Seven years ago on a chilly Sunday afternoon, Son No. 4 and our dog, Flyer, drove through the east-central Indiana countryside after a weekend visit with my mother which included a winter percussion contest for Son No. 3.

This huge plywood sign with hand-painted letters appeared:

F R E E    P U P P I E S

We actually drove past the sign. Before I knew it, the car was turned back around.

In the barn were ten puppies, the result of a Staffordshire bull terrier and black lab meeting.

Quintin selected a chunky male puppy. I saw the runt being trampled by the others and retrieved her.

We left with two puppies, Chief and Navi, names in honor of Quintin’s full Navajo heritage.

Watch Chief and Navi as puppies

The Puppy Dance

Celebrating the Potty Outside

Chief climbing the barricade to the stove

Puppies playing in the snow

Sadly, Navi, sustaining injuries from being hit by a car, left us December 21, 2013, five months after thirteen-year-old Flyer passed away.

Chief, at age seven, is the love of my life, along with the two girls who arrived Christmas night 2013.

We still love you, Navi….