dog stories

It is with a very sad and heavy heart that I find myself having to type this letter. On November 18th, 2008, I lost my beloved dog and friend, Keesha Baby. I can say that I was so lucky to have been blessed to have her for so many years. She lived to be 17 and she was my companion for 15 of those years.

Keesha lived her life to the very end with love, energy and never once did she seem to complain. She was the happiest, most laid-back dog I have ever owned.

It's weird because that morning everything was fine.

I truly believe my Thor is not quite "working with a full deck" and I have to wonder if he has ANY survival instincts at all!

Incident #1:

   While viewing the breathtaking scenery at Point Waronsoff - David and Thor were standing on the edge of a cliff overlooking the ocean. Thor looks down at the sheer drop-off and decides to jump off! (thank DoG he was wearing a harness). Poor David is left standing there looking incredulously at Thor who is now dangling off the cliff wagging his tail and giving a small woof of triumph!

Our dog Stella is a brindle (brown/white) Boston terrier breed. She is the sweetest puppy, always jumping on our bed waking us up in the morning, following us around as we're getting ready for work in the morning, and faithfully waits by the window for us to get home.

We just recently lost her for 2 whole days during a horrible rainstorm and was afraid we would never see her again.

We brought her over to my sister's house because we had to take a trip to NJ for a weekend wedding.

"Where'd the cookies go? They were here a minute ago!" my sister Sylvia shouted from the living room. It was Christmas Eve and she was crouched under the artificial tree, staring at an empty dish resting on the tree skirt. A few crumbs were visible, but otherwise, there was little trace of what had been there. Only a short while earlier, our mother had set a dish of crunchy oatmeal raisin cookies under the tree. She had made them for Santa Claus. But someone had gotten to the treats before Ol' Saint Nick had a chance to shimmy down the chimney.

Because of old age, we had just lost two more of the many animals that we had saved from abusive situations. I was not in the mood to take on any more animals, mainly because of the high veterinary costs that we had incurred throughout the years. A process we began almost ten years ago; one that that has caused us many hardships.

As the wife and I were driving near the airport, all at once she turned into the Glynn County Animal Shelter and came to a stop.

"What are we doing here?" I asked her.

"I'm not sure," she replied.

"It didn’t occur to me when I was pulling into the driveway in February of 2003, that my life was about to change. I walked in the door to find my roommate frantic on the phone with his mother. He pointed to the backroom and said, “Keesha was just mauled by the neighbor’s dog!”

“Oh, Dear God!” I thought and ran to the backroom. When I opened the door, my heart sank. Our poor 10-year-old poodle-mix was laying on the cold, concrete floor in a pool of blood, panting. I gasped when I bent down and saw her abdomen beginning to swell.

We are three kitties: Narkis, Fanti and Maui. Our canine companion Oki the Terrier changed our lives for good. Oki took Fanti and Maui away from the miserable life as feral cats in an abused colony.

Oki's life had not been easy, either. He had been hit by a car and left to die in the middle of a busy avenue. Our Mummy happened to ride past by and stopped immediately when she saw a terrified malnourished canine lying injured on scorching asphalt. Mummy picked him up and took him straight to the vet. He happened to be a blind and deaf senior canine.

"This story is about the final days of my little boy, my best friend and companion, Kramer. Kramer had always been one of the sweetest dogs there is. He made friends everywhere he went, and even those who did not like dogs regarded Kramer as an old spirit and easily returned his love.

Kramer became arthritic in his last year, and despite many treatments, the days of Kramer hoisting his 80 pound frame into a vehicle to join me at work or with friends or even lugging himself around the block were no longer frequent.

"My two dogs, Noss and Chata, went through Hurricane Katrina. Unfortunately we had to go to a shelter, and during the storm my fence came down and the dogs escaped. My neighbor across the street had decided to ride out the storm, so he retrieved my dogs and put them in his yard - only to have his own fence blown down. Once again, the dogs got out but he was able to get them back.

Two days after the storm, Noss got out again and was barking at another neighbor's dog through the fence. The neighbor decided he had enough of the barking and shot Noss.

I wanted a poodle; I got a pit bull instead. Standing in the scant dog run at an NYC pound, a volunteer came out with a fawn colored 65lb, adult female Pit Bull mix that was far too regal to be homeless let alone on death row.