Big Dog!

  It has been a couple of months since my heart was broken by the sudden passing of my dear friend, Ms. Ez.  Even though she was a dog, she and I had a special bond.  No matter how much I would chastise her for some minor violation of my rules, she never held it against me.  The fact that we both understood each other and overlooked a lot just tightened the bond between us.  Her last few days were hard on me.  The heartstrings were stretched beyond belief but I was bound and determined to stay with her to the very end.  I did.

  Lately, the thought of getting another dog is becoming something that I am not pushing from my mind.  I am not totally against it....the time is just not right, yet.  Still, there is that yearning for something to fill that gaping hole that she left.  Yesterday, Darling Daughter and I started sharing pictures of dogs that we thought were nice.  If.....and when...I get another, I want one that makes me feel safe on my daily hikes.  While a tiny dog might be easier to handle, I am leaning toward another big dog....one even bigger than  Ms. Ez who was a Labrador Retriever. Elizabeth sent me pictures of a few dogs that were huge!  Some weighed in at nigh on two hundred pounds!  Yep, with that hulking canine in my presence, I would definitely not fear much of anything or anyone.  

Ms. Ez!  Oh, how I miss this friend!

  All of this talk of dogs...big dogs in particular...made me think back to my childhood.  On the farm we had an assortment of dogs. Pop's first dogs were English Shepherds.  He had a pair named Ginger and Pepper. These two were working dogs that helped out on the farm. They had several litters of pups as (at that time) it was unheard of to have the dogs "fixed".  The pups of working dogs were always in high demand so homes were never a problem.  Later, it seemed that most of the dogs were "throwaway" dogs that people would just toss out.  The animal would wander up searching for a bit of food and wind up staying.  Pop never worried about it and just fed the poor hapless pups.  They, in turn, became working dogs that would chase the hogs that had escaped the fence or would round up the cows for milking time.  Other dogs came as sort of rescues.  A friend would often bring retired dogs from the police force.  These were German Shepherds that were incredible!  Such beauties were these majestic animals.   So you can see, that most of my life has been filled at some point with large dogs.  No small breeds for me!  

Pop with his English Shepherd pups.

Granddad with King (Collie) and Brewster (German Shepherd).

  Now comes the idea that I shall adopt some dog that needs a home. Sure, I probably will not get one of the incredible breeds of dogs that Elizabeth and I found on the internet but I am sure that the dog will become a friend just like Ms. Ez.  I told Elizabeth that I am not looking to replace Ms. Ez so much as I am trying to fill a void.  Just not yet....soon maybe....just not yet.