November 17, 2006
The Best Dog There Ever Was
We have animals. Three dogs, a hamster, a guinea pig, and some fish.
One of the fish (a Beta named "Dude") died today, and Meelie-No, our youngest, was heart-broken - she wept.
This lady lost her doggie - The Hard Way - which brought back a remembrance of Shoestrings, our Miniature Schnauzer.
Moogie and I got Shoestrings when he was 6 or 7 weeks old. He got his name right there in the pet store, when he pulled and growled ferociously as he pulled and tugged on my shoelaces.
Two days later, our niece (Let's call her DanDan) banged her head in a fall from a bicycle, and we went to visit her in the hospital (a precautionary stay, thankfully). I stuffed Shoestrings into an inside pocket in my jacket, and took him along for the visit. DanDan was in a room with three other little girls, two of whom were seriously ill. DanDan and Crew were seriously thrilled with the puppy - who was seriously thrilled with them - he slobbered all over them! From the giggles and a YAP or two, Nurse knew that Something Was Going On, but was kind enough to allow fifteen minutes of giggles and a couple of yaps to pass before harrumphing about thirty seconds before coming through the door.
As he grew and matured into a Big Dog (at 25 pounds!), his duty, as he saw it, was to play with children and Mom and Dad, to pull us along on walks, to sit patiently whilst our elder two children taught him to Sit, and Stay, and C'mere, and "Wait for it....Wait for it... YOU MAY EAT!"
And... every night, about once an hour, he would patrol our house. Every room. If there was a closed door, he would whine until someone got up out of bed to open the door, so that he could properly inspect, and guard us from Things That Go Bump.
Shoestrings guarded us for thirteen years.
When our youngest two came along, he slept in their room. He still patrolled, but under the crib was where he slept. And if the youngest woke in the night, he would come and get Mom and/or Dad to take care of The Baby.
Shoestrings honorably performed his duty, as he saw it, and on his last night on this earth, he stayed with me while I checked the doors, turned off the lights, made sure that Da Mooge and Meelie-No were sleeping OK, then went to bed myself.
He made at least one more round that night - I heard him thump down the stairs, then run back up.
I found him the next morning, sleeping in his accustomed place - but sleeping the Long Sleep.
As I said earlier, we have three dogs.
Tiny, Bruiser, and Ralph are fine dogs, affectionate and devoted to the kids. It's been six years - and we all still think of Shoestrings as being the Best Dog There Ever Was.
He's running around in Doggie Heaven, with his Grandma (My Mom) to keep him company, and spoil him with treats, and Grandma is someone for him to guard.
NB - This is under the category of "Family" - a beloved doggie is not just a dog - that doggie is as much your child as any other kid. And, if you really are a "grown-up", you weep just as hard for your doggie or your cat or your bird or your fish as you do for your human children. Well, maybe not the fish.... Ò¿Ö
Posted by ward at 10:33 PM | Comments (0)