I don’t know how he does it, but in both neighborhoods he’s lived in Murphy has acquired a fan base. Mostly the kids in the neighborhood, but he has his people admirers as well as a host of dog fans too.
In Jacksonville
At our old house, the first one Murph ever knew, I could understand why the neighborhood kids initially were drawn to him. He was a puppy. Not a newborn puppy, we’d gotten him when he was about five months old, but he was still puppyish enough.
One of our across-the-street neighbors had three boys. At the time, the middle boy, Barry, was seven. He ended up being one of Murphy’s biggest fans. But he sure didn’t start out that way. In the beginning, he was terrified of Murphy.
I’ll never forget one time he was riding his bike around while we were on a walk. We were actually at the top of the street and as we drew nearer to him he peddled furiously up his driveway and as we passed by he beseeched me to “please put that dog up so I can ride in peace.”
But only a few short months later that same boy would come over every day after school to see if Murph could come out and play. On Murph’s evening walks he liked to come with and would vie for the privilege of holding Murph’s leash.
The other neighbor kids were the same way. They’d all stop playing to come say hi to Murph and get a kiss or give one. But Barry was definitely a charter member and co-president of the Jacksonville chapter of Murph’s fan club. (Murph’s best dog friend Tucker gets the honor of being the other co-president.)
In Nashville
There is no definitive Barry or Tucker here in Nashville, but there certainly are some contenders.
A family with three boys recently moved into a house we pass by most days on our walk. The youngest, Micheal, is nuts for Murphy. If we walk by and he gets to pet Murph when he’s waiting for the school bus, his dad says we just made his whole day. Judging from the size of his smile and the way he shouts hello to Murph even before we get to him, I believe his dad is sincere.
Up our street there’s a family with five kids, three boys and two girls. The boys have always been crazy about Murph, but the oldest girl (who’s second youngest overall) was terrified of him up until this year. She’d cry and wouldn’t come anywhere near Murph, but these days she rushes up to him and gives him a big ol’ hug.
As far as dogs go, Sophie and Lady are always delighted to see Murph, even though they never know what kind of greeting he’ll give them. Most days he’s too busy scouting for bunnies to pay them any attention, but they don’t let it phase them. They surround him with tail wags and playful nips all the same.
Murph’s Biggest Fans
Besides the people I’ve listed above, Murph’s got a slew of other fan clubs members. Mostly of other people in our neighborhood, some who don’t have dogs and some who do.
But even if he wasn’t greeted with daily pats and tail wags from them, he’d have a fan club right here at home. Me, Wayne, Kitty, and definitely Tabby (who watches for him out the window until he comes back from his walks) are his biggest fans.
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