Kippi was my first purebred dog and my first Alaskan Malamute, following a succession of mixed breed dogs throughout my life. She was kind of an impulse purchase in that we had just lost our previous dog and my husband knew I needed another dog. So the darling promised me whatever kind I wanted and I chose an Alaskan Malamute. He never knew what he was getting into or I'm sure he would never have made this offer. I got on the phone, Dogs in Canada magazine in hand, and we went to visit the very first breeder that had puppies available. After all, this is the way I had always acquired mixed breed dogs and purebreds should be even easier, right? Hah!

It was a rainy night when I first saw Kippi, ten weeks old and stuck under the porch for fear of the thunder and lightening. I had to have her, and there began a lifetime battle to make Kippi be what I thought she should be. She ripped holes in the flooring and carpet, peed and pooped where she wished for a long time, ran away when called, ripped down wallpaper, tore apart my Integra's interior (twice) and made our lives so unbearable that poor hubby demanded obedience classes or else! To our credit, no matter how badly Kippi behaved or how much damage she caused, there was never any thought to not keeping her for the rest of her life.

No, she never was a perfect darling, but I learned so very much from her. I learned about obedience and obedience trials, and completed her Companion Dog Excellent title with some pretty good scores. I learned about the sport of flyball, which was just beginning at that time. I learned about agility and dog shows and conformation, although I could not show her in conformation. And most of all, I learned that you can't always make someone else exactly what you want them to be, but you can enjoy them for what they are. Thank you, Kippi. Everyone should have a dog like you.