Carl Montford got his dog Becka 12 years ago from a breeder "way out in the country in Marysville," he said. Though she's a Bichon Frise "I think there's a poodle in her background somewhere around the grandfather level," Montford said, "She's a little longer of leg and body than our other standard Bichon was. She made it to fourteen, and she was a little shorter. But I think the poodle makes her a little healthier."

He and Becka are constant walking companions. "I'm here today," in Jack Block Park, " because of the guilt she lays on me about this time every day to go for a walk." Becka will jump on top of him when he's sitting down and look him right in the eye and whine a little, urging him to get up and get moving. "We can't even spell W-A-L-K hardly anymore because she is understanding that I suspect."

The park isn't just Becka's favorite place to walk, "It's OUR park," Montford said, "You guys are guests! We've been here since they opened it." They come to the park every day, rain, shine or even snow. "I sold my boat several years ago so I come here for my salt water fix and it doesn't cost me a thing for the salt air."

Becka's diet is "expensive veterinarian dog food and then she likes a little treat like a bit of leftover filet or prime rib."

She's not a toy lover, and does not fetch. "She loves to lay on the sofa and she loves to be with me almost 24/7, wherever I go, upstairs, downstairs, in my studio, on the sofa or the lazyboy."

Becka is a squirrel chaser and is a decent guard dog, alerting Montford and his wife Barbara when someone is outside.

Her two best friends are right next door, a Boston Terrier named Taz and a French Bulldog named Owen. The neighbors daughter "Opens the door occasionally against her parent's wishes and the dogs come running over to our house and we usually have a door open and they come in, usually they clean up Becka's plate when didn't quite get all the crumbs. I just call them two little marauders. They just come roaring through the house. She's so used to it now that she just sits and watches the whole circus."

Another dog nearby, named Daisy will start barking, which prompts Becka to respond. "I'm not sure what they are saying but I think it's just saying howdy," Montford said.

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