Saying Goodbye to an Old Friend
How do you say goodbye to someone who doesn't even speak your language. Yet I think he will be able to understand that I love him. He'll just never know how much I will miss him.
We got Pup in 1996 after many prayers and promising Juan that I would get him a dog after I bought a house. So after buying a house with a huge fenced in yard we headed out to get a dog. He said he wanted either a German Shepherd or a Siberian Husky, but I couldn't afford any dog with pedigree, so we went to the Humane Society in hopes of finding a nice dog there. When we got there they had just dropped off some beautiful black labs but each one had been quickly taken by those who had arrived first. They didn't have any more puppies so they recommended we head across the road to the Seminole Animal Shelter. We reluctantly and really somewhat disheartened walked in. To our surprise someone had just brought in a litter of mutts that were a mix of Siberian Husky and German Shepherd! Talk about God having a sense of humor and listening to our prayers.
What an adorable little puppy he was. He had all the markings of a regal husky and the fur of a German Shepherd. He was a thorough mix all the way down to his eyes. Though his eyes were brown, under his eyelids, they had a unique aquamarine blue outlining his brown eyes. I wanted to call him Buck after the Call of the Wild but it was Juan's dog after all, so he named him Pup. In fact, I did call him Buck a couple of times, but Pup won out.
Juan made him a fun dog. Just like him. If you ever stepped out into the yard Pup would go ballistic, I mean jumping around, running, and being happy. He has always been a bouncy dog all the time we have had him. Cheerful and such. He would get so happy that he would try to put his front paws on you. For a dog so big, it was no laughing matter, so I had to learn how to put my knee up when I saw him bounding for me, and he finally learned that was uncomfortable and stopped doing it.
So when Juan finished High School and went off to college, Pup stayed with me and kept me company. When I planted something he was there. When I mowed the back yard he was there and of course I had to shoo him out of the way sometimes, but rarely. What he wanted was a little attention and of course I gave it to him! Yet one time, I was in the back yard taking pictures of a very strange polka dotted bug and he knew he had to be still for me to take those pictures. After I finished taking the picture I realized Pup had not bothered me at all. He who was always so full of energy was perfectly still, I was amazed! He deserved the picture.
He did have a peculiarity though. He had an acute sense of hearing. I always knew when an ambulance was coming because he would start howling like a wolf in the wild every time he heard one approaching, and he always heard it way before any human did. It must have really bothered his hearing!
He has the softest fur and I will miss petting him and telling him what a good boy he is every time he sits obediently for 10 seconds. That little bit of obedience was thanks to Chris who visited one time and taught him how to sit. I couldn't teach him anything. It doesn't matter now. I just hope there is a dog heaven, because I want him to be there. Someone said I looked like a cat person. They just didn't know Pup.
We got Pup in 1996 after many prayers and promising Juan that I would get him a dog after I bought a house. So after buying a house with a huge fenced in yard we headed out to get a dog. He said he wanted either a German Shepherd or a Siberian Husky, but I couldn't afford any dog with pedigree, so we went to the Humane Society in hopes of finding a nice dog there. When we got there they had just dropped off some beautiful black labs but each one had been quickly taken by those who had arrived first. They didn't have any more puppies so they recommended we head across the road to the Seminole Animal Shelter. We reluctantly and really somewhat disheartened walked in. To our surprise someone had just brought in a litter of mutts that were a mix of Siberian Husky and German Shepherd! Talk about God having a sense of humor and listening to our prayers.
What an adorable little puppy he was. He had all the markings of a regal husky and the fur of a German Shepherd. He was a thorough mix all the way down to his eyes. Though his eyes were brown, under his eyelids, they had a unique aquamarine blue outlining his brown eyes. I wanted to call him Buck after the Call of the Wild but it was Juan's dog after all, so he named him Pup. In fact, I did call him Buck a couple of times, but Pup won out.
Juan made him a fun dog. Just like him. If you ever stepped out into the yard Pup would go ballistic, I mean jumping around, running, and being happy. He has always been a bouncy dog all the time we have had him. Cheerful and such. He would get so happy that he would try to put his front paws on you. For a dog so big, it was no laughing matter, so I had to learn how to put my knee up when I saw him bounding for me, and he finally learned that was uncomfortable and stopped doing it.
So when Juan finished High School and went off to college, Pup stayed with me and kept me company. When I planted something he was there. When I mowed the back yard he was there and of course I had to shoo him out of the way sometimes, but rarely. What he wanted was a little attention and of course I gave it to him! Yet one time, I was in the back yard taking pictures of a very strange polka dotted bug and he knew he had to be still for me to take those pictures. After I finished taking the picture I realized Pup had not bothered me at all. He who was always so full of energy was perfectly still, I was amazed! He deserved the picture.
He did have a peculiarity though. He had an acute sense of hearing. I always knew when an ambulance was coming because he would start howling like a wolf in the wild every time he heard one approaching, and he always heard it way before any human did. It must have really bothered his hearing!
He has the softest fur and I will miss petting him and telling him what a good boy he is every time he sits obediently for 10 seconds. That little bit of obedience was thanks to Chris who visited one time and taught him how to sit. I couldn't teach him anything. It doesn't matter now. I just hope there is a dog heaven, because I want him to be there. Someone said I looked like a cat person. They just didn't know Pup.
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