this was the scenario. Although Boo constantly fought with Manny,
he still had a good life. He got special treatment and extra love. He couldn't
believe his good fortune when we moved to the country to start our kennel. He
would run and run outside with Maggie, his true friend at his side. If Manny
was going to bug Grantly, he'd have to catch him first.
Boo was
affected by Shortie's passing, though not as much as Manny. It was Maggie's
illness and subsequent death that finally got Grantly down. Gone was his sister
and friend. There were other dogs and of course Manny, but it wasn't the same.
And then one day there was a shift in attitude between Manny and Boo. It was a
signal of course that all was not well with Manny. Knowing this, Boo the
gentleman gave Manny his due until Manny's illness took him. And suddenly there
was a very relaxed and happy Grantly. We thought of it as a gift from Manny to
give Boo time to be himself.
With love, we remember our most handsome
boy Grantly, a truly wonderful dog.
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