Woman's Best Friend

I have had a dog for just about my entire life. My first dog, Dusty, was a female Beagle-mix. She was the best dog EVER! I probably think this because I picked her out.

We had just become dog-less when I was about 4 years old or so. I desperately wanted a new dog. I insisted that I would care for the dog, take it for walks, feed it, clean up after it, etc. Basically all of the things that a child would promise to get their way. My mom had taken my sister, Teresa, and brother, Brian, garage sale-ing. There was one sale that was also giving away ADORABLE puppies. They were contained in a small, circular, chicken wire fence while they ran all over each other. I immediately was drawn to them. I walked to the side of the fence. All of the puppies ran away from me, except for one. She and I talked for a few minutes. She really wanted to come home with me. I asked mom… she said YES!!! I was so excited! (Actually, I am reliving the excitement as I write this. Thanks mom!)

We named the new puppy Dusty. She was a protector, a friend, an entertainer. She was the greatest dog ever! I remember once when I was not-so-much a friend to her. I was about 11 years old. She typically slept outside at night. My bedroom was in the basement. At the time, I was having a lot of nightmares and would get frightened easily.

I was learning to cope with these life-like dreams when I woke up one night convinced that some un-dead person was chasing me. I knew that I just needed to forget the dream. I decided that I would go upstairs to get a drink of water and reset my brain. As I walked up the stairs and turned the corner, there in the darkness lay a body on the floor, in front of the sink. I told myself that the body really wasn’t there. I got a glass from the cupboard and reached over the body to get some water. When I did so, the body awoke and licked my leg. In a rush of pure adrenaline, I defended myself from this beast by kicking it across the kitchen. I screamed in a way that I will never be able to reproduce. Almost instantaneously, both of my parents appeared. My dad grabbed me from behind. I tried to defend myself. Fortunately, dad was stronger than I. Mom turned on the kitchen light and I saw my wonderful dog sitting in the corner, looking at me as if to say “I’m sorry. I just wanted to say Hi.” I don’t know that I ever that I ever got over the guilt of hurting my friend.

There have been a few dogs between then and now. Currently, I have 2 dogs in my life… Rhino and Hawk. Rhino is a 2-year-old male lab mix. Hawk is a 1-year-old male lab purebred. They play and entertain each other, and me, every single day. I love the way that a pet will make a bad day better with just one kiss. Thank you boys!