Loving Memories
From
Dog to Dog


By Howard W. Gabriel III



Illustrated by David J. House







Preface

Once upon a time there was a man named Mr. Peterson who had a dog as a companion for many years. Mr. Peterson and the dog grew very close together as anyone can imagine.
Both the dog and Mr. Peterson’s lives were very much enriched when Mr. Peterson married. He and Mrs. Peterson had a daughter named Helen. For many years this family of four enjoyed life together.
Towards the end of the dog’s long life, Mr. Peterson thought over all the years of his relationship with the dog. He wrote Ode to Old Dog as his expression of their times together.
When the old dog finally died the family was heartbroken. A year later the little girl, Helen, decided it was time to get another family dog. However, she faced seemingly insurmountable foes in her father and mother. A Promise is the story of Helen’s creative and persistent efforts.







Ode to Old Dog

A dog need be seven I am told,
To be considered as being old;

But on this we need come clean,
For you had no body awareness till thirteen;

And even then you ran countless laps,
Though now you prefer the longest of naps;

And now so many years have come between,
Since you, old chum, were only thirteen;

No one recalls when at that first stage,
You began to live with old age:

Or when I first sensed a new fear,
Come into my thoughts of many a year;

You were born among fine times,
When most drivers still stopped at stop signs;

When war and poverty still made folks quiver,
Was when you first romped in a river;

You’ve fought some foes with nary a fall,
But just think, you’ve now outlived them all;

Never my slave nor I your master,
No loving relationship ever grew faster;

You proudly recall fire and your rescue of me,
But come now, did you not also wish to flee?

Always those royal greetings at the door,
Even when I was little more than a bore;

Legs that once raced and did win,
Now seem content to walk and be thin;

Legs once jumping fences with ease,
Barely get going with more than a tease;

Birthdays past with many toys and tasty cakes,
Birthdays now with miserable uninvited body aches;

Years ago a fine Vet shook her head,
“Not many days before he be dead;”

She based this on her probabilities,
But you live on with you possibilities;

Yesteryear pestering the old dogs as a pup,
This year telling the pups how to grow up;

You still sneak the poor cat’s food,
On principle alone if in the mood;

But more and more you lay on the floor,
And for this I do often get sore;

Tis a problem not yours but mine,
So like you friend I need be kind;

You always gave me your very best,
Propelling yourself higher than all the rest;

With still pride and more love to share,
You ask not whether I still really care;

For whenever you hear me wail,
You realize I see you more frail;

But a relationship that reached such length,
Surely gathered mountains of strength;

To carry you and I without bending,
Making priceless, loving memories without ending.






