Tuesday, April 28, 2009

My First Dog

Do you remember having that one-of-a-kind childhood dog? Other than my ponies, I remember one animal in particular that stood out in my childhood. One that I remember we called the "best dog ever."

My father brought him home from work one day. The woman whose house he'd been working at had a puppy she wanted to give away. He was young, fun-loving, and active. A mutt. Maybe a German shepherd, lab, or collie mix from what we could tell of his marking and features.

I had heard of the name "Chinook" from a book about a malamute. My dad, being a fan of salmon fishing, thought "Chinook" seemed fitting.

That dog was so tolerant. He let us dress him up and jump him over obstacle courses. He was smart and picked up tricks and training quickly. He learned all the basic dog commands, including rolling over.

When Paint Girl and I spent summers sleeping under the stars in the front yard, he'd lay by our lawn chairs or sleeping bags, guarding us.

This one time, as we lay tucked into our sleeping bags at dusk, we heard strange crashes and rattling sounds in the bushes that lined the driveway. Chinook never raised a hackle. Paint Girl and I waited it out until the sounds got closer....and closer. Then we panicked and ran to the house as fast as lightning, shutting the front door and calling upstairs for our parents. Our parents were not upstairs. You see, of course Chinook didn't get scared because he knew who those the scary monsters in the woods were. My parents had stealthily snuck behind us through the yard, then walked back up the driveway towards our little outdoor fort, making all the scary racket (probably concealing their snickers and giggles, I'm sure.) Seriously, I think we might still be traumatized.

Chinook always barked when strangers or visitors knocked on the door of the house. And he did growl at someone once. A neighbor boy was poking fun and trying to spit at us at the end of the driveway. I know, the neighbor boys were actually pretty good kids, but boys will be boys. I remember Chinook lunging and barking at this boy. Paint Girl had to hold Penny back, too. It was good to know our dogs would have protected us if we needed it!

Chinook was friendly with all of our other animals. The little black dog, Penny, was a gift for my sister one Christmas. The Collie, Cassie, only lived with our family for a short time as she started chasing cars and needed a different property to live on. She was our first purebred dog and quite frankly, we were just better with mutts, grades, and strays. They seemed to be more well-rounded for our family lifestyle. You know, the lifestyle where you sleep outside for weeks, use mom's sheets to make blankets for your ponies, and dress up your pets.

Here is Chinook curled up near the wood stove with the Bogart the cat and Penny the dog. One random memory I have of Chinook was his dew claw. I guess as a ten year old, I thought dew claws were interesting and bizarre. I still can't pick my horse's chestnuts off, Paint Girl has to do it for me.

Chinook was terrified of fireworks. One July when he was a few years old, the neighbors let off a variety of bottle rockets during the day and he got really scared. He ran off the property, which he never wandered from. Even though we lived nearly a mile from the main road (speed limit at least 50 mph, I believe) he somehow ended up down there, running along the shoulder and in and out of the road in a frenzy. We called his name and he would stop look at us, then run in blind terror the other way. He was completely disoriented. I think God must have been watching that day, because two young children in fearful tears did not have to witness their dog getting ran over. In fact, a passerby actually stopped and help my mom catch him. After that, we were careful to keep him inside and monitor him during the month of July.

Here is Chinook being a couch potato with my mom, Dusty Devoe. You can see he is starting to show his age here.

I remember coming home from college and always looking forward to seeing Chinook. As he aged, he became a lot less active and mostly slept. His muzzle grew gray, his eyes growing glassy, his hips weak. Until his last moment, at age 13, he loved to be outside in the yard with his family, including the cats. At the time, my parents lived near a beautiful mountain river. This is one of my favorite pictures of him, running along the riverbank. It's how I like to remember him.

Yes, Chinook was a once-in-a-lifetime childhood dog. He left his time on earth with our family having lived a long, healthy, and happy doggie life. I remember getting the phone call one early evening. My mom told me that his body had started failing him that morning, and she had to take him in to the vet to be put down. I remember crying sad tears for Chinook. He had seen me through my childhood and the beginning of my independence as I went to college and began living on my own.

Sometimes after losing a good dog, it's hard to imagine ever having another one like them. But after healing from the loss of Chinook, my parents were ready to welcome a new dog into the family. And so then, Riley the beagle came into their lives. You can see pictures and read more about him in this post.


32 comments:

  1. What a wonderful story, and what a wonderful dog! I especially like the photos of him with the cat - it's amazing what a good dog will put up with!

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a wonderful companion! Your boy is sure a beauty!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Chinook was the best dog! He tolerated us kids so much, we could do anything to him and he didn't care!
    I will never forget that night when we slept outside and the parents tried scaring us, and yes I think we are probably still traumitized, maybe this is why I am scared of the dark? And the woods? We'll never know.
    Thanks for the wonderful memories of our wonderful childhood dog!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ahh, a good dog is always part og your heart.They give so much and ask for so little,you were lucky to have each other.Thank you for sharing Chinook's story

    ReplyDelete
  5. I forgot about Chinook! He was a nice dog!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks for sharing the story of your childhood buddy. Their time with us is never long enough. I like the photo of Chinook running along the river too.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Awwww...*sniff, sniff, wipes tears away* What a beautiful story and what a wonderful dog!

    ReplyDelete
  8. That was sweet...and brought tears to my eyes.

