MY BEST FRIEND, RICKY by Bob Perks
LAdy Koopman
jenlynn
LAdy Koopman wrote:
> There is much to be said about the
> love between a man and his dog. I simply love my dogs. We have three.
> Lucy is a Schipperke/Spaniel mix we
> adopted from the SPCA. She was the first one just weeks after we had to
> put our Old English, Daisy to sleep. We just couldn't stand the
> emptiness in our house and in our lives.
> Ricky is a laid back, very settled,
> Jack Russell. I know that description doesn't normally go with that
> breed. But that is exactly the way he is.
> Phil, the newer member of our family
> is a Chihuahua mix. He is vibrant, full of life and just what we all
> needed two years ago when he arrived as a gift for me on Father's Day.
> Each of them brings something
> different into my life. Like a buffet, I get a little of everything I
> need, just when I need it.
> Lucy is truly the "alpha dog." The
> others actually watch their step around her. I have seen Ricky approach
> her slowly, head bowed and not making eye contact with her. Sometimes
> for no reason at all she jumps at him snarling and he turns his head
> until she struts away.
> She is my little girl and late at
> night when I am still at the computer, she'll come scratching at me to
> pick her up. I hold her and she looks around the room as if she is
> seeing it for the first time. When she was a puppy, she was afraid of
> the sun. She just couldn't figure what that big light was.
> Phil and Lucy are best friends. He
> follows her around and often taunts her just to get her aggravated. She
> responds and he does it again. Phil is not one to be held much. He'll
> sit with you on a lawn chair in the sun. But he doesn't snuggle.
> But it is Ricky I really want to
> share with you today. I said earlier that he is laid back, and very
> settled. He is also the most loving dog I have ever seen. If you hold
> him and kiss the side of his face, he will rub it against yours as if to
> say, "more, please." You can snuggle and hold him and he will stay there
> as long as you let him.
> I am not a foo-foo, poochy kind of
> guy. When I go to the vets with them I try not to make conversation with
> the other owners in the waiting room. They do "doggy talk."
> "Oh, look it Fluffy, there's a big
> doggy. Do you want to go say hello?" I respond when dragged into
> a conversation only. Here's where some of you will think I cross
> the line. Ricky is a Godly dog. He responds to my needs as if
> God told him
> to. Over the last few weeks I have been struggling with personal issues.
> In those most dark and sometimes frightening times, I suddenly hear
> Ricky sitting nearby moaning trying to get my attention. I turn, he
> jumps up on my lap and crawls up my left side and rests his head on my
> shoulder.
> I have learned to sit back and relax
> and let him do his job. He comforts me and like when I hug someone I let
> him be the first to let go.
> He then gets down and walks away.
> Every time I have slumped to a new level, I turn to find him there.
> Every time.
> When days are good for me, he goes
> about his business. I love all my dogs, but Ricky is my best friend.
> Oh, yes. One other thing. Before my
> wife discovered she had breast cancer, Ricky would jump up on her lap
> and before settling in he would oddly sniff around, rub his nose under
> her left breast. At the time we just found it odd.
> It wasn't until recently that
> we remembered that. She had a double mastectomy which was
> first detected on the left side. They have proven that
> ability in some dogs.
> Ricky and Lucy are around 11 years
> old and Phil 2. If you know me well enough you will know that I have
> thought about what lies ahead all too many times. I just pray to God
> that I will be holding Ricky when he needs me most.
> I know there's a place we humans
> created in our minds called "Rainbow Bridge." There is a great debate
> regarding pets in Heaven, too. All I know is wherever dogs go when they
> die, I want to go there, too. That would be Heaven to me.
> --
> Bob Perks <perksblog at hotmail.com>
>
>
> <body bgcolor="black" text="white"
>
> My Home Page Index