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It is one of those days where I don't want to mess with all that comes with being an internet marketer, so I am going to write about one of my greatest loves in life, dogs. I haven't had one in about 10 years now. But I have some great memories and a story at the end. I remember my first dog, Ginger. She was half Brittany and half spaniel with reddish brown, prickly hair. At 5 years old any dog is pretty big, and Ginger was big enough to even knock me down. We played, and we played, until the sun went down. Ginger knew how to "hide" so when my brother and I played hide and seek, there was always a third player. I could never figure out how she was able to find us so fast when it was her turn to seek. And she must have learned how to count because every time it was her turn, we would tell her to stay, she would always wait until the count of 10 like when it was my turn. Smart dog. Ginger lasted most of my youth, until I was 13 when Dad had to have her put down. She was 10. I had a dog for most of the rest of my life. They have always been there for me when I needed a friend and I have needed a friend for most of my life. Besides my wife and Jesus, I really don't have any friends. For the past 10 years I have felt a great abyss in my chest for the lack of a canine. So, I remember and make do with my memories. I remember a dog I had when I was active duty Air Force in Great Britain. His name was rusty and was a Springer Spaniel from a show lineage. He had a long tail which is unusual for most springers. You could do anything with this dog. My wife, at the time, treated him like he was our son, even dressing him up in my cloths. He looked really stupid in my cloths. Rusty was a hunter. At the time, I had a shot gun. I trained Rusty how to fetch with a "dummy". I would haul off and throw that dummy about 300 feet. Rusty would bring it to my feet every time. On average, we would bring home 5 Pheasant and 3 rabbits. I made a point not to miss when I shot. If I did miss, Rusty was gone, gone, gone! The guys I hunted with would really get pissed off at me when he did this because you would see about 2-6 more Pheasant down the field get flushed as he ran. Never could break him of the habit of running after game that got loose. And Lord Almighty, if we ran into a roe deer, he was off again! He would always come back. I would collect him and head for the car with my tail between my legs. My hunting day was over at that point. He also like to chase tennis balls when I would throw one in a lake. He was a great swimmer. While I was in Great Britain, I learned how to train dogs to hunt and to attack. I used to love putting on that suit. What a workout! I didn't like the German Shepherds so much, except one. His name was Jake. Jake was a lite grey and you could teach him anything. It was his brother Thor you had to watch out for. Thor was a floppy eared red and black shepherd with an attitude. I spent more time with Thor because he was a difficult animal. He didn't like anybody but his owner and his milder brother Jake. You could tell he like Jake, because he would pretty much let Jake do anything Jake wanted without growling at him. I would take Thor out for walks almost daily. I would use a long leash and let him roam at will. He took me for the walk usually. We would go for about 5 miles. I would enjoy the forest and fields while Thor would just walk and occasionally look back at me with those floppy ears. Somehow, I just knew he was looking for an excuse. I am really glad I had practiced with that suit, because I had gotten used to dogs attacking me. The first time I tried to reign Thor in, he attacked me. I gave him the fleshy part of my left forearm. He chewed for about 5 minutes with his front paws laying on it. I was so tall, he could not reach my face. If I had been smaller, he would have probably knocked me to the ground and killed me. I was not in the habit of carrying a 2X4 so I just had to stand and let him get it out of his system. Luckily, it was winter and I had three layers on including long sleeve flannel shirt, sweater, and heavy coat. Even so, I came out with bruises up and down my entire arm. After seeming to have had enough, Thor stopped biting, and just looked at me for about another minute, got down and we went back to our walk. I never walked him again and told the owner to have him put down, which of course he did not. I don't know what ever happened to all of the dogs I came into contact with, but my love for them increased. I decided, after Thor, to stick with the hunters. They made better pets. I came home from Germany with my separation papers from the Air Force. After getting on my feet, we got a Golden Retriever from one of the local farmers in South Carolina. He was big like a Rottweiler. Stormer was a lot like Rusty, the Springer accept BIGGER. I liked that because I am a pretty big man. I did not have to bend down to pet his head. He was a big