The Story Of "Penny" -- The First Dog I Ever Knew (October 14, 2014)

Try to ignore the period hat that my maternal grandmother is wearing in this newly discovered photo and focus instead on Penny, the dog who is taking her leisure with Grandma Ruth. The exact date of this snapshot is unknown, but is probably from the 1940s.  Penny was the first dog my sister and I ever knew and that would have been in the early 1950s. What I never knew until this past weekend when perusing with my mother snapshots showing Penny, is the story of how my mother's family came to be Penny's family.

As my mother recalled this past weekend, sometime in the 1940s a dog suddenly appeared in the yard of my grandparents at 551 High Street in Cumberland, Rhode Island. The dog was injured and obviously limping on a bleeding paw that was cut by glass or some sharp object. She was taken in and her paw was tended to.  As she healed, it became apparent that she was pregnant and not too far from delivering her litter -- and so she was cared for until the event occurred.

My mother is not sure of precisely how many puppies were born, but the photographic evidence we received last weekend indicates there were at least three.

Ruth Carpenter with two puppies from the litter. [Notice the white muzzles and white up through the brows.] 

Ruth Carpenter holding Penny as a puppy. [Notice the dark muzzle.]

My mother with Penny as an older puppy.

The other puppies were given to other families and the mother was given into the care of the local ASPCA as my mother recalls.  Penny lived a long and happy life at 551 High Street and was always a very calm and friendly dog to my sister and to me. We always looked forward to visiting and seeing Penny!

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Scans from original snapshots in the family collection.

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Copyright 2014, John D. Tew

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