(a post for SundayScribblings)
My older brothers wouldn't have anything to do with you when my dad and I brought you home on that rainy, Sunday morning. They just ignored us and kept playing their board game that I was too young to understand and play with them. I didn't care because I had you. I was only 5 years old. I think my brothers made fun of the way you waddled around so we called you Bear because you walked like one. I didn't understand how you could grow so much faster than me. You were just a little puppy. Before I knew it, you were big enough to give me rides on your back. Well, mom always told me to get off you whenever I would try. It didn't matter because I knew that you could give me a ride anytime we wanted. You could do anything. You were my first dog and my best friend.
We lived out in the country. Friends lived at a distance. One didn't have the luxury of picking your friends based on whether or not you liked them. It was more about proximity. You were always there wandering in the olive grove with me as we chased the mythical characters that hid in the branches...ready for the next adventure.
You would walk with me down to the bus stop every day whether it was sunny or raining. You would stay there until the bus left. I wonder now how you felt or if you felt when you ran alongside the bus until it pulled away...leaving you behind. When the bus came back, there you were...waiting.
"Did you miss me, boy? I know you did. I missed you too."
Sometimes I wondered if you ever even left that spot in the morning because you were always in that same place when those bus doors opened and let me off in the afternoon.
You loved me too. I wasn't the biggest of kids. If any of my friends ever tried to pick on me, you raised your voice and let them know that behavior was not going to be allowed when you were around.
When I turned 13, we moved into town. The fields that you once roamed became a small yard. I started high school. I had new friends...and better things to do. Like little Jackie Paper in Puff the Magic Dragon, I outgrew you. There were no more imaginary villains to slay for you and I.
My brother built a house back out in the country a few years later where you and I grew up. He took you with him. You got to go back home to our fields to live out your days.
You were a good dog. You were a boys best friend. My first love. And the happiest of memories.
9 comments:
What a lovely ode to your doggy! I hope you've had other "Bears" in your life. If not, go find one!
Thanks for your kind comments on my Sunday Scribblings post - and your idea to send my husband a link to the site. Good suggestion!
What a beautiful tribute to man's best friend and first love! I had a dog named Allen, a mutt who was loyal, but not nearly as "on the scene" as your Bear. Love the bus stop story and "...as we chased the mythical characters that hid in the branches...ready for the next adventure."
What a wonderful memory of a truly great love. If you treat people with the same love you gave that great dog, the people in your life are very very lucky indeed. Thank you for the kind comment at my Sunday Scribbles post. Someone else also reminded me of how we disappoint HIM but HE is always there. This has eased my mind considerably.
What a wonderful look at "first love". The love between a 5 year old child and his first dog. Can't beat that!
JTL
xxx
Oh and I forgot to say what a great photograph!
I miss my princess. My dog lives at the farm with my Parents. *sigh* I see her every few weeks... but sometimes that's just not enough.
God put dogs here. He sure knew what he was doing. *smile*
-n
Now I'm not a dog person, so maybe I was not so receptive to that part of the tale, but I was teaching a geography lesson on the pros and cons of living in the countryside last week, so the part about not being able to choose friends based on liking them, sang loudly.
Thanks for sharing
Jx
What great memories you have of your first love and best friend!
Just beautiful, the kind of thing to get me all teary on a friday afternoon...
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