Dogs

HW2's fun drawing resulted in "Droopy" which you can see to the right of this entry. Looking at Droopy this morning made me think of all the dogs that have come into my life along the way. When we were kids, Dad had hunting dogs, English Setters, used to flush birds and retrieve other critters that had been shot during a hunt. His favorite was called Lady, and we grew up with one of her pups, Ricky. Ricky never became much of anything because he preferred to chase cars. Fences did not stop him from this favorite activity nor did a board tied to his collar that bumped his legs as he ran. Finally it was Cars - 1 and Ricky - 0, and Dad buried him in the garden. After that, the folks had a succession of Cocker Spaniels and finally several Shelties.

In my first home, the boys needed a dog, as did I, so we went to the pound and got a mutt that looked like a border collie and named him Sir. Sir was an escape artist and the neighborhood stud, although we did not learn about this for some time. We had a four-foot fence in the back yard that Sir climbed with ease and then walked the tops of the fences seeking out female companionship. One time a very mad neighbor drove down the alley looking for the dog that had just nailed his female. Luckily for Sir, he did not get discovered. Then another neighbor arrived to inform us that Sir had done the deed with his female, and we would have to take one of the puppies. So it went, and as the years went by, Sir never changed his roving habits. He died in old age with a smile on his face.

Thinking that mutts were too smart, I decided to try Cockers. Chris went to the pound and informed me that there was a one-eyed Cocker there that needed a home. Now, really! If you are getting Cockers, you get them because of their sad eyes, and you really need both eyes for the full effect. So I told him to try again, and he found us one and named him Opus after the comic strip Opus, since we had met the artist, and he drew Chris his very own Opus which we had framed and hanging on the wall. Opus was quite scared about his new home and got up on my down comforter and promptly peed a whole lot. Have you ever tried getting dog pee out of a down comforter? It was a good thing he had those sad eyes, as both of them were needed to live thorough this incident. He lived and became my faithful companion never leaving my side when I had a heart attack. I loved that dog and cried and cried when he had to be put to sleep at the end of his life.

Opus needed a friend, so we got Terry, another Cocker, as a puppy, and when she net Opus, she snuggled up and tried to nurse using his male parts. Opus was quite indignant about this attack on his body and would not have anything to do with Terry for quite awhile. They finally grew to be inseparable and enjoyed many years together. Terry had one other endearing trait. She would turn her head away and not look at you when she was doing her business so that you could not see her, of course.

We moved on from Cockers to Scotties and Westies, but that is another story, and you'll have to wait for that one.