Friday, June 28, 2013

Puppy Love

This topic was brought to the LBC this week by one of the originals - in most every sense - and has two obvious meanings.  I want you to know at the outset that I know the other meaning of Puppy Love, but choose a different path for the post.  This is one of the delights of the LBC, a group of people writing on a topic simultaneously and following different paths.




This is a cabinet in one corner of our family room and on it we pay homage to some of the dogs we have had as part of our pack.  I was raised in a dog culture that went back to my parents and beyond.  Nostalgia takes me back ...


Taig and Jiggs: these were the dogs of my grandparents on each side.  Both could be a bit ornery with kids, so my memories of them are not all that positive.


Pedro: my mother brought home a dog when we lived in Manchester that she was told was a chihuahua mix.  Well, maybe, but he would have needed to be mixed with a dinosaur of some kind to achieve the size he did.  He became so big (and docile), we kids used to ride him!  We had to give him to a farmer, because he was simply to big for the house.


King: one of the most beautiful collies imaginable.  Looked just like Lassie.  I loved that dog and unfortunately at the age of five got to watch from the front yard as a stranger pulled up to my grandparents house, called King to his car, and stole him!  Tore me up!


Squirt: one of Taig's pups.  A fox terrier with amazing speed and athletic ability, he lived to be 16!  Squirt was so named because he squirted on things as a pup and I named him based on that.  A great family dog, he had the unfortunate habit of biting strangers and we had to keep him isolated for that reason.


Munchkin: named for the little people in The Wizard of Oz, which as Kansas children we watched religiously every year!  I have seen it about 20 to 25 times.  Munch was about 25 pounds, long hair, water spaniel of some type, great temperament and good buddy for Squirt.


Honey: a Brittany Spaniel given to me by someone after college because she had a fine pedigree to be a hunting dog, but she was afraid of guns.  A sweet dog, she made a great companion and eventually ended up with my parents.


Maggie: a magnificently loyal and loving German Shepherd that I had in my mid-twenties.  She gave the world a couple of fine litters until she was unfortunately killed in traffic trying to follow me in a car one day. That was a sad day indeed!


Jake: the pick of Maggie's last litter, I kept Jake.  Jake grew up to be quite a dog!  He weighed about 110 lbs and was very powerful.  When I moved to California, I could not bring him with me and gave him to the son of the Governor of Kansas.  Later, I heard that Jake had take umbrage to a guy going past the house on a Harley Davidson and had pulled the guy off the bike in midstream!  That turned into quite a controversial affair!


Lady: the Lady F and my first dog as a couple.  As with each of the dogs we've had, each was a rescue of some kind.  Her claim to fame was that she would try to smile when you smiled at her and it was quite a sight!


Trapper: a husky mix.  Good, big dog!  At least we thought he was big until we had his fur trimmed one summer to tolerate the heat better.  We then realized that he was a medium sized dog, LOL.


Scooby: the most idiosynchratic hound we have ever had.  We thought she hardly had a personality when we first got her at the age of seven, but thought we could give her a few good years.  Wrong on both fronts!  One of the most expressive and eccentric hounds ever, she had become a legend by the time she passed at the ripe age of 18!


Rascal: one of the best "dog" dogs to ever grace the planet.  He was powerful, brave and as loving as any pet we have ever had.  He summarily dispatched any other creature that made its way into the yard, though.


Eligh: our last dog.  Pit Bull.  Eligh was left to us by our son and we played with him and took him for walks a lot in his seven years.  He is the only dog we ever had to put down for behavior, though.


And, the last of the bunch was Louie, who adopted us for 90 hours.  I've written about Louie before.  I was sad when his owner showed up to claim him.


Are you getting the gist of this?  We are dog people.  Life has us so busy and on the go right now that we have no dog, but I'm sure another will  find us.  Have the rest of you had your love affairs with pups?

12 comments:

  1. I too remember every dog I have owned - I am a dog person as well - from my cocker pudgie when I was 5 to the last three - Pups - a Brittney Spaniel, Boss - a beagle mix and Ginger - a bassett hound/collie hybrid. In between was Lynn's Pekinese Sherman (we also had a huge tabby named Peabody at the time)-my dogs have been some of the best people I've known - LOL

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  2. @shackman

    I think that is as true as anything you've ever said!

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  3. I never owned a dog, but am learning about how they can worm their way into your life, through Buffy, Elly's little Patterdale Terrier.

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  4. Unlike Shackman I wouldn't call myself a dog (or cat) person. Though cats more appealing to me since they look after themselves, slink out when it suits them, don't look at you with those pityful eyes making you feel all guilty at your many failings. I could go on.

    What I am is the person who grew up with a black Alsatian (German Shepherd) gambled away by one of my uncles, the Hellraiser. Consequently reduced to adopt snails (those with shells) as my pets. You can't beat snails in stakes of being disloyal. I begged lettuce (outer leaves) from my grandmother and my mother. Those snails (I'd even named them) legged it nevertheless. I forgave them because I know that the lure of freedom is greater than knowing where your next meal is coming from.

    U

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  5. I've decided that I'm one of the only brave ones in the consortium who actually talked about human puppy love. :P lol

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  6. You have had an incredible life with your dogs, fossil. And a wonderful story to tell of each one. You have unforgettable memories to share and relive.
    blessings ~ maxi

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  7. @Grannymar

    Some dogs can be the finest companions on the planet! They really can.

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  8. @Ursula

    We always had cats, too! The only problem I have with the cats is in a more suburban environment when people get cats by hook or crook, let them run loose and breed through the neighborhood and then populate the region with feral cats. They will yowl at 4:30 in the morning when in heat and the entire world becomes their litter box. And nothing is quite so fragrant as cat crap!

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  9. @Delirious

    We are all so clever, that sometimes we clever ourselves into the same slot! LOL

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  10. @Maxi

    We talk about our dogs a lot, even when we don't have them. They have been a very consistent and treasured part of our family life.

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  11. I have had my share of growing up with dogs and almost always had dogs at home till it became dangerous for me to have even a small built one which could cause me to fall. As a compromise, my son has adopted five strays in the neighbourhood who are as protective as him and me as any domestic pet. They also know that they should keep a safe distance from me. Ranjan is also very deeply involved in the Animal Welfare sphere and is a volunteer to run to the aid of accident victims and ababdoned pets, organising adoption camps etc. So, puppy love has tended to stay as puppy love in the glorious literal meaning in the family.

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  12. @Rummuser

    I love this comment! The love of the dogs, but the call to help and serve both move me.

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