"Dogs have their place in a home, usually at the head of the family."
(Happy Musings is a newspaper feature syndicated by King Features that I create each day to remind us all that “Life is wonderful!.”
Who doesn't like muffins? Blueberry muffins, raspberry muffins, pumpkin muffins, carrot muffins, apple cinnamon, oat bran, muffins with cherries on top, muffins with nuts, even muffins with chocolate chips!
So when my friend Brenda called to tell me about her new muffin diet, my ears perked up. It was not that I needed to lose weight, but I'm always collecting information for friends who may need a new way to attack the bulge.
Brenda explained it like this: It seems that a month previously when she had come to visit me in La Jolla from the desert, she had brought with her a small Springer spaniel, a rescue dog. Brenda is always rescuing dogs. In fact her home is filled with little, lost Chihuahuas. But on this day she had left the little ones home and brought the spaniel. He was new to the group and she was not sure how he would get along with the others while she was away.
When she arrived I got my first peek at this little black and white fellow with big, loopy eyes. I could see that he was filled with an intense desire to be loved and at the same time to love, with a little mischief mixed in. He was adorable.
Now on this particular day I was giving a tennis lesson to a young woman whom I knew was looking for a little dog for her daughter. I put the three of them together -- mother, daughter and spaniel. Brenda thought it was a good fit. It was the daughter's ninth birthday and to have a fully-trained dog as a birthday present seemed like a gift from heaven.
So the dog went home with mother and child, and Brenda and I went for a walk on the beach. Then ensued hourly phone calls from the mother about the misbehavior of the small fellow. He barked when he saw another dog. He pulled on his leash. The daughter became terrified of him and the mother felt house-bound and imprisoned. So, Brenda took the little guy back to her home, hoping to find a more patient family to adopt him.
This is where the diet comes in. During the next few weeks while Brenda searched for a new home for the spaniel, whom she called "Muffin", she kept him happy by going on walks. "The amazing thing," she said, "is that I'm losing weight. Not only weight, but inches." Brenda has an hour-glass figure, but one that can spread wide and far if not kept in check. She continued to explain that the Chihuahuas had never given her much of a workout. They just dallied along, but Muffin liked to power walk and even run. Brenda was getting in shape with the help of Muffin and there was a good chance she wasn't going to give him up.
That's when she realized what a great weight loss plan she had created. "Yep," she said, "just go to the pound, get yourself a ragamuffin and you're on your way." That's how it came to be and that's all there is to it -- The Muffin Diet!
Smiles, Sally
“Life is wonderful! Don’t forget it.”
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c 2008 Sally Huss
