Alli was happiness

In 2016, our family was recovering from a rough time, the details of which are not relevant to this story. Pearl had returned home to live with us and she felt that a new dog was just what the family needed. She also did her research and decided that a Springer Spaniel was the breed we should be considering.

At the time, we already had two dogs and I didn't really want a third. Lucky was a large border collie/lab mix, he was a wonderful, gentle soul and we all loved him, he was nearing the end of his life and I didn't think it was fair to him to bring in another pet.

Our second dog was Max and he really was Max! He was a 5-pound Papillon with a 50-pound attitude. He was smart, loyal and had a take-no-prisoners personality. He loved everyone, but he really had to watch out for himself due to his diminutive stature. Interestingly, Max too was a Spaniel breed and it showed in his nature.

While Lucky was getting long in the tooth, Max was middle-aged and had many good years ahead of him. Bringing a third dog in wasn't fair to him either, but Pearl was persistent and I can't lie, I always wanted a Springer Spaniel, so it was easy to talk me into it when a breeder was found just a short drive away in Renfrew.

Joanne and the girls travelled up to Renfrew to view the litter. There were black and white ones, liver and white, and then there were the tri-colours. Joanne was drawn to one tiny little tri-colour puppy who just wagged her tail relentlessly. She was such a happy little thing, a little girl with a heart on her head. That was the one Joanne picked. "How soon can you take my money? Can I pay double?" Okay, that is stretching it, but like all puppy visits, there's no going home without putting down the money.

A few weeks later, we all piled into the car and drove back to the breeder's. I still had my misgivings, but at the same time, I knew it would be worthwhile.

We got her home and introduced her to the rest of the menagerie, with the predicted reluctant acceptance. We all started interacting with this new member of the family and I clearly remember thinking to myself that we were in for a long trial to bring this little empty vessel up to speed. She was absolutely clueless, incredibly cute and affectionate, but clueless.

A few short days later, she knew everything. So fast was her adjustment, I don't even remember the house-training. Did she even pee in the house at all? I'm sure she did, but the process was effortless. All she wanted to do was make us happy. She didn't play favourites; she just wanted all of us to be happy and did everything we asked.

A Springer Spaniel is a working breed. They are flushers; they run through the fields and forest and anything on the ground will take flight or head up into the trees. I took on the responsibility of ensuring she got her exercise. She was high-energy.

We'd walk in the woods behind the house. She never had a leash; none of my dogs did. Lucky could hardly walk, so he just plodded along. Max was tiny. He'd keep up just fine, but Alli would do her thing. She'd run for miles and miles on a 2K walk.

She taught us all her favourite games. Balls are for retrieving. Sticks? I have to chase her. But rocks were another game altogether. What is it with Spaniels and rocks?

When she was a pup, I'd take her to work. It wasn't fair to leave her at home with the other dogs. Max and Lucky were a unit. Alli was just too much for them; the dynamic was never there between the three of them.

I worked at a marina just down the road and Alli fit right in. She gelled with Sloan, a large Shepherd, and the rest of the crew loved her. My job at the marina was much like the job I do at Wawautosa Marina: service, parts, IT, marketing, rentals and a whole lot of customer interaction. Alli was fine with all of it. If I had to climb into a boat, she'd figure out a way to join me. She could levitate.

She would make calculations and ponder, and then levitate to impossible heights and join me wherever I might be.

Where she did become a problem was when I was in the yard talking with customers. She didn't understand standing still. She understood me working on something, but standing still was not allowed, no matter what.

I'd be doing my thing and she'd just bounce around, jump from side to side and basically make a nuisance of herself until one day, I picked up a pebble and tossed it. It was the invention of her favourite game. I could carry on lengthy conversations just by picking up a handful of stones. I called it "drills."

I would point in the direction I wanted her to go, toss the stone and she'd run that way. Once in a while she'd pick it up, but usually she'd just turn around and run back towards me. I'd throw the stone in another direction and she'd just keep running. I'd talk with the customer and throw stones. Dog got exercise, I got my work done and people were genuinely entertained by her charm and enthusiasm.

I never saw a dog so good with directional pointing. I would point with my finger and she'd look or go in that direction. I'm sure it's not unique, but she was the first dog I saw that was so skilled at this.

This "drills" game went to a whole other level in the winter. Pebbles are hard to find, so I'd use snow. I'd kick at the crusty snow, pick up an armload of snow chunks and let the games ensue. The enthusiasm and athleticism were awe-inspiring.

I would toss a snow chunk to get her running. She'd turn around and run back towards me, and I would throw another one in front of her. She would leap to catch it at full stride and achieve long jumps that, had I not witnessed them myself, I'd call BS.

One day, when there was fresh snow on the ground, I got her going out on the river in front of the house. I did the toss and then paced out the distance from where her feet left the ground to where they touched down. It was about 40 feet. Absolutely unbelievable.

How did we get such an amazing dog? Was it just luck? Or maybe she was only perfect in our own eyes.

I never yelled at her unless there was danger to her. I always praised her, no matter what. If she barked, I thanked her for helping and let her know she didn't need to continue. She'd stop. I never gave her a treat for doing what I asked; I would just randomly give her a treat for nothing. I wanted her to listen to me because I was awesome in her eyes and I was! We all were.

If she was outside and I wanted her to come in, I would just say her name, once, and she'd come running. That is just how she was. She had nearly perfect recall and I don't take credit for that at all. It was just who she was.

Alli was at my side for 10 years. I'm probably more known as the guy with the Springer Spaniel than I am as Mike. When a customer would ask, "Where's Mike?" Sharon would often tell them to look for Alli. I have spent the last four years working in a very public position and she has been with me everywhere and at all times.

She would actually bounce between Joanne, Rose and myself. When Rose worked at the marina, people knew she was my daughter because Alli was with her instead of me—I mean, what other explanation could there be? Joanne would weed her gardens and that was a whole other game. It was a Joanne and Alli game. Same with bubbles. Rose had games too. When she worked in the store, she would point at someone and tell Alli to go say hello—she would always oblige. She could catch food thrown by a hardball pitcher.

For 10 years, Joanne and I swapped Alli stories. I would go for a walk in the woods and come home and tell her all about it because, inevitably, something endearing happened. I follow a Springer Spaniel subreddit and I share the Springer pictures with Joanne. When talking with my kids, they always ask about her and I'm always there to regale them with the latest cute or amazing thing. Hundreds of people a year have interacted with her and fallen for her charms.

She was fiercely loyal to us and she didn't like other dogs around her. She felt she should have exclusive access to me, Joanne and Rose. She was definitely exclusive to me, and all inclusive forever.

There is no love like the love of a dog.