Thursday, October 25, 2012

Dogs I've known (part one)

Time and again, I've mentioned that Elka is my first dog. This is after having wanted one my entire life, but you know how kids are sometimes. "I want/need it!" can fade pretty quickly once the object of desire is obtained.

I'm happy to say that I value Elka, every day. I think that every dog is the "best" dog; it's what they're for, as part of their Platonic Dogness. She makes me laugh, she makes me cry. She does her Dog Job.

She's of course not the first dog I've known; I've encountered many, and I think I even remember most of their names.



When I was little, I made up for not having my own dog in a variety of ways. Earliest was my "imaginary friend" repertoire, which included Lassie, who would run next to the car whenever we went anywhere. Sometimes ahead of us, if we were close to home. I also would make up episodes of the Real Ghostbusters cartoon, and in those episodes, they had a nondescript brown dog named Fido. I have at least one cassette still from those days, that I recorded using my dad's boom box. I think he was trying to sleep for work at the time (he did overnights) because at one point he asks "why are you whispering?" and I whisper back "I'm not!"


I had a dog walking "business" in my neighborhood for a summer or so. I remember walking a black lab named Mort, whose family had recently had a baby. By the end of the summer, Mort walked pretty well on the leash, though I don't really remember how I taught him. I can remember somebody commenting that I kept him on a short leash, and I know my reasoning was that otherwise he'd have the leeway to try and drag me all over, so maybe that's how? I know the collar I that was his "walking collar" was a choke chain, but I don't remember yanking on him at all. There was another dog I walked less, whose name I don't remember, who was a Samoyed. She was already pretty well leash trained. Maybe her people moved? I charged fifty cents per walk. When I wanted to raise it to a dollar, Mort's family "let me go."



Many of my dad's friends had dogs. There was Jasmine, and later her "sister" Jetty, both of which indeterminate mixes, though probably with shepherd in both of them. Jasmine and I spent a lot of time walking around a small cove near that friend's house. I didn't teach her anything, and I don't remember her having been trained at any tricks, just that we walked around. I remember being confused that she didn't want to walk on the metal grates of storm drains. Jetty was a little nutjob, always always energetic and happy to see everybody and anybody.

Another friend had Samantha a black lab, frequently called Sam, who ran away from home just as frequently.  She never got away when I walked her, but we would hear about it periodically through the grapevine. There was a point at which Sam just didn't make it home; they didn't get another dog.

I'm sorry to say that I don't remember the rescued Shar-Pei's name (the name Cindy comes to me, but I'm pretty sure that's her owner's name. Oops.) only that she was terribly, terribly shy. Her owner let me walk her around the neighborhood anyway, and looking back, that surprises me a bit. I guess I'm kind of a "helicopter parent" when it comes to dogs (and by "I guess" I mean "I totally am"). If Elka was a rescue and tragically shy and skittish, I wouldn't let somebody who couldn't pet her walk her anyway. Nothing bad ever happened, though, and as far as I know, the girlie led a safe and happy life with that person.

That's all a dog wants, really. I mean yes, food water and shelter. Sometimes a job. But they want to be safe, and happy, with their person.



22 comments:

  1. Yes, I think a safe, happy loving home is all they want. You did have a lot of interactions with other dogs growing up. I can't believe that Morts family let you go after you tried to raise your dog walking price to a dollar!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, it was always kind of funny to me that they were all "Yeah, nevermind" when my price went up a bit. They had more kids in the interim, you'd think they'd be happy somebody was exercising their dog!

      Delete
  2. I was touched reading the story of your Lassie imaginary adventure. I mean, I have to admit that I have felt the same and would write stories about them... I guess yours would be recording it in the boom box.

    Huggies and Cheese,
    Haopee

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm kind of sad that I never wrote down any of my "in my head" dog stories. They would be a great read now!

      Delete
  3. You knew a lot of dogs! I had imaginary ones too, as a child.

    I'd hire you for a dollar an hour haha. Even the neighbourhood teenage boy dog walker charges 20. How sad about Sam. I wonder if she found another family that took better care of her.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hah, I think I'd charge a little more, nowadays. I heard what somebody locally is charging (and she might train as well? Which i would too, really) and tried to calculate how many dogs I would need to make my current salary.

      Delete
  4. I can picture you as a schoolgirl dogwalker! I'm glad you had some early experience with dogs, even if you didn't get to have one of your own until adulthood!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, there were dogs around periodically, anyway!

      Delete
  5. Thanks for this wonderful and touching post!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm glad that you enjoyed it! Thank YOU ;)

      Delete
  6. It is a good thing you had those other doggies to play/work with when you were a kid. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, I think those dogs helped me reach adulthood, and my own dog ^^

      Delete
  7. You and Elka are very lucky you found eachother!

    Kisses,

    Ruby

    ReplyDelete
  8. I still have friends who remember my childhood dog Mickey as one that made them want a dog when they could get one of their own.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hah, that's neat! I guess Mickey was some special dog ^^

      Delete
  9. For all dogs she's loved before...

    I was lucky enough to have two family dogs as a child. Although they weren't "mine," I'll never forget them.

    I enjoyed joining you on your "walks" down memory lane.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You were lucky! Certainly I was lucky in other ways, but it's hard to see that when you're a kid and you WANT.

      Glad you enjoyed it! Part Two to come next week ;)

      Delete
  10. Personally, the food tromps that list. I could be without-peoples, wandering the streets somewhere in a thunder storm - but as long as I found a discarded carton of french fries on the side of that road, I'd be just fine.

    The girls, however, are very peoples and safety oriented, so they'd probably agree with you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. French fries are a powerfully important thing! Every dog is different, of course ;)

      Delete
  11. A dollar for walking their dog? Crazy folks for letting you go! This was a lovely post Jen, brought tears to my eyes at the end. I'm sure you were a bright and loving spot in an otherwise dreary life for some of those dogs.

    ReplyDelete
  12. So let's see - a dollar for each walk was suddenly too much? Even "back then" that was a great deal! Gosh, cheapskates.

    I love that you still were exposed to all sorts of dogs when you were growing up even though you didn't have one of your own. We always had dogs, but unfortunately my parents were not the best examples of how to properly care for them. Thankfully - I've educated myself on the proper way to care for an animal in my adult years! And yes, I know what you mean about valuing your dog each and every day. And I am sure Elka values you as well. :)

    ReplyDelete