Dogs again

In an earlier post I mentioned losing a dog when my husband, kids and I moved to Colorado long ago. We actually lost two since we had Mickey and a German Shepherd we called Wolf who had adopted us. Somewhere I have pictures of Miekey but he was a typical Brittany Spaniel so you can visualizee him. He was ever a rascal and that led to his parting from us, I guess.

We had several dogs come and go for a time and all gone out of our lives too fast. mostly in sad ways I prefer not to dwell on. Then we were given Angus. He was supposed to be a Husky, I think probably a Siberian variety although he was not really typical of any variety of Husky that I know. He was a young dog, barely past puppyhood and we called him Angus Og, which in Scots means Angus the Younger. (Only some mad Celts like us would call a Husky by a Gaelic name!)He was a very sweet dog but perhaps not the sharpest knife in the drawer. Still we loved him. Then, a bit later, not long before we moved to California, we decided he needed a companion, a resident lady as it were. So down to the Humane Society we went.

We first visited the Dodge dealer with the object of buying a four wheel drive SUV after having barely survived a blizzard experience a few months earlier. From there, after ordering our vehicle with some custom choices, we went to the shelter. One pup caught our attentiopn. She was a ratty and ragged youngster about three or four months old, sandy tan color and no discernable breed. But she sat at the gate of her pen and gave a sharp yap as we approached and let us know she intended to rescue us! She had just arrived so we could not take her that day. As it turned out, we collected our Plymouth Trailduster--a clone of the Dodge Ramcharger but a bit more economical--and the pup we soon named Alanna a week later. And Old Blue was always Alanna's car from that day on! She dearly loved to go places in it.

We eventually decided Alanna was a mixture mainly of Chow and wolf! She grew to be a big dog, about eighty pounds in her prime, and was the smartest and most unique dog we ever had. She did the usual puppy stuff, like chewing a brand new brand-name athletic shoe my daughter left in the garage and a few other bits of mischief but once she was mature, she behaved very well. She was very freindly and loving and only behaved in a hostile manner to a very few people, justified in each case. She never bit anyone and was with us for thirteen years. She is interred in the yard of my old home near Huachcua City, AZ which my son now owns, along with some later canine friends but I will never forget her. She still visits me in dreams at times and I know she waits by the Rainbow Bridge along with Flash and many others.

We took both Alanna and Angus to central California with us. Sadly Angus came to an unfortunate end. He had a feud going with an Aussie that belonged to a friend of ours who had property just down the road from our house. One day as Steve drove by with his dog in the pickup, Angus made a wild leap at the other dog and fell right under the rear wheel. He was killed instantly and we all cried--except Alanna. I don't think she was too grieved but I am sure she did not push him as a neighbor lady alleged, one who was not fond of her. Alanna did have an attitude but then she had surely been a queen in a prior life! She was a very special dog and one of those I call an "angel dog" that leaves deep pawprints in your heart. Rest in peace, my dear friend until we meet again. Her likeness appears above, with the sly grin she often wore and a twinkle in her amber eyes!