Tippy

When I was a kid I used to talk to my dog, Tippy. She was a Poodle and Terrier mix, and whenever anyone asked what kind of dog she was, I would say poode-n-terrier. I said it as one word, like she was some exotic breed no one had ever heard of. She was small and black, and she understood every word I said. At the boiling point of my eight year old angst, I would seek Tippy out and tell her everything. I told her how my sister tortured me, and how my parents didn't understand the impossibility of cleaning my room, I shared with her a very real fear that my policeman father might be shot on the job, and my desire for a little brother, a brother I knew would be on my side in my efforts against my torturous sister.....This one goes out to Tippy.