We Are Lucky

A tribute to our dog

It was many years ago. It was many moons ago,13 years come next January.
She was the smallest one in the litter or so I think. she was inconspicuous and I didn’t pay much attention to her at first. She was a generic black and white pup. She was a nuisance really.

I was engrossed by this little brownish gray pup. He stood out from the bunch with his curves more defined and markings more unusual.
But then I heard the breeder say, “You know that boy pup will not keep those colors when he is older”. I’m not sure why she was persuading me to rethink my chosen pup, but I got the feeling her daughter had her eye on him.

I turned around to see my eight-year-old son timidly standing in a corner as if asking me “Are you sure this is a good idea”?
My daughter who was six at the time, on the other hand, was making fast friends with the aforementioned black and white creature and was quite smitten with her.

I don’t remember how many were in the litter but I do remember the sire who looked like Willie Nelson, the dog version, complete with long stringy hair. I also remember asking about the dam and getting a strange answer that she drowned in their pond because her hair was too heavy when wet and dragged her down to the bottom. I wasn’t sure if they were being serious but managed to express my sympathies for this tragic death.

We named her Lucky.

The breeder parted with her very easily after collecting the cash and giving her a small piece of hot dog as a farewell token. The sire however seemed more concerned and was sniffing me and looking at me ever so intently; the same look that years later his offspring would bestow on me to communicate her needs which is usually: Take me for a walk.

I had prepared the apartment for the arrival of this beast by purchasing the biggest dog crate I could find from Petco. I had meticulously placed it in the middle of the apartment with a small bowl of water tucked in the corner. On the big day, I drove some 50 miles and picked her up. She made herself comfortable in the passenger seat. If she was nervous or scared, she didn’t show it. I talked to her as way of introduction to her new life.