The Happy Story of Murphy Doodle

As all great stories begin, "Once upon a time there was a great woman...Her name was Murphy Doodle." Two little girls met this colorful red-headed woman when they were only youngsters. She laughed louder than the other women, she smoked longer cigarettes than the other women, she wore higher heels and carried a large leather purse. In her heels she stood above the crowd, or so the two little perceived. People noticed this woman. When her friends wore hats to lunch at Inness's Department Store in downtown Wichita, Kansas, Murph, as her friends called her, wore a daring or unique hat.

Irene B, Mother, and Murphy Doodle playing pool after working all week at Boeing. c1942

Our father said that Murph had more freckles than any woman he'd ever seen, and with a pool stick could find a sucker to beat in a game of 8 Ball.  We thought she was the finest example of who we wanted to be someday. She gave her nickname, Murphy Doodle, to us, and we felt special. Where did she get the nickname, I'll never known, but I think perhaps her father teased her with that name. 

The obituary called her Marie Murphy, and stated that she was a secretary at Boeing, and then for a law office. She and her sister, Inez, lived their lives together as old maids. How sad the two grown girls, my sister and I, felt, that she hadn't been given credit for being the life in a crowd, for saving enough money to buy and restore an old home on Riverside Dr. in Wichita, for caring for her sister, and for dearly loving those two little girls.

Mother, Murphy Doodle, and a friend

After fifty years of storing this wonderful character in our hearts, we have given life to her name once again. 

Before we met our dog that Saturday in May, I named him Happy, because he made us happy just thinking about the joy and excitement that would be living with us. 

His playful moves in between our legs, the circles he raced chasing his tail, and the moment he discovered he could bark kept us in constant laughter the first week. 

 During that time we began to experiment with other names like;

Tippy, because he would run fast in the yard, stop and then tip over his head because he couldn't figure out how to stop his movement. The tip on the tail added more reason to this name. 

Sleepy from Disney's Seven Dwarfs because puppies can fall fast asleep anywhere in any position. Of course, we name ourselves Sneezy, Grumpy, Happy, and sometimes Dopey, so Happy or Sleepy would fit right in.

Caddy and Calloway were options, but I already knew friends who named their dogs after golf.

Now Wattson had possibility. I thought it was unique, but Jack didn't agree, even though he grinned at the name.  

A week into the name game, my sister said, "Letty you have to name him Murphy Doodle because he is part Doodle, or Poodle, which is it?"

Immediately, my heart when back to a time when I played on the ground with dogs, cats, baby rabbits, injured birds, toys, trains, dolls, lady bugs and four leaf clovers. Just then I laughed as loud as I could at this silly Happy puppy who tried to jump into the bird bath only to have it tip over and spray the water all over his face. He shook but his body didn't quite know how to shake from front to back. His shook so much he fell over. 

Instantly, I knew my sister had chosen the perfect name. Murphy Doodle may not laugh or act like the real Marie Murphy Doodle, but he makes everyone around him laugh and giggle like we are children, like a lady who laughed her way into my heart seventy years ago.

For more stories about dogs and adventures click on my links below:

Postcards from the Wild: Skagway, Alaska  

  Lucy Goosey      

Lucy 

For other dog stories by Literally Letty please click on the links below:

Ticky

Puppy Dog Love