I promised in my blog yesterday that I'd post a picture of Molly soon, so here she is. Here's a short definition of the Papillon breed from Wikipedia.com:

"The Papillon is a small dog breed with distinctive large, fringed ears that earned it its name, the French word for butterfly. The Papillon is believed to be one of the oldest of the toy breeds. Though known to be reserved with strangers, these dogs can also be protective of a human family member, and are good alarm dogs while still affectionate to those they know. Papillons are very athletic, enjoying running or chasing, but usually enjoy staying indoors."

Here's the thing about Molly: she is a little, oh, how do I put it? Overly attached to me. She follows me everywhere. In the bathroom, in the shower, from room to room, under my feet in the kitchen. You get the idea. If I even look at the front door, she's standing beside her leash. Heaven forbid I leave her behind! And, if I'm stupid enough to try and sneak away, beware to all who are left with her...she goes "completely psychotic," as my boyfriend so aptly put it.

Molly was a gift from said boyfriend for our one-year anniversary, and although I was overwhelmed with the responsibility of taking care of Molly when she was a puppy, it's grown into a comfortable existence. She curls up on my pillow at night beside me, and the house-breaking thing is coming along...usually.

There are some crazy facts about Papillons that I didn't know about:

- King Henry II allegedly spent upwards of 100,000 crowns on his papillons.
- Marie Antoinette owned a Papillon, as well as Madame de Pompadour and Henry III, who had a very strong devotion to the breed.
- Actress Autumn Reeser of The O.C. owns a Papillon named Gatsby after the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
- Christina Aguilera owns two Papillon dogs, Chewy and Stinky.

Apparently, I've got the same great taste as Marie Antoinette and King Henry II. That's good...right?

Well, the point of this post is that there are some things in my life that I can't remember not having. Like Molly, for instance. It's strange for me to think about a time in my life when I didn't have her around, welcoming me home and helping me relax at the end of a stressful day.

It's weird how sometimes you take things for granted, forgetting about how bad off you were, or how different things used to be. I guess it's that whole "grass is greener" analogy. Sometimes you don't know how good you have it until what you have is gone.

But, lucky for me, Molly's not leaving my side for many, many years to come...literally. I can't go to the bathroom without her following me in!

And, I promise; no more gratuitious dog posts. :)

Labels: Jaclyn Wile, student blog