We thought we didn't need a dog in our life
My husband and I started our relationship by arguing about having a dog. Both of us had been devoted dog owners for most of our lives. Two divorces (one for each of us) later and neither of us had a dog. Well, a dog would change everything we argued. No vacations anymore because what would we do with our new family member. The beautiful yard we had planned for our new house would not evolve with an animal romping around on it. Dog hair in the house would be messy. You get the picture. We actually got to a point where we took turns talking each other “down”.
We had the luxury of being aunt and uncle to several beautiful beasts including a pug named Duke, and two Golden Retrievers named Dallas and Prince. Easy breezy. No mess except for the dog hair we brought home on our clothes. We even invited them to be part of family gatherings at our house. No need to go any further.
Then came the day my mother-in-law called to say she had found a dog for us in the newspaper. Why she was looking I will never know. The last Golden Retriever puppy in the litter and already 12 weeks old she said. My husband called to tell me about this conversation and then shocked me by saying he thought we should at least see it. Ha! Did he really think we were going to go see a puppy and say no thank you that puppy isn’t cute enough? So are you wondering if I stomped my foot and said we don’t need a puppy? No, you probably already saw right through me. We met the owner and the puppy’s mother and fell in love.
To say life was never the same is an understatement. Named Durango originally and shortened to Dewey, our families called this puppy our only child. I am sure the Dog Whisperer would say we did everything wrong, but he was part of our family and our world revolved around him. Dog hair in the house? Oh, I didn’t notice. The yard, the trips, and all of our fears went out of the window.
I can barely remember the couple who didn’t want to wreck their lives with a dog. Our beautiful Dewey boy, clearly the most amazing Golden Retriever ever. We rushed home every day to spend the evening throwing the ball and playing with Dewey. No, we can’t stay late was our usual response when invited out. Poor puppy was home alone. Family gatherings were different since we could take him with us.
Since we enjoy camping and going to the lake, Dewey soon became a “lake dog”. Part of our lake season routine includes a certain amount of preparation the day before a trip by my husband. Dewey soon picked up on the routine and followed him back and forth between the garage and the kitchen and the truck. When the opportunity arose, he would jump into the back seat of the truck. This was his way of letting us know we weren’t going anywhere without him. The day of the trip he would jump into the back seat as soon as we started packing, and he stayed there until we got to the lake.
It’s been over a year now since we lost Dewey at age 7 to cancer. The first trip of the next lake season, we pulled up to the entrance of the state park where we always camp, looked at each other, and started crying. For 7 years when we got to the front of the line, we would put down Dewey’s window. The campground volunteers would give him a biscuit and talk about what a beautiful boy he was. He would be properly impressed with the biscuit then wiggle and wag with happiness. Every single trip. It was definitely a rocky start to lake season. We have talked about adding a new member to the family recently. We are a little scared. I guess we remember how painful it was to lose part of our family. The loss changed us just as any loss does. I think we might be ready for a new four legged family member but our hearts will always belong to the most amazing Golden Retriever ever. His name was Dewey.