What's Up With That Name?

You may be wondering why I chose MicroBioPhyle as the title of my blog. MicroBio is obvious as I was once a microbiology professor and I like to write about disease-causing microbes occasionally. But what's up with the Phyle? Let's see.

I could have chosen 'Phile' which would have suggested that I'm attracted to microbiological subjects. But that was taken, and I'm not really attracted to them. I just like those kinds of topics.

I might also have chosen 'File' suggesting I was going to write posts about microbiology and file them on my blog. That was also taken. Ho-hum.

As both of my first choices were already taken by other bloggers, I went with a homonym of the two words. Phile, File, Phyle. It's completely meaningless, but it works for me!

What's this blog going to be about, you might ask. My first answer to that question is "why does anybody choose to write about anything?" It's a hobby. It's an outlet. It keeps the old brain cells alive. And it just might be informative to some. Who knows?

And THAT dear reader is the why behind the name. 

Daisy the Wonderdog

 

It's probably of little interest to most people, but I have to write a little about Daisy, our 5 1/2-year-old English Springer Spaniel. She truly is a wonder. She's the most vocal, emotional, Velcro-dog I have ever owned.

Daisy is the 4th ESS to inhabit my family. I fell in love with the breed with our first dog Sadie, who we acquired while I was stationed in Anchorage, Alaska. This was at a stage in my life when the kids were in their early elementary school years. Family time was everything and Sadie fit right in. She loved the snow in the winter and running wild on the trails in the summer. Sadie traveled the world with us, from Alaska to California to Germany and ultimately to Colorado. She set the mark for the future Springers to follow.

Sadie was followed in quick order by Molly, the sweetest, slowest, lovingest dog, and Maggie, the runt of a litter and a little hyper. She complemented Molly's docile demeanor during the years they lived in my home together.

Daisy has an incredible vocabulary. She knows a lot of words. Besides the common sit/stay/come commands that she learned in puppy school, she knows the names of all our friends that come to visit and all the toys in her toy box. She also knows intuitively when we're going for a walk or a ride in the car.

Finding Daisy was no easy thing. First of all, I had to convince my wife to allow another Springer Spaniel into our lives. It was about a year after Maggie passed and I was desperate for a companion. She wanted a smaller breed. I actually pleaded for another ESS until she relented. Then I searched high and low for a reputable breeder within driving distance of our home. Finally, I located a family in the high desert (about 2 hours by car) who had 2 near-simultaneous litters to sell off. We jumped on it. First by email and phone, then later by visiting the pups when they were about 2 weeks old. Daisy was one of the second litter pups. Her mom was black and white while her dad was a more standard liver and white. The litter were all tri-colored! We were very excited to get little Daisy home.

Once Daisy was 8 weeks old, vaccinated and weaned from her mother, she came home to us. What an exciting day that was! Soon after, I enrolled her in puppy school and began the difficult process of teaching her the basics. 

Daisy is a full-grown adult now, all 48 pounds of her. She loves her daily walks and her 'meditation' sessions with her mom, when Daisy gets to nap. She's got a hearty appetite and saves room for whatever we are eating, when the occasion arises - which is daily. She's a wonderful friend and a trusted companion. How many people can you say that about?