Dog days of summer remind me why I am a dog person. I was not always a dog person. I was a cat person. My daughters are the ones I blame for changing me.
Raleigh, the best Yorkie in the world, came into our lives when he was three months old and weighed 3 pounds. The sales clerk at the pet store said he would weigh 9 pounds. He’s been at 17 pounds for most of his nine years. I still l love him.
Emma, the best Cockapoo in the world, weighs 8 pounds. That she weighs so little does not stop her from being ferocious when she is walked on a leash and tries to attack larger dogs but does not succeed. The fact that my arm may ache from attempting to keep her at bay in case a lawsuit should result does not stop me from loving her.
Raleigh was my youngest daughter’s high school graduation gift. Emily evidently felt that the only way she would ever own a dog was to request one as a gift for a momentous occasion. She was right. For years, my husband and I resisted both our daughters’ requests to have a dog as a pet. We had cats! Who needed a dog? We had had cats our entire marriage! Cats were independent beings that did “their business” outside by themselves, without anyone watching them! Dogs had to be walked on a regular basis every day. You had to pick up their poop in a bag and then carry it until you got home! Having a dog was just too much work.
All of those reasons flew out the dog cage as soon as I saw Raleigh. At the pet store, Emily had picked out a dog with white fur and an Afro. Visions of me (not Emily) washing the dog and brushing and brushing and brushing its fur ran through my head and right to the dog in the next cage. A puppy with soft black and deep golden fur huddled in a corner. I held his little body next to my face. Even though my husband now had serious competition, I bought him anyway.
A few months before Raleigh came into our lives, Jenny, our oldest daughter, visited us, bringing a furry surprise: Emma. We did not have too much to say about Jenny’s buying Emma from a breeder because she lived in an apartment with a roommate, not at our house. The fact that we paid her rent and soon her vet bills made no impact on her decision: her apartment = her dog. Case closed. Except that it was not closed.
Raleigh, sometime before, had moved with Emily to her apartment. He lived an idyllic life until Emily had an epiphany: Must buy puppy that will become 60-pound dog. Kyley, a Labrador/Pit mix, moved in. Raleigh moved to our house. (I actually used Kyley’s moving in as an excuse to get Raleigh, but please do not tell Emily.)
Not long after, Jenny got married. When Faye, the best granddaughter ever to walk this earth, was born, Jenny also had an epiphany: Dog + baby + husband + job = A LOT OF WORK. Emma had been coming to McArthur Doggie Day Care during the week so that she could be with Raleigh while Jenny worked. Emma left dog care and took up permanent residence. Everyone was happy with their dog situation.
Time passed. After Emily moved to our basement apartment last year bringing Kyley with her, we learned the truth about Kyley: she didn’t know how to bark. Raleigh and Emma taught her the essentials. She was a quick learner. Now, Kyley, the greatest Lab/Pitt mix in the world, spends most of her day upstairs in our house. She runs around the house, she barks at passersby in the window, and she plays with Raleigh and Emma. Even though she gets more snacks than she used to get, she has lost the 10 pounds she had gained when she lived in Emily’s apartment. Activity is a great weight loss aid.
Raleigh, Emma and Kyley live peacefully together in our house. It’s summer, and the hot, humid dog days of summer are upon us. According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, the dog days of summer occur from July 3 – Aug. 11, coinciding with the rising star Sirius. According to Wikipedia, the Romans considered Sirius to be the “Dog Star” because it is the brightest star in the constellation Canis Major (Its name means “the greater dog” in Latin) and the brightest star in the night sky.
Wikipedia is wrong. My dogs are the brightest stars in the universe. They make even the hottest, most humid days better, even the dog days of summer. Of course, we do spend a lot of time in an air-conditioned house.
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