male. Stormer liked to hunt too. But we did it without the gun this time. We had kids by then and we decided that we did not want to have any guns in the house. Stormer was different than Rusty, not as high strung. He would range about 50 feet and go no further. I remember when we would go to Pisgah Forest and walk the trails. Rusty would lead the way and run up into the woods, always checking back to see that we were following. One whistle and he was back to my heel. There was only one time when he would become unmanageable and that was when we would pass the Rottweiler across the street from us. They wanted to fight, but the fence kept them apart. My wife at the time would walk Stormer 5 miles a day. Even so, he didn't last that long because of the heart worm damage he had when we first got him. We did have him treated with arsonic to get rid of them, but the damage was done. He was two years old when we got him. He was seven when he died. I buried him on the top of the back hill. Of course, we put a cross on the grave. My kids were emotionally in shambles for months. I miss Stormer the most of all. I do not know if I will ever have another dog as a pet. Once you have had the best one of your life and you realize that there is a great deal of heartache when you lose them, you like to live with your pictures and memories and you just like to remember. Enjoy your dogs while they are still here. They are as precious as children and will never leave your side. Labels: home
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4 Comments:
great story. i had dogs also when growing up. @ the moment we have a basset hound. when we lived in orlando we had a shepherd lab mix. her name was amber . my husband was crazy about her. i could go on. but it was a great story.
10:25 AM
Dear Leonard;
I too understand the emptiness the passing of a loving companion leaves. I once swore to never have another dog after my Molly passed on after 13 years of loving companionship. Now I currently have 6 dogs (all rescued) sleeping within 25 feet of me. They were with me when we evacuated ahead of Hurricane Katrina. The last two years have been difficult as we are living in trailers where our home once stood. But I would never have made it through the depression following the storm without the need to care for my four legged friends. They never cared for anything except that I would find food and water and time for a hug or just a scratch behind the ears. Oh and, just one other thing, would I please open the door so that this one or that one could go out/in whenever they wanted or they heard something/thought they heard something. Actually there were 8 dogs when we (my wife, daughter and myself) evacuated however two have since passed on to heaven. The first to pass was Honey. Her death was quite a shock as it happened the day we returned to our property. I had prepped the lot by putting up temporary (?, still up) fences and a shed awaiting our moving the trailers onto the lot. I brought the dogs back and was letting them explore the changes to their domain. About a hour after we got there, while sitting on the step of the shed, Honey came over and lay down with her head on my lap. Four minutes later she was gone. She had returned to the home that had taken her in and, in exchange for her love had, provided for her. She was buried here next to Samson and has since been joined by Sasha. I know that one day I will need to prepare resting places for each of my canine companions. This act is very difficult emotionally but will not keep me from rescuing another dog from the shelter. Leonard please think about the love you have missed and the life you can save. Adopt a pet today.
Bryan Ladnier
Member H.S.U.S.
(Humane Society of the United States)
10:54 AM
What a touching article. I enjoyed reading this as it was shown on The Dog Park.
Thank you for sharing your experiences.
Jessica
The Dog Park Community
6:39 PM
Hey Leonard, I loved our blog and must say you have definitely encouraged me in my own blogging or should I say, lack of.
I also love Jesus and my hubby is my biggest fan. I raise Lhasa Apso's so I totally related to your losses and understand why you would rather cherish the memories than take the chance of making more. When I hold a dying runt puppy in my hands and pray for God to heal and save this precious baby, and He chooses to take it home instead, I feel like selling all my parents and never having another litter. The pain is so deep, the memory lasts for so long and I am crushed. But God, in His mercy and grace, picks me up and reminds me why He gave me this business. It was to glorify Him and bring joy and happiness to so many others. This strengthens me and I allow Him to carry me until I am ready to stand on my own two feet once again.
Thank you for sharing, it is great getting to know you.
Blessings,
Denise
WWJD
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11:49 PM
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