Was there a special "Prince" in your life? A companion animal who will stay in your heart forever.
"Adopted by a Prince" was first published in the Angel Animals Story of the Week on April 17, 2005. Reprinted with Permission from Angel Animals Network.
ADOPTED BY A PRINCE
By Jo "Sky" Sawyer-Roof
When I was almost five years old and my siblings were in school for the day, my mom drove me to the SPCA to pick up a small puppy or tiny dog. When we got there, I could not stand the barking and yapping. I went straight to the cage of a large German shepherd dog.
The attendant said this dog had been picked up at a schoolyard after being called in because he was frightening the children. He did not bark. He sat across from me. Put his paw up and I touched it. His eyes and mine locked. We belonged together.
My mom dragged me away to look at the puppies. I told her "Mom, I don't want a puppy. I want Prince". NO way.
So, we left without any dog. When my siblings came home, they were angry with me. My mom said we would go back the next day to pick up a puppy.
I went back and as soon as our car stopped, and we were at the shelter, I ran to Prince's cage. He was waiting for me. I would not leave his side. At last, my mother relented.
The attendant got a long-handled wooden pole and led Prince to the car. I sat in the backseat, and that huge shepherd was herded into the back seat with me. My mother was petrified. He put his head in my lap and went to sleep. We rode silently home.
A few months later we moved from the city to the country. My Prince and I went to the woods daily together to explore. He became my best friend.
A few years later my aunt and her family came to live with us. My aunt's husband was losing his job. Prince became the family's baby sitter. The children were allowed outdoors only with the dog watching them. He would grab the two-year-old by the seat of his pants and pull him back when he wandered too far. He guarded the baby with his life.
They would put the baby outdoors in her carriage. No one dared go near. One day a sales lady came. My mother heard the dog growling. She came out and told the lady the dog had a working job and not to go near the baby.
My mother invited the woman inside. She listened to her spiel and showed her out when they were done.
All of a sudden my mother heard the lady screaming. She had doubled back, after pretending to leave, and had tried to pick up the baby. This was the only time Prince bit anyone. The woman said she was going to sue us. My mother said if she did not leave the property immediately she would call the police on her for trespassing and for interfering with the dog when she had been told to stay away.
Prince was a working dog and was special. We all loved my Prince.
BIO:
Jo "Sky" Sawyer-Roof has a BFA from the University of Arizona. She lives in Ore Valley Arizona, which means the Valley of Gold because of the gorgeous golden blooms that surround the area; turning it into a golden glow that makes it look like a place out of time. Jo was an assistant editor of the Stochastic Models, Communications in Statistics. She is a contributing author to FEATHERS BRUSH MY HEART, complied by Sinclair Browning (2002) about women who have had contact with their mothers since the mother has left the physical plane.
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT:
Was there a special "Prince" in your life? A companion animal who will stay in your heart forever.
Allen and Linda Anderson
Angel Animals Network - Where Pets Are Family!
www.angelanimals.net
www.dogsandthewomenwholovethem.com
Send a blank e-mail to AngelAnimals-on@mail-list.com to automatically receive your free Angel Animals Story of the Week Newsletter. Visit http://archive.mail-list.com/angelanimals to read past editions of the Angel Animals newsletter.
Categories: Angel Dogs, Animal People, Angel Animals Story of the Week
Tags: angel animals
When I was a child, we couldn't have a dog due to my sister's allergies. We had gerbils, and as my parents recognized my love for animals I was fortunate to get a pony. But one morning when I was about 10 years old, a lost puppy appeared on our front porch. The little red and white guy was scared and shivering. We didn't recognize the puppy from our neighborhood and nobody seemed to know where he came from. Mom and Dad said we would take care of him ONLY until we found out who had lost him. Soon the puppy and I were fast friends, hanging around together every minute we could. I slept with my arm hanging over the side of the bed, placing my hand on his back. Eventually I snuck him into the bed.
My mom taught at the local school. She was well networked and within a couple of days found out who had lost the puppy. My heart sank when I heard the news. Two boys from a few blocks away had taken the puppy with them to the tennis court across the street. He had wandered away while they were playing tennis and they hadn't been able to find him.
I listened as my mom dialed the phone, calling their mother. The call went on for a long time and I wondered what was happening. The boys had won the puppy at a fair. When they brought him home, their mom said they couldn't keep him. They already had a dog and their older dog didn't get along with the puppy. Their mom asked if we wanted to keep him. After some discussion, my parents decided that we could keep the pup, who had already been named "Fuzzer". After two days at our house, he hadn't caused an allergic reaction in my sister, and had won the hearts of our family.
The vet guessed that Fuzzer was part border collie and part springer spaniel. He became my constant companion, joining me on my paper route and going to the barn with me to take care of the pony. Every once in a while he would get loose and chase the horses, demonstrating his herding instinct. He served as my protector on winter evenings when it was practically dark by the time I got out of school. He joined our family on weekend canoe trips on the Wisconsin River, truly wearing himself out running on the beach and swimming in the river. He was a true friend and sounding board throughout my adolescence. I don't know what I would have done without him--he was always there. He used to sit sideways at the bottom of the stairs (where he could keep track of everything), leaning one elbow on the bottom step. My dad called him "Joe Cool" when he did that.
His appearance on our front porch was no accident. We were meant to be together. Fuzz was divinely sent, to show that a dog fit well with our family and that my sister had overcome her dog allergy. Somebody up there knew that I needed a dog, and I think he needed me too.
I now have 3 red and white herding dogs. Thanks fuzz, for being the first, for showing me the way.
Reply to this