    Hope things are going well...I am out trying to catch up on my favorite blogs! I am wayyyyy behind!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh what a neat story about Chinook. You all have such a nice family and your stories parallel stories of mine growing up! It is neat to read about them and thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oh..that brought back sooo many memories of the dogs in my life when I was a kid. Buck was my Love, though he spent many days with a dead chicken around his neck instead of me! (Didn't do much good either!)
    Your Chinook was a handsome dog and a great pal!
    Kac

    ReplyDelete
  11. What a great post! He was such a good dog. I am so sentimental. I kept his collar for five years and would pull it out of the drawer and smell it to remind me of him!

    ReplyDelete
  12. {Mom}~ I remember that you kept his collar and was going to add that to this post but didn't, thanks for sharing that little tidbit. I think it was green, right? I also remember that you told dad you would take Chinook in when it was "time", but that he had to take in Penny, because it was just too hard. xo

    ReplyDelete
  13. Chinook sounds like the best dog ever! What a great story! My childhood dog was a black lab named Bizmark. I have so many fond memories of him.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Ahh, I love Chinook! You painted a lovely picture of an amazing dog. I'd also like to say what a great job your family did of taking pictures!! You have some really cool shots down memory lane.

    ReplyDelete
  15. You grew up in a family where animals were family! That was intrumental in giving you your love and insight for these critters that just seem to get under our skin!

    ReplyDelete
  16. that is such a cute story. our beloved animals are so important in our lives. the sleepy time photos are my fave. chinook was awesome and i am glad you have good memories of him...now about those mean parents that scared you!!!!! bad mom and dad!!!

    ReplyDelete
  17. What a great heartwarming and funny story!! You had an amazing dog!!!

    ReplyDelete
  18. How funny! Chinook looks very much like my own Bamse, a Bernese Mountaindog / Tervuren cross. She was such a character! Lived to be nearly 14. Still miss her, in the good sort of way, thankful for the moments we shared. I don't think I cried when she left us, as I knew she had a good life and was surrounded by family (both mine, and her offspring). That last summer we had together was amazing, she went back to puppyhood, and then after I left for Sweden again, she didn't want to wait and went to lie under a tree. Too bad dogs only last for a decade or two because some characters you'd just want to keep for a lifetime!

    ReplyDelete
  19. What a wonderful story about such a great dog! I especially like the pictures with him curled up with the cat! Sooooo cute! Yes, I think we all have that special dog in our lives!

    ReplyDelete
  20. What a sweet boy! Your story actually brought tears to my eyes, along with the pics. Chinook reminds me of my Sadie (both in appearance and your description of him). She has been gone for 10 years now and I still think of her everyday....

    ReplyDelete
  21. Thanks for sharing. That post made me teary and made me think about my beloved friend, Texas that I had to put down last year. I still miss him dearly. I figure I'll do a post on the year anniversary of his death.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Hi PG,

    OMG, that was a 5 kleenex post! Thanks for sharing with all of us.

    And to all the PG readers, if you love animals (dogs in particular), look at what Andrea is posting about:

    http://thecharlieproject.blogspot.com/

    Sincerely,
    Mike aka Garlic Man

    ReplyDelete
  23. Sounds like you had just an all-round wonderful dog. And I agree, mutts are great!

    ReplyDelete
  24. What a great story! thanks for sharing. I have fond memories of my dogs growing up.

    ReplyDelete
  25. I just love, love, love dogs. You guys were lucky to grow up with such a wonderful array of animals! ;) I know it's not for everyone, but I sure wouldn't have it any other way. A childhood dog is never forgotten.

    ReplyDelete
  26. That is the sweetest post I have read in such a long time.

    ReplyDelete
  27. What a great story, thanks for sharing Chinook with us. What great memories!

    ReplyDelete
  28. I don't think there is anything better than a good dog. Okay, maybe a good horse, is a close second, but horses don't care about you like a good dog does! I laughed at that story about you and your sister camping out!! That is funny! Chinook looked like a wonderful dog.

    And totally off the subject, but girl the carpet in your house was fantasticly orange!! I think we had the same stuff in the house I lived in!! :)

    ReplyDelete
  29. Chinook was your one in a million dog. I think we all have one like that, my childhood dog was Ginger a little cocker spaniel.She would sleep with me (head on pillow) after my mother left for work at night and leave when she got home in the morning. Loved that dog, like you did Chinook. What a wonderful picture of him running in the river.

    ReplyDelete
  30. What a wonderful story about a wonderful dog! I am sitting here crying thinking about some of our dogs that are sadly missed. Your dog was a beautiful boy and a great companion. I like to believe that all our beloved pets are waiting for us at the rainbow bridge!
    Jane and Gilly

    ReplyDelete
  31. This made me cry. What a great tribute to a great friend.

    I'm lucky to have had many dogs in my life. Loved them all a lot but differently. Our childhood dog was a terrier named Mitch. I think she lived until she was 16. The biggest loss I felt was our dog, Macy. My husband and I got her before we had kids. She got sick shortly after her usual vaccinations and we lost her. She was only 7. It was totally unexpected so I think we felt the loss a lot harder.

    A friend recently mentioned how hard it is to lose a dog -- they just don't live long enough -- but then she went on to say that as a result, we are rewarded with having many dogs in our life. So true.

    Thanks for sharing your friend with us.

    Tammy

    ReplyDelete

I love hearing from my readers!! I truly enjoy all of your feedback, advice, helpful tips, and stories. You all make me laugh and I learn so much from you, too. I will try to post replies to your comments as often as I can.

Related Posts Widget for Blogs by LinkWithin