A Promise

“What’s slowing you down, Nancy? We have much to do before the day is over,” said Nancy’s mother, Helen.
“Mom, is this a picture of you when you were a little girl?” asked Nancy.
“Yes,” sighed her mom.
“Who is the dog?” asked Nancy.
“Oh my, that was quite a dog!” responded her mom.
“Boy, he looks like a special dog. Look at him tug that big piece of wood,” said Nancy.
“There is quite a story behind his habit of tugging wood,” confessed her mom.
“Story?” asked Nancy. “Well, gee! Tell me about it, Mom.”
“No, we need to clean-up this attic,” replied her mother.
“Oh, come on Mom. I want to hear the story. It can’t take very long and then we can return to work,” pleaded Nancy.
“Okay, but let’s go get a couple of sandwiches first since it is lunchtime,” replied her mother.
But Nancy pestered her mother so much the two of them returned to the attic to eat their sandwiches while Mother told her story. Nancy just couldn’t wait to hear about the handsome dog.
Nancy’s mom stared long and hard at the picture as she began her story. “When this picture was taken, there were hard times in our family. Seems like the whole country had hard times then. Even with Dad working fulltime and Mom working part-time our family was barely making ends meet. However, I suppose in many ways we were better off than most families as we had plenty of good food and laughter in our house. I can still hear my mother pleading with me…………………
“Helen, I wish you would stop pestering about us getting another family dog. You know how much Roscoe meant to us. Why, he was with this family for 10 years and your dad had him for nearly 6 years before that,” Mom would state.
“Yes, Mom, but he died over a year ago and we really could use a dog now,” Helen cried.
“What for?” snapped Father as he came in from the cold outdoors. “It costs a lot of money to feed a dog!”
“But Dad, he could protect our property and us,” remarked Helen.
“Not much crime out in these parts and barking would just drive us nuts,” bellowed her stern father.
“Well, a dog could bring us a lot of love,” replied a determined Helen.
“We already have lots of love in our family,” replied her mother.
“Oh what will it take to get through to you.” whimpered Helen as she ran into her room crying.
While returning home from school the next day, Helen saw a stick she wanted to throw.
Zap! A dog caught the stick in mid air but immediately returned it to Helen. At first Helen was timid of the stranger and walked along the road. The dog wagged its tail and trotted along beside her.
"You’re rather large but very young, like an oversized puppy,” chuckled Helen. “I’ve never seen you around here. Maybe someone dumped you.”
Since the dog followed Helen home she decided to show her parents. As Helen went into the house the dog went down to a nearby creek. There he observed a man dragging some pieces of wood from the creek up the hill to the house.
When Helen and her parents later came outside, they spotted the dog dragging a big piece of wood down the hill to the creek.
“That dog has undone several hours of my work!” yelled Helen’s father.
“I’ll give you one week to find him a home. Promise?” asked her father.
“I promise,” sobbed Helen.
Later that day the dog was seen resting by a tree. All of a sudden a cat ran by and the dog gave chase. Just when the dog was closing in on the cat, the cat dodged a rack full of glass jars. Not the dog! SMASH!! The jars tumbled to the ground.
“Oh, no!” sobbed Helen. “I must clean this mess up before my folks see it.”
“Things will be better today,” thought Helen as she awoke the next morning. “I will keep the promise I made to my folks and also the promise I made to myself. I do wish I could think of a good name for the dog.”
“What is this on the floor?” asked Helen’s mother.
“It looks like muddy dog footprints,” whispered Helen.
“And what happened to the couch?” asked her angry father. “The dog has chewed a hole in the upholstery and gnawed on the wooden legs. Forget the week I promised—you must find the dog a home in three days or else.”
“Just three days,” repeated Helen to herself. “How can I keep both promises with only three days?”
Three days later Helen’s parents were discussing the problem.
“Helen’s three days are up tonight,” sighed her mother.
“Yes, she has gone off each afternoon with the dog in search of a home for it,” said her father.
“But what will we do if she doesn’t succeed today?” asked her worried mother. “It is easy to understand how Helen could get so attached to this dog. He is very friendly.”
“Yes,” said her father. “The dog really adores her and follows her everywhere. I am not sure what we do. We will simply have to wait and see how she did today.”
Suddenly they heard Helen yelling and ran to see what the noise was all about.
There before their eyes was the dog tugging wood up the hill from the creek.
“See what the dog can do for you,” called Helen.
Down the hill the dog raced only to return with another large piece of wood for the wood pile.
“Quick, Helen, go in and get our camera,” said her mother. “We’ll take a picture.”
When Helen returned with the camera, her father asked, “How did a dog ever learn to do such work?”
“Everyday I have worked with the dog trying to teach it to help you, Dad,” replied Helen.
“You mean you haven’t tried to keep your promise these past three days?” asked her mother.
“Yes, I did, Mom,” said Helen. “I promised you and Dad to find a home for the dog, but I promised myself that the dog’s home would be here with us. Now that he can gather wood for you, can’t we keep him, Dad? Please!” pleaded Helen.
“Well, the dog could be a real champ,” said her father.
“Champ! That’s a perfect name for our wonderful dog,” said Helen.
“Okay, I give in, if its all right with your mother, it is all right with me,” said Helen’s father.
“Yes,” said her mother. “Let’s take a picture of Helen and her Champ.”
And finally Helen closed the old photo album.
“Gee, Mom, that was a neat story,” said Nancy. “Wasn’t Champ also the dog who once saved your life from a house fire?’
“Yes,” replied Helen. “But that is another story for another day.”