Beech Tree News Network

Garey and I were invited to two cookouts on Saturday.  We met new people.  I can’t remember any of their names, except one woman, named Donna.  I also met new dogs.  I can remember every one of their names: Angus, Shotzie, Whiskey and Sadie.  I returned home that night with enough dog hair on my clothes to alienate my cat, Figaro, for three days.
    I’ve always been like that with dogs.  I think it’s because they are such one-on-one beings.  They come right up to you with no introduction, checking you out, trusting you’re going to be as friendly to them as they are to you.  Dogs wear their emotions on their sleeves, or paws, in the canine sense.  They want attention and love.  They fully expect you to give it, and they are completely willing to give it back.
    If you ever see a dog afraid of people, nine times out of ten it is because it was abused by some idiot.  The stray that came to our house last year—the one our granddaughter named Little Man Buddy—was very skittish.  It took us a long time to get anywhere near him.  He had finally warmed up to us when our other dog, Copper, disappeared.  Copper and our neighbor’s dog, Sweet Baby, disappeared at the same time, back in the early spring.  They were both beautiful Beagles that often hunted together in the woods on our property.  We figured, they were picked up together by someone who either wanted a pair of good hunting dogs or wanted to make some money off of a pair of good hunting dogs.
    Our neighbors, Julie and Kevin, still have two young Beagles—the offspring of Copper and Sweet Baby—so Little Man Buddy stays at their house most of the time now.  Julie says he sleeps in an area next to the pen where the young dogs sleep every night.  During the day, she lets them run for a bit, and Little Man Buddy runs with them.  Julie is really good to our dog, and I’m grateful.  I’m also grateful he has other dogs to run with, but I really miss watching the two of them play in our yard. Copper was his best friend.   A rabbit has moved into the dog pen they shared.
    I don’t understand people who take other people’s dogs.  They either don’t know or don’t care how losing Copper and Sweet Baby affected our families and other dogs.  Little Man Buddy visits Garey and me occasionally, but he is even more skittish than he was before.  He doesn’t know what happened to Copper any more than we do, and he’s probably worried he may suffer the same fate.
    I’ve always believed I will see all of the dogs I’ve lost over the years when I get to Heaven.  Garey says I’ve spoiled every dog we’ve ever had.  I tell him if dogs have their own area in Heaven, I will be treated like a queen when I go to visit.  I hope the person who took our Beagles is put on pooper-scooper duty.