Greta

Greta is my dog, a mixture of shepherd and who knows what - maybe even some coyote! We found her at a feed store outside of Diamond Springs, in El Dorado County.

Cathy and I, along with Patrick, had gone up to visit my Grandma. Grandma needed to pick up some stuff at Raley's in Placerville, so we took her into town, and on the way back, in front of the feed store on Pleasant Valley Road we saw a spray-painted piece of plywood proclaiming, "Free Weekend Puppies". Cathy asked if I was ready.

My previous dog, Mia, had been my companion since my days at UC Davis. She was a mix of German Shepherd, Australian Shepherd and Samoyed. You never saw a dog who would go to such lengths for the smallest crumb of a crispy chinese noodle. She would roll over, balance biscuits on her nose, crawl on her belly across the floor, shake hands, shake her whole body on command (useful trick when she was dripping wet in the shower!)... Mia had passed away the year before when we found ourselves in front of the feed store, contemplating taking on another member of the family.

There were two litters of hunting-dog mutts, and then I noticed a single shepherd puppy sitting next to a box from a case of oil. I dumped out the box and discovered six more puppies from the litter. Cathy asked, "How do we choose?" We called out,"Somebody give us a sign", and Greta came over and licked Cathy's hand. So Greta chose us.

When we moved from San Francisco to the Ranch, Greta settled right in chasing, catching and eating jackrabbits. She once chased a jackrabbit twice around our 1-mile deer fence before catching it. That dog could run! She would also stay right with our little ones, guarding them from whatever perils might otherwise befall them.

Greta's repertoire of tricks is not as extensive as was Mia's, and she can't keep up with the jackrabbits anymore. At 13, she can't hear as well as she used to, but she enthusiastically greets any visitors who come to the Ranch. She also regularly sneaks out of the gate when a departing car exits, and reliably heads up the driveway to visit our neighbors, John & Helen. John & Helen reward Greta from time to time with some freshly grilled chicken from their barbecue, so it's a nice friendship that she's got on the side. When I return in the evening, she leads me back down the driveway to the Ranch and home.

Give a holler and come for a visit, and you'll get to meet Greta, the official ambassador and greeter at Clary Ranch.