The two little “Toy Manchester” dogs were under foot most of the time.  Cooter was always snugged up by Teetah in her rocking chair and would not let you come near.  She would growl and show her teeth if you walked by.  Cooter was the Mom and Topsy was her pup.  Teetah used to sit in the floor with a jar of hot water and tweezers ready to attack a flea that might be on one or both of the dogs.  She was quite successful bringing them to their demise.  Needless to say, the dogs brought a lot of joy to our childhood.

We also had a dog that was kept outside in a doghouse.  Sheila was my Dad’s prized Doberman Pincher.  She was our family guard dog and was a beautiful black and tan specimen.  She was not too happy with Mom one afternoon when she took me to the back porch to give me a “switching”.  Sheila promptly grabbed my Mom’s skirt and began to tear it off her!  Needless to say, Sheila was protecting me from harm!  I loved it!  She didn’t harm Mom, but she knew not to get after me in Sheila’s sight again.