dogs of our lives

A few days ago Dorothy and I watched the movie Marley and Me. It started me thinking about all the dogs we've had over the years. There's been quite a few. Some of them stayed with us for their entire lives and others were just temporary visitors. My aunt Atha is holding my grandmother's dog, Duke. This picture was taken in 1949. Duke is the first dog I remember. He loved to play fetch but he was a ferocious little feist and would bite with the least provocation. Whenever my grandma would take a trip she would leave Duke with me. He would jump onto my bed at night and burrow beneath the covers and curl up at my feet. If I moved my legs he would bite me.

When I was five I had a little brown cur named Poncho that I loved very much. I liked the way he smelled. My sisters said I smelled just like him. At the time I thought that was a good thing.

Here I am at 14 with Rags. Rags just showed up at our house one day and stayed for awhile. One day he followed me to school and into my algebra class. I put him outside and closed the door. I never saw him again.

We had a very large white German Shepherd, Tippy, who would let our infant daughter Rachel crawl all over him but he scared the neighbors into their homes. We had to find him another place to live to avoid lawsuits.

Then there was Sandy MacTavish, a mentally retarded Scotty. One night he stood on the floor grate of the heater and relieved himself. When the heater clicked on around 3am the odor of burning urine woke us and I spent the next hour pouring hot, soapy water over the burner and scrubbing it until it no longer had a fragrance.

Snoopy and Rachel, 1975. Snoopy's only claim to fame was that he ate the family bible.



We've had mongrels and poodles, shepherds and beagles. Each dog with his own personality. Some were good fits for the family and some were not.


This is Cinder and me. She was the best dog we ever had. We found her outside a supermarket in a cardboard box of puppies that were being given away. She was a loyal friend, a courageous watch dog, and a wonderful playmate for the kids.

Our Cocker Spaniel, Lizzy, is 14 years old and probably won't be with us much longer. She may be our last dog.