See Spot Run
. . . a dip into pure happiness . . .
Photo op with Hoka . . .
This isn’t an important post.
It’s not about the state of the world, or the hereafter, or the thereafter.
It won’t address questions and answers about mind-boggling subjects, like where did we come from and where are we going. You won’t get any cool research, or famous quotes to live by, not even a hint of life-changing advice.
If you want that stuff this morning, you might want to check out the blog post down the street.
Because, today it’s all about the dogs.
Do you have one?
Perhaps you’d do us the honor of commenting on this blog post and tell us about yours. We’d love that.
***
We’ve always had at least one dog, sometimes two at a time. Here’s a few . . .
We had a black lab named Oreo for several years–named that on account of when she smiled, she looked like an Oreo cookie. She died in 1999. When she became elderly, she sometimes stood in her dog house facing the back wall, barking her head off. We never did figure out why. Maybe it was a stress reliever.
Hmm . . . should I try that?
A couple of years before Oreo died we adopted a full-grown Malamute–named Dok-Dogi–from my brother. Dok-Dogi means “Smart Dog” in Korean.
And when I say full-grown, I mean huge, with a full-grown bark to match. But he was a born entertainer. In the winter after it snowed, he liked to take a run at the downhill slope near our home and slide down on his belly. Oreo just stared when he did that–probably thinking something like darned kid!
And then there was Bear, a Chow and Samoyed mix. She was a puppy when we got her from a co-worker who’d found her on their property. Beautiful dog. An exceptional hunter of anything that moved, and as gentle with her humans as anyone could ask. She developed a tumor in her spleen in 2015 and we had to make the hard decision to put her down. In our area, there’s a mobile vet who offers that service, so one summer day Bear laid across our laps out in the front yard and quietly slipped away as we petted her.
And then . . . drum roll, please!
In 2016, Hoka, the Smartest Dog in the World enters our world stage left. Honestly, she is so intelligent, we’ve thought about making her get a job somewhere and supporting us. Maybe a listener at a sonar station with those ears, right? She moved in with us when our daughter moved out of state and couldn’t keep her. Hoka, named after said daughter’s favorite hiking shoe, was a couple of years old or so at that time. It was like a toddler moving in with grams and gramps, let me tell ya. She’s ten now, and we still can’t keep up with her!
She loves chasing mice, squirrels, the neighbor’s cats, and trying to herd our other neighbor’s cows–from our side of the fence, of course.
And she speaks English! She knows words and phrases, like “Time to go”; “Let’s go for a walk”; “Want some food?”; “Get in your crate”; and more.
We take her to see my dad three times a week at his assisted living facility. She’s always the hit of the party when we walk into the building, and she knows it. Many of the folks who live there just want to touch her–she’s a healer for sure.
And my dad probably wouldn’t open the door and let us in if we went without her. He loves her and thinks she’s the best thing on planet earth.
***
Dogs are what humans should be–loyal, playful, trusting.
What a world it’d be if we could just learn life from them.
Please comment and share with us about your favorite pets, be they dogs, cats, horses, or parakeets. What would life be without them?
Great post!!! I like the picture of Doctor Doggi!
Hoka is also a treasure!!!
Thanks, Bro!
Great happy post, Deb.
Dogs are our favorites, though none at the present. We once had a Samoyed who loved to run away to the restaurant about a half mile away, because she got fed out the back door of the restaurant and she loved the ride in the ride in our car when we took her home. She loved to travel.
What a great doggo story, Steve! I’m glad See Spot Run was a happy spot in your day.
My first pet after getting married was a beautiful yellow lab we named “Princess Isabella”, Bella for short. She was about 10 weeks old when we got her, and I was about 10 weeks pregnant with my first child. We loved Bella. She came from a friend whose dog became pregnant. We took her in and loved her so much! When I became pregnant with our 2nd son, it became harder to give her the attention (and walks) she needed. Our neighbor across the street approached us and began taking her for runs. They fell in love with her. We allowed them to adopt her, knowing she’d be just across the street! She came over for playdates in our yard and we loved it. When the boys were almost 2 and almost 4, we moved out of state, saying goodbye to Bella. We now have Rosie (she’ll be 5 this fall) and Hazel (turns 2 next month). They are both a joy and we are blessed daily by their love!
I loved Bella…thanks for reminding me! And Rosie is so cute, can’t wait to meet Hazel some day. Love ya!
Mom
Puppy love is the best!!! I had a Pekingese named Toy-Toy growing up, a German Shepherd named Duchess who called me her own, and both loved me like best friends. Thanks for the good memories, Deb!
Hey Linda! There’s quite a difference between a Peke and a German Shepherd. Thanks for sharing YOUR memories, my dear writing buddy…
You got that right; dogs are what humans should be…….
We had two small dogs in our early years of marriage; a cockapoo we adopted from a neighbors litter and a shitzu-pom mix from friends who could not keep her. They were both a job with their own distinct personalities; more human for sure. Along the way we adopted 9 stray cats; again, each with their own unique personalities. Many say cats are aloof, but raise them right and they become more dog and human like; ours were; all of them. We were empty nesters for two years until a neighbor had to go into assisted living; well, her cat, who once belonged to another neighbor became ours; he has always visited and spent days or nights with us. He owns the neighborhood, and is somewhat of a neighborhood mascot; he is the boss for sure. He is 14 years old; first named Atticus; which I loved, but then named Kiki. I would have changed that name, but he responds to his name; and anyway, what is in a name anyway!
Hey, Linda! Good to hear from you. I like both dogs and cats. They each bring a different kind of joy to their humans, I think. We had a jet-black cat named Jinx when I was a kid. He liked to lay atop our console TV, curl up & sleep. More than a few of my parents’ guests were startled when Jinx would suddenly move. They thought he was Knick-knack, I guess. Mom & Dad purposely didn’t point that out to their guests because they thought it was funny…
Have a great day!