All About Tiegra

Last night we had a wonderful time outside with the dog and I realized that many people may not know we have a dog named Tiegra. I thought it would be fitting to tell our dog's story about how she found her way into our home. Nearly two years ago, my kids were visiting my older sister, Shannon, at her home in Oakdale, LA in June 2008. She lives on a back highway with very, very few homes on the street. Unfortunately, people often dump their unwanted animals on the highway. With all of my sister's animals, those strays end up in her yard. During the kid's visit, two little stray dogs showed up in my sister's yard. I believe Ashlynn, my sister's daughter, named the black and white one, Avi. Elisa named the tiger striped one, Tiegra.

Originally, Elisa wanted to name Tiegra- Tiger, but Jon refused to have any dog named Tiger, especially coming from Louisiana. Why would that be a problem. LSU's (University of Alabama rival) mascot is a Tiger.

When my sister brought the kids back to Alabama, along came Tiegra. We are not exactly sure what kind of dog she is. Shannon thinks it may be a mixed Catahoula Cur dog, which is the Louisiana state dog. Basically, she is like any mut. She smells, licks, loves to run and play. Jay practices soccer with her. He tries to play keep away from her. All of the neighborhood kids know her name from Jay and Elisa walking her everyday. She is a sweet dog that loves being with her family and friends. Even Jon admitted last night that he would miss her if she was gone.

Back to last night...Elisa wanted to practice hitting a volleyball before try-outs today and Jay wanted to practice kicking field goals. Our yard is why too small to use, so we loaded up the truck and included the dog on our little trip. For the first time, Tiegra was allowed to sit in the middle row. I covered the seat with her sheet. We rolled down the windows eagerly waiting for her to pop her head out the window to feel the breeze. What does the dog do? She lays down. After awhile she figured out that putting her head out the window wasn't so bad. We drove to the community college behind our house. Yes, we drove because it would have been a two mile walk one way. I think she was so excited to play outside she jumped out the window near the soccer field. Thankfully, Jon was driving really slow and she landed safely. We went to the soccer field, which is all fenced in and about the size of 3 football fields. Tiegra was FREE and she ran and ran and ran until she could not handle running any more. Elisa and I practiced volleyball with the soccer goal post, while Jon and Jay kicked the football. Overall, it was a wonderful night. I think Tiegra had the best time out of everyone.