I have had 4 dogs during my lifetime.
At age 7, I got my first dog “Duke.” A senior aged woman was moving to a place where she could not have a pet. And he became mine. It was a dream come true.
Tragedy struck when he accidentally escaped from our fenced yard. My mom neglected to put him on his chain, and my dad had forgotten to close the rear gate after mowing the lawn. I found him, but I was too late.
It took a whole year before we got another dog. She was a stray beagle from New York. It surprised us when she started howling at the Upper Providence fire siren. “Dutchess” always howled at the siren, which was just 300 or 400 feet away from our house on Sandy Bank Road.
Then we got “Katie,” a golden retriever/labrador mix. She loved chasing anything furry that moved, and using her paws to crazily scoop water out of her outdoor bowl.
One night she kept sneezing. It turned out she had cancer in her nose. We opted to let her live out her days without the suffering that medical treatment would cause. .
Then I got 1½ year old “Sam,” a white colored labrador retriever. I found him at the SPCA on Sandy Bank Road (now known as the Providence Animal Center).
Right after I signed the adoption paperwork, Sam turned into a beast. This 99 pound dog pulled me across the parking lot with the torque of a small tractor. It took him several years to calm down. He was a great dog, and surprisingly intelligent. I had him for 11 years.
I’ve been dogless ever since (and that’s been 19 years).
I enjoy dogs now by photographing them. My “Dogs Of Media” Facebook group has reached 1300 members.
Someday I’ll get another dog, but I want to be free to travel for now.