“He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog.
You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion.” — Anonymous
“Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole.” Roger Caras
“We never really own a dog as much as he owns us.” Gene Hill
“Whoever said you can’t buy happiness forgot little puppies.” Gene Hill
If you come from
a “dog” family, you remember the family dog when you were a kid. He or she may have even been yours (or as Mr. Hill explains it, they own you). Usually when I speak to others about dogs, a big smile comes across our faces as we recall favorite dog stories.
I was lucky enough to be brought up in a dog family. There were a few cats along the way, but that was after I was married and she always had a cat, so we became a dog and cat family. My earliest memories of dogs were the two spaniel mutts the babysitter had. I would wander out into the yard and to the kennel. I’d finally figured out the latch and get into the kennel and into their coops, where they would wag their tails and lick me. I loved those dogs and would laugh every time they would be let out and they would run around me and knock me down. I’d feed and water them just like they were mine.
We had a black cocker spaniel when I was a kid. As I aged, the dog couldn’t get enough attention from me, so he’d visit my great grandparents. Grandpa loved that dog, and eventually the dog quit coming home and stayed with them. That was OK with me at the time, as I was spending more time on studies and sports (a little later, girls came into the picture). He was spoiled by my great grandparents and they loved him.
When I was a kid, the babysitter’s neighbor, Bud, had a dog named Spike. He took the dog up to deer camp to keep him company in the U.P. One day he let Spike out of the cabin to do his business and he didn’t return. It was late in the week and he had to leave to get back to work. He called and called and searched, but no Spike.
He left broken-hearted, thinking he would never see Spike again. He got home and winter set in. He was lonely for Spike but he didn’t have the heart to get another dog. In April, on a warm spring day, a dog was seen on the corner resembling Spike. Bud called out and the dog trotted down the street toward him. Sure enough, it was a bedraggled and beat up Spike. He lost a few pounds, but overall he was OK.
This was just before the Mackinac Bridge was completed, so ferry boats plied the straits to connect lower and upper peninsulas. How the dog got across the straits is a mystery, but Bud always figured someone found him and brought him back home, thinking Spike would be their dog. Once in the Lower Peninsula, the dog had to find Bud and he took off. At least, that was Bud’s explanation. A few years later, Spike got run over, barking and chasing a car down the street. He never liked loud jalopies.
A friend of mine had two golden retrievers for years. As they grew older and slower, one of them had health problems and was quickly going downhill. The dog lost his struggle and died in his arms. The other dog lasted about another two years before he displayed the same health problems. My friend called me one afternoon at work; the dog had gotten worse and asked what I would do. I knew exactly what he was going through, I had a dog in a similar situation years before.
After discussing and empathizing with him, it boiled down to this “I’d do what’s best for the dog.” He agreed and went through with the unpleasant deed with a vet friend coming to his house and administering the medications to put the dog to unending sleep. The dog’s pain eased, the owner relieved but lost his friend, and the task of burying the dog proceeded.
The cycle of life, we live, we die and what we do in between is hopefully meaningful for both us and others. Having a dog is part of the family, and when you lose a family member, it leaves a void. It never goes away, but having another dog to take their place helps. Anyone saying you can’t buy love — never had a pup.
