Merlin "The Pooh" Kemp

MERLIN "THE POOH" KEMP is a King Charles Spaniel - but he doesn't let the fancy-schmancy name get to his head. Don't let the picture fool you: Merlin is not as sweet and innocent as he may appear! Among his more favorite pastimes are:

• chewing the fur off his tennis ball - and anything else he comes across, from my hair things to my father's slippers.
• Getting ahold of things he's not allowed to - and running pell mell with them into his little crate. You see Merlin running - you know he has something in his mouth!
• Chewing ice cubes.
• Rubber bands. He has a fetish for rubber bands
• My lap. All I have to do is sit on the floor cross-legged, and he'll come down from ANYWHERE in the house and fall asleep on it - he's got some kind of radar!

Anyway, would you believe that I wasn't even consulted about this major decision? I was here at Swarthmore last May. It was right before finals when I got The E-Mail:

Believe me, a gust of wind not strong enough to ruffle a tissue-paper-thin leaf would have blown me to Mars and back at that moment. My mom - the avid allergy-worrier, the avid overprotective mother - bought a dog ???

So I didn't exactly take her entirely seriously - until I got the picture in the mail. I was the last Kemp to meet Merlin, but that didn't stop him from quickly fixating upon my lap as the ideal sleeping spot. Which is why I can't sit on the floor cross-legged anymore - unless I KNOW I won't need to be getting up anytime soon.......

Want to know about Merlin's family history - it dates back to colonial times with lots of interesting legends! See what I've found - some of this stuff is truly original!

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Last Modified: 3/23/97
Wendy Elizabeth Kemp