A tribute to the dogs we love.

Humans - a dog's best friend.

Pets of any kind, whether clad in fur, feathers, or scales, become family to us and we to them.  In my life, dogs have filled that void that craves bonding with an animal.  There was a scottie and a lab that I hardly remember, and then there was a multipoo named Lucky.  She was a rescued dog that my sister had found and instantly became part of our rather strange family.  A welcome addition, mind you, as her unique personality bonded with us in a way that matted fur and a scruffy appearance only could.  I have many fond memories of her, but one of my favourites is her hatred of baths.  She would snarl and growl in low tones if you mentioned it to her, the temptation was always there, but she would trot happily to the tub when my dad told her it was bath time.  She would jump in and wait patiently for him to come and give her a good cleaning.

My children were young, just entering school when we discovered dachshunds, more commonly known as wiener dogs.  We bought Kiesha from a breeder and, once again, this short-haired lop-legged beast became part of the family.  I was amazed at how smart she was; when she wanted something she would get my attention and either point to it with her snout or wait until I asked her a series of questions.  The culmination of this came one night at two in the morning and she scratched at our bedroom door.  Usually, this means she wants to be let out, but after opening the door she just sat there.  "What," I asked her, in my dog voice.  "Out?"  No response.  "Ummies?"  Nothing.  "Toy?"  A look of boredom on her face.  "Drink?"  That did it, she began turning in circles.  I went to her water dish and sure enough, it was empty.  After filling it she greedily drank to her content.

My daughter decided she wanted her own dog, another doxie, that was a dapple and was appropriately named Marble.  Not long after my son had the same urge and we picked up Smudge.  You can guess what breed he was.  We have lots of great memories of them with us and each other.  One of the funniest things though was what we called the "dinner and a show" routine.  At dinner time the four of us would sit down at the kitchen table to eat and the show would soon begin.  The three pooches would play a tremendous game of hide and seek with each other.  Nose jutting around a corner, another dog would break cover and dash after whatever was behind that snout.  The third would enter the fray then they would all disappear again to begin the adventure anew.  It was like clockwork and never failed to entertain us.

Sadness struck when my boy's dog became paralyzed; his back half was unresponsive to nerve stimuli.  Medical treatment made no difference and we decided to put him down.  It was at that moment that I discovered exactly how attached people get to their dogs.  Losing a hamster was never like this!  We were all deeply affected and hurting terribly; tears flowed freely for a few days.  It wasn't long after that when another dachshund needed rescuing and we got Rookie, who is still with us today.  Marble was put down some five years later and Kiesha as she approached the age of 17.  Each one left us with an empty void, a dog-sized hole in our hearts.

Two years ago I got my wife another doxie for Christmas.  A chocolate short-haired beast, he filled the hole left by the others.  He is very playful and is constantly annoying Rookie, who doesn't always want to enter into a game of "chase me".  I know that each will be with us for a time, and one day it will be over.  Like most things in life though, enjoy what you have today because you do not know what tomorrow will bring.  And they do bring us a lot of love and fun.

Thanks for reading.   www.ericspix.com   Eric Svendsen