I am grateful to have enjoyed the company of canine friends throughout various times in my life. I grew up with Great Danes, first Thor, a fawn colored Dane whom I knew as a toddler, then Pasha–black with a white splash on his chest, who was my best friend from age 10 to 18. There were two other dogs that my parents had during my college years: Shalimar, a beautiful but crazy Harlequin Dane and Breon, an enormous gray Irish Wolfhound. Shalimar went crazy and snapped at my mom. She gave him away, saying that she would not tolerate having a dog that frightened her. As it turns out, Shalimar turned on his next owners and was ultimately put to sleep. Breon found his way back to the breeder after a couple of years with my parents–he’d gotten to be too much to take care of. He went on to live a good life.
I went through much of my adult life without a dog. Being in graduate school, getting married, having kids all sort of interfered with my having another canine friend in my life. That changed when an abandoned pup found its way to friends of ours. I had been thinking about getting a dog for the kids and this one sort of showed up. At the time I had been thinking smaller than a pit bull mixed-breed with big feet (usually an indication that a big dog is going to grow into them) but somehow when this five-month old pup fell into our laps it seemed like it was meant to be. Over the course of months and years there were times when I seriously wanted to kill Shiloh, but there were many more times when he showed himself to be a gentle, sweet fellow. When I was sad, he could hear (or perhaps sense) me crying from down the hall through two rooms and run to where I was, laying his head on my lap.
When I moved to California, Shiloh moved too, gamely riding for four days in the back of the SUV as we drove the 2500+ miles across the country from Michigan. He moved into a household that already had two dogs and into a smaller space with much less yard. But he was a game old man, taking it in stride. California wasn’t kind to Shiloh, however. Things in the environment here inflamed his skin allergies much more seriously than he experienced in Michigan. Ultimately his health suffered and three years after we’d moved here, we discovered that he had an inoperable tumor and had to be put to sleep. It was an incredibly painful and difficult experience for me and the kids, especially Michal. For her, Shiloh represented the last piece of home she had in California. Jared had flown in from St. Louis to bid goodbye to his old friend. We put Shiloh to sleep on Valentine’s day 2008.
Three Red Dogs--Left to Right: Shiloh, Bailie and Hilde in the Front
Two months later, Michal was ready for another dog. I was pretty determined we would get a rescue dog so after searching through various websites, we found out about Tony LaRussa’s Animal Rescue Foundation (http://www.arf.net/). After some searching and discussion, we adopted a dog whom Michal renamed Honor. When we got her, Honor has just had whelped puppies and been spayed all in about 24 hours. Needless to say she was a bit undone with it all, but settled in over time. Honor is a sweet, if a bit neurotic little dog. We know almost nothing about her life prior to finding herself in a shelter, but at various times her behavior indicates that life was very hard for her. Lucky for her and for us we found ourselves together.
I recently learned that Bailie–the final dog in the original trio I lived with when I first moved here–has a serious tumor on the right hind foot. Tomorrow he will have his leg amputated. Given the seriousness of the cancer this was the only means of allowing him a good quality of life. Though I no longer live with Bailie, on Tuesday I will go help his human companion get him settled back home after surgery. I went by to see him today; I suppose I wanted to see him whole one more time. He romped around and acted like his usual nutty self, playing and glad to see me. I am hoping that all goes well and he recovers quickly. His romping is going to look a little different, but I am hopeful that he’ll get the hang of it. When he’s recovered I’ll bring Honor over for a play date.
I am grateful to have been a friend and companion to various canines over the years. They have taught me a variety of lessons, most notably about forgiveness, unconditional love, and being in the present moment. They have been family, friends, comforters, entertainers. I don’t know if I’ll continue to have canine companions in the years ahead. I suspect that I might do so for the companionship and friendship they offer. In the meantime, I’ll continue to value and appreciate the “pup” I have, even when she drives me nuts!
Honor in 2008
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