Ebony came to me through a friend who happened to be in the right place at the right time.   One of his co-workers, who was a back yard breeder, brought a three week old puppy to work.   He said that the mother dog's milk had dried up and that the puppies were starving to death.   This was the only one left.   If someone wanted it they could take it home and bottle feed it and it might live.

One man said he'd take the pup. He shoved it into a small box and tossed the box up onto the seat of his dump truck.   The box hit the seat and bounced, rolling down and landing hard on the floor.   The starving puppy was screaming in terror the whole time.   The "new owner" walked away leaving the box containing the puppy on the floor of the truck.

My friend approached the man who had brought the pup to work and told him that he would like to take the puppy to a friend who would raise it and care for it.   The man reached into the truck and took the box out, handing it to my friend.   When he walked in my door that afternoon, it was love at first sight for me and Ebony.

Although all my "babies" are special, there have been three who were actually my soul mates:

Zipper was the first.   (Yes, that is a live squirrel in her picture) She loved every living thing.   She was crazy about baby animals of all kinds.   She rode everywhere with me in my bicycle basket.   If I went inside a friend's home she would sleep in the basket until I came out.   I used to dress her up in doll clothes.   She was my real. live, "baby doll".   She was my best friend.   All my real best friends have been four legged.   She was with me from the time I was five years old until I was nineteen.

Secondly, there was Peaches.   She was my love for fourteen years.   (Yes...that is a baby duck and kittens in her pictures)   Peaches, like Zipper, loved all creatures.   She would adopt anything that was orphaned and help me to raise it.

Now I have Ebony.   She considers herself to be the QUEEN around the lighthouse and helps me to take care of all the foster babies.   If a dog comes in with puppies, Ebony will "baby sit" while the mom goes out for a break.   If a larger or more able dog harasses a smaller or weaker dog, Ebony will fly to the rescue.

Ebony grew up in motel rooms while I was on the road as a professional singer.   She used to do shows with me.   She has four songs that she enjoys singing and she knows her part on each one.

On "Sunday Kind Of Love"..she sings lead.

On "Unchained Melody"...she sings backup.

On "Eagle When She Flies"....she sings harmony

On "Won't You Come Home Bill Bailey"....she likes

    to take the last verse and do the finale.

Other songs don't really interest her too much.   She does all these things on her own with no "training" from me.   She is truly an amazing baby -- undoubtedly, the most intelligent baby I have ever encountered.

She has grown to be a wonderful, loyal, best friend to me.   It shakes me to my core to think what might have happened to her if she had stayed in that box in the dump truck, or had stayed with the back yard breeder to become a "tool" to line his pockets.

I thank God every day for sending her to me.