http://www.care2.com/greenliving/doting-on-duke.html
Doting on Duke
In case you haven’t figured it out for yourself, I really love cats.
Cinderella Schmutz was the first kitten with whom I, barely three years old, was smitten. Found abandoned in a trash can and covered in soot, blue-eyed and white of coat, Cinderella would have been named for another of my fairy tale heroines but for the permanent ashy smudge of grey atop her nose. I was almost inconsolable when we parted, she to a new family in New York City, me with my parents and brother, Bruce, to Miami, Florida. But at fickle-hearted four, it was relatively simple to divert me with identical twin calico sisters, Dixie Belle and Trixie Belle, both rescued from an orange grove tourist trap.
Thus began my half-century-plus of feline fascination, but I never imagined my childhood cat craze would become a genuine passion. Nor did I conceive that this unconditional love might evolve to include other animals, particularly dogs.
My folks weren’t especially fond of pets, although I do recall seeing faded black and white photos of my brother as a toddler gnawing on one end of a large bone with a lovely Cocker Spaniel chewing on the other. If anything, canines carried negative connotations; there was a kennel-shaped plaque on the kitchen wall adjoined by four wooden puppies, each bearing the hand-written name of a family member; if Bruce or I misbehaved, our representative figure was moved and we were, quite literally, in the doghouse.
In retrospect, I must have identified with all of the mangy, flea-ridden, oddly shaped, queerly colored, ill-defined, unloved, but utterly lovable mutts I dragged home. One in particular still makes me smile. We were living just outside Denver, Colorado, in a small community where, at ten years old, I quickly made friends with all the neighbors and area merchants. At one of my daily haunts, the local gas station, I discovered an enormous, filthy dog of indeterminate breed tethered by a thick rope to the building.
“That’s Duke,” Allen Evers, the owner, told me. “G’wan, you can pet him; he won’t hurtcha’.”
Duke stood as tall as my shoulders; he easily could have taken my entire head into his drooling jaw and his lolling tongue seemed larger than my forearm. But his warm brown eyes, perfectly in proportion to his magnificent stature, visibly changed from apathetic dullness to joyous anticipation when I hesitantly stretched my fingers toward his nose. He had no tail to wag, but his entire, multi-hued body quivered with happiness and I believed he smiled at me. Duke was the most beautiful dog I’d ever seen.
“Is he yours, Mr. Evers? Where’d you get him? Wow, he’s so big, I bet I could ride on him. Does he eat a lot? How come he’s tied up like that? Sure wish I had a dog like Duke,” I gushed.
Upon learning that Duke had been abandoned and was destined for a trip to the mountains (which I, even at that innocent age, knew meant death), I pestered the man for hours, and with little forethought toward parental reaction, including their potential loss of customer loyalty, wore him down. Mr. Evers not only gave me Duke, but offered me 1 dollar - enough to keep a dog fed 50 years ago - to sweep and tidy his office every week.
As if GPS-controlled, Duke dragged me home, self-guided into our redwood-fenced backyard where a lush lawn and and plentiful water welcomed him. Uncertain if the adults would be as accommodating, I decided to approach my father first, just as soon as he came home from work.
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17 comments
add your comment »AWWW! That is such a sweet story.
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janet's stories are always soooo heart warming.
keep up the good work janet! you're the GREATEST!!!! :::::smile:::::
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Great story! Brought tears to my eyes, and reminded me of dogs I've had and loved.
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Janet, that is such a wonderful and loving moment in your fur life! I am so glad that you have come into mine! Thank you for sharing with me and everyone else!
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daisy -- you are such a sweetheart.
i came to the conclusion a while back that the reason the turdyperson comes off as a beech is because she was born one.
stay sweet, dear daisy.
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i did read the article late at night and missed the follow up. glad to hear mr. evers had a change of heart. part of what makes janet such a good writer is that her heart-warming stories are peppered with the ugly little realities of life. i understand that some people like to view through rose-colored glasses (one being my grandmother, and i loved her dearly). i view things exactly as they are. my comments aren't a condemnation of her parents or mine. i just want people consider animals a life-long responsibility and be more mindful of the bond between kids and their pets.
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Catherine Turley, can you read or did you just ignore that Janet said she got notes AND pictures from Mr. Evers for ten years after she moved away? I HAVE SEEN THEM!! Do you think a guy who ran a gas station would stage some elaborate stunt just to be nice to a little kid he knew he'd probably never see again? Gee, I feel sorry for you because you sure come across like somebody who got hurt by a bad experience and instead of growing up and getting over it, you are only happy when you say mean things. Why can't you just enjoy the work of an outstanding writer and appreciate Janet as a loving, caring, unselfish person who devotes her life to caring for all animals, including human ones. You could learn a lot from her. I know I have!
Lighten up, Catherine, there are some people in the world who really are good.
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i just wish parents wouldn't make their kids get rid of animals. i know everyone thinks kids are resilient, but i still remember my dad sending our dog to my grandma's, where it ate snail bait and died.
plus, i doubt mr. evers kept duke. thank goodness, at the time, you didn't question it, or it might have scarred you terribly. my neighbor's little girl was hysterical when her dad said he was taking all their new bunnies to the local pet shop. he tried to convince her they would go to good homes, but she's too smart. she knew someone might buy them for snake food. so, she promised to talk to all her teachers and classmates in order to find them proper homes. in the meantime, they are vacationing at my house (in case dad has a change of heart).
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i tweeted this so other people could read your wonderful story.
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such a wonderful story. it brought tears to me eyes.
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