My family always had dogs when I was growing up.
Our first dog was a Cocker SpanielnamedSkipper.
He hung out with me and my friends and wore a combat helmet while he played army with us.
He was very good-natured.
My father got us another dog not long after that.
I remember when he broughtHildyhome.
He pulled up, opened the back door, and out came a good-sizeGerman Shorthaired Pointer.
The thief shot her twice in her hind leg, but that didn’t stop her.
Her heroic story appeared in every newspaper.
They gave us copies of the newspaper articles that I proudly showed all my friends.
Hildy was a great dog.
Big enough to get respect, but sweet enough to make a lot of friends.
Her weakness was food.
She was a scavenger.
They baked all their own goods in-house, with the exception of bagels, which they outsourced.
Once Hildy discovered it, she couldn’t stay away.
Her addiction ultimately caused her death.
Many years later, my father told me the truth.
Apparently, Hildy was badly hurt, but still breathing.
A friend of mine’s father was a cop, and he showed up at the scene.
He took out his revolver and pointed it, but couldn’t pull the trigger.
My father said he stepped in and did it himself…
There were other dogs in the neighborhood.
It was an evil-looking dog, almost Satanic, and he had a reputation for biting.
I knew him well, so I wasn’t afraid of him.
He would hang out on South Main Street and target passing cars.
The people in the cars were shocked and scared shitless.
Looking at their passenger side mirrors, they could see Rex’s relentless pursuit.
He was fearless and an incredible athlete.
We had him for years.
He lived in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Florida, and New Jersey.
Skip was sleeping on the floor next to the bed I was sitting on.
Apparently, older Skip couldn’t hold it like he did when he was younger.
Well, a stray Black Lab male was cruising the area and must’vesmelleda bitch in heat.
He scaled the fence and had his way with the Sharpei.
The breeder was pissed, claiming the Lab had ruined her female for future breeding.
Despite being locked in a fenced-in yard, he regularly got loose.
Baron was a bully and a coward, and he turned and ran when he saw me coming.
By the time I got back in the house and looked out the kitchen window, Ruggles was gone.
I ran outside and caught him running in my backdoor neighbor’s yard.
When I inspected the cable, it appeared that it had been severed.
The Cops said I had to catch my neighbor in the act.
The message was,“Don’t fuck with my dog, or I will fuck you up!”
And, the three poles they already installed had to be moved.
He was pissed, but they moved them…
He had a tumor removed, but he never really recovered from it.
I got a book on dogs, and the kids and I were interested in South AfricanRhodesian Ridgebacks.
According to the book, a pack of Ridgebacks regularly attacked Lions.
For us, that was Sharpeis…
I wasn’t crazy about him at first, but then he started growing on me.
Eventually, he became my best friend.
Not too unlike Ruggles, Ziggy’s natural enemies were garter snakes.
After a while, there were no snakes in our yard.
Ziggy was great with kids, but he was really a one-man dog, and I was his guy.
Then, my neighbor was arrested twice for threatening people with a firearm.
We changed his food and started him on medicine.
I was sure my neighbor had poisoned Ziggy, but the Vet said the liver tests were inconclusive.
But, then he began getting sick again.
Ziggy died one Sunday afternoon while my wife and our three boys were at Cub Scouts.
When I heard them pull into the driveway, I did my best to compose myself.
I tried to get Ziggy into a pet cemetery, but they weren’t open on Sundays.
I left him on his dog bed in the living room, covering him with a blanket.
I took it hard… And, we’re the ones most affected by the loss when they die.
After several sessions, I began understanding more about my sorrow and my personal need for unconditional love.
That was in early 2002.
I suspected red meat filled with anti-freeze did them both in, though we could never prove it.
I was bitten by a high-strungShih Tzuwhile repairing a kitchen sink years ago, so there’s that.
We know it’s a big commitment.
Here’s my favoriteDog Songcovered byMiley Cyrus.
