ME AND MY DOG

Me and Spanky,

I’ll never forget Spanky, my dog.

When I first met Spanky he wasn't the handsomest pup, but he was the most energetic in his litter.  He nipped at my shoe laces and chased me around while his brothers and sisters followed.  He selected me, so I brought him home to be with me and my brother Simon.  I gave him a typical name that you would have heard from a black and white sitcom from the 50’s or 60’s.  Spank seemed like the prototypical “boys best friend” type of dog and not like the great “protector” type of dog that our family had just failed to raise.  After I named him I wished I had named him with a more masculine name, though the correct name never entered my mind.  I continued to call him Spanky…

In his prime, Spanky, or “Spank” as Simon and I called him, seemed to be the fastest animal around.  I was the second fastest in my league, yet he could easily outrun both me and Simon.  His diminutive size, matched with his speed, was surreal.  I was always in awe when we would sprint around the property, watching him speed around me.

Spank was the most durable of God’s creatures I had ever seen.  He was excited to run with the biggest dogs on earth, yet he was nearly too happy to be with them.  He would get too close to their churning legs and get tossed into a flying mess, only to get back up and keep running.  He would eat the most unquestionable of things he scavenged on our property and wouldn’t feel a thing.  Creepy critters, rotting gopher guts and worse, he would eat it all.  His stomach would seldom revolt and he would continue to run and show amazing energy.  When we lived together we were like machines that never broke down.  Him and I would eat garbage, yet never feel ill; 2 BK whoppers for me and left over gopher parts for him.  No matter what we threw inside of ourselves, we were always in top shape. 

When I left him to go to college, I knew Spank was in good hands with Simon, but we sure missed eachother.  Simon was always sure to play with him and provide a tasty snack, but Spanky missed me.  The instant I would return home we would run around the property and I would let his smelly, doggy-self jump all over me.  We would go inside the house and he would howl with joy that I was home.  I didn’t have to tease him tasty treats; he simply reveled in the fact that we were once again together.

Being away from home so long, Spanky grew old, but always wanted to see me.  He always wanted to run with me and be with me when I came home.  He knew I would look out for him, pet him and keep him freeto move around with me.  Twice, he mistook me for my out-of-town brother Tobias on his own trip home and howled for him.  I hated the fact that I wasn’t there to see him howl. 

I loathed to be without Spanky and wished I could take him away with me.  With my schedule and apartment lifestyle, I couldn't offer him anything close to what he had at home.  I had to leave him be.

I heard of his intrinsic ability for slipping away from home and imagined that he was looking for me.  A computer chip was implanted in him when he was once caught fifteen miles from home.  Spank was an escape artist and loved to seek out a new adventure.

I hated to see Spank grow old.  As the wrinkles in my own hands became more pronounced, Spanky’s legs began to stiffen.  He would continue to run with me around the property, but at a slower gait.  I hated to think of Spank growing older and I wished I could slow down the digression.  I desperately wanted to return home to give him love and save him from isolation.  My lifestyle prevented what I wanted for my friend, my little brother.  I always thought of him as an energetic youngster and I refused to see him get any older.

On one dark day, Spanky came upon a pair of larger, younger dogs who were protecting their grounds.  Spanky, with his fearless attitude, confronted the dogs although he was on their turf.  They struck and ended his life with a merciless attack.  Spanky, my great friend and little brother, laid paralyzed in an empty field.  I instantly wished I was there to defend him.  Yet my thoughts of him being full of fear, and instant pain quickly leave.  I am relieved to know that he will not grow old and suffer any more pain.  I know that we’ll be together again one day…