Happy Birthday Murphy!

Murphy taking a nap on Ruby

Murphy is three years old.

I will never know his real birthday so today seems like an appropriate day to celebrate the dog love of my life.

Murphy came to me as a foster in the fall of 2005, a Katrina orphan. I searched for his owner from the moment I first saw his Petfinder records in early September. One of the Petfinder records listed him as being eight years old.

Ruby was eight at the time, and she was the reason for what I did to help get Katrina pets rescued and reunited. The thought of her alone and terrified and separated from me made me do what I did and kept me going.

I named him Murphy because he looked like a little Irish cop. He was listed a being a Shih Tzu, a Lhasa Apso and a mix. He looked like a sweet little shaggy dog to me. I just knew that someone had to be missing him. But no one ever turned up.

It was only when I took him to my vet who told me that he was between 7-9 months old did it make sense that no one was looking for him.

If his owners had lost their home and all their possessions, and had him for only 3-6 months before Katrina, they probably were too overwhelmed to look for their puppy. I like to think that they were later able to find out that he was rescued and safe. I also like to think that when they get their lives back to order, they will get another dog or puppy. He was obviously well loved and cared for, and for all he had been through in his young life, he bonded with me instantly and strongly. And I with him. If it's possible for a human and a dog to be soul-mates, we are.

He is a Lhasa Apso, probably a pure-breed but I'll never know and don't really care. He has that somewhat stubborn, somewhat willful, playful, clown-like Lhasa personality. He is the most perceptive dog I've ever known. Every day he makes me laugh and opens my heart a little more.

I love the Tibetan legends surrounding Lhasa Apsos. One is that monks believe they are reincarnated lions and as such hold them in high esteem. Another legend is that priests who failed to reach Nirvana were reincarnated as Lhasa Apsos and that golden Lhasas are said to house the souls of the Dalai Lamas.