and all I got is this lousy t-shirt!  Frankie looks less than thrilled at her new outfit.  I think it is most endearing, don’t you?  As we make our way to schools and libraries with her book in the near future I told her she must look her best.  And the message on her shirt is perfect, as it says, “Bee happy!”

Guess she has had enough of “dress up” as she just went to take a nap on her pink dancing kitty pillow.  The tough life of a little dog. If only someone loved her, huh?

Remember the movie “Frankie & Johnnie?”  Well, this picture is my version of “Frankie & Johnnie.”  Johnnie is my husband and I gave Frankie her name because of the movie (not because she is a Frankfurter, contrary to what the young neighbor boy told everyone!).  I thought it was so cool for a girl to have a name like Frankie (remember, it is short for Francesca).

   I remember when I got the idea in my head (and it would not leave!) I wanted a little wiener dog.  My husband said one word to me, “Why?”  I did not have a good reason.  I just knew I had to have one to love.  That was all I knew.  I went to pick her up without his approval.  He was not happy with me.  He was even unhappier when I showed up mid November 1999 with her.  Somehow, I just knew he would love her though. 

   That is the running joke in our household.  I “made” him first love me (I fell for him first), then I “made” him love the cats we have had, then I “made” him love our chocolate lab Cassie (who I begged for, for two years!).  I had a sneaking suspicion he would come around with little Frankie too.  He did.  Didn’t take long.  He was hooked. When he first saw her he joked her legs were on backorder.  To this day they still are.

  I really never had a good explanation as to why I wanted Frankie.  But, as the past year has unfolded and her becoming paralyzed, to me writing a children’s book about her, to talking with people about her, it has become quite clear this was the path God meant for me to travel.  Frankie is, and continues to be one of the biggest blessings in my life.  I have grown in ways I never imagined.  All because of a dog who looks like a sausage and weighs a mere 11 pounds.  And as you can tell from this picture, Johnnie enjoys his quiet time with Frankie.  Tugs at my heart strings.

  Every day I thank God for the path of paw prints which guide me through this beautiful thing called life.