This is one of the earliest photos we took of Margot after we adopted her in 2000. Anyone who’s seen pictures of her through the years or who’s ever met her will probably doubt she’s the same dog, because almost immediately her saddle turned from black to blonde.
This is the photo I sent out to our friends because I loved the look of utter mischief in her eyes. She came to us named Margo, but Timmy mistakenly referred to her as Margot in his emails. We adopted that spelling because we said the “T” stood alternately for “terrific” and “trouble.” Even at her age now, she can still romp hard, but what she mostly loves is food, and her expressions when she’s on the alert for possible handouts are priceless.
Also, as you can see, we knew from the beginning she was the dog for us because she was undertaking a bit of heavy reading.
That’s the first time I’ve ever heard of a dog being scared blond after being caught reading.
I think it’s because the top book is about yachting vessels. She didn’t want us to know she aspired to lifestyles of the rich and canine.
I always thought of her thick topcoat as armor from her days on the street. She slowly accepted that she was safe with us and dropped it.
Good metaphor.