Fred and Alice
My blog entry this week is dedicated to the two dogs I once owned. Both have moved on to Doggy Heaven, and yet are still with me in my heart and memory. I'll get to the pictures first, then to the story of how I came to be the owner of these fine animals.
Ladies first. This is Alice. No, her eyes did not look like that all the time; that's caused by the flash from the camera.
This is Fred. Yes, his hair looked like that most of the time. I can't tell you how difficult it was to brush him. He was soooo uncooperative! I actually had to tie him to a fence in order to brush him, and he fought me the whole time.
This is actually 3 different pictures of Fred and Alice that I cut up and pasted together. These pictures (as with the two others above) were taken at my old house years ago. I keep this particular picture collage in a cheap plastic frame in an inconspicuous place. Just a pleasant reminder of the companions I had for 10+ years.
This is Fred in the backyard of my current home. This was taken about a year before I had to put him down. He had a lot more room to roam around this backyard compared to to my old house - not that the old one was small - this yard is just BIG.
So how did I get stuck with these dogs? I ask that affectionately because I loved them very much, and I know they brought joy to several people. Alice belonged to a friend of mine (JP). JP had Alice since she was a pup. JP needed someone to share a rental house with. JP's cousin shared the house with JP, but cousin joined the Marines and would be oversees for a few years. Enter me. JP's girlfriend found a stray dog, but her backyard was too small for this big beast. Alice needed a companion, and I always wanted a dog of my own. JP came up with the name and everyone thought they sounded good together - Fred and Alice.
A year or so past and JP moved out and took Alice with him. Both dogs slipped into depression. After a couple of months, JP realized it was better to have the dogs together. My house had the bigger backyard. Time passed and I moved in to a house I owned, of course taking the dogs with me. Years passed and much happiness was had by me, family, and friends due to the loveable and playful Fred and Alice.
One Sunday morning, while was gone to church and then breakfast, I returned home to find that Alice had peacefully past away. Much sadness was had by Fred, me, family and friends. Time passed and I met my wife-to-be. We knew the house I lived in was too small for the family plans we were making, so a larger house (with a larger yard) was bought. Brother-in-law-to-be came up with a nickname for Fred: Wooly Bully.
Fred (Wooly Bully) was with me (and after the wedding, us) at our current home until May of 2000, when I had to put him down due to a tumor. Much sadness was had by me, family, and friends. But in retrospect, much happiness was had by many due to these beautiful animals. My mom, in particular, really enjoyed stopping by my old house to give the dogs treats. They loved it when Mama Norma stopped by. My sister once gave my mom a license plate frame that said "Doesn't Everyone Carry Milkbones In Their Car?"
Fast-forward to present day. My kids have asked numerous times if "we" can get a dog. I keep answering no, and I tell them why: 1. our fence is not secure; 2. "we" really means "me". I have already spent more than 10 years feeding and cleaning up after 2 big dogs, and I'm not going to "take over" for them when they realize how hard it is and get tired of doing it. The wife and kids have already proved me right with the kitty, and then later with the cat (2 different pets) that we used to have. I fed them most of the time, and was nearly the ONLY one to clean the litter box. As far as the fence problem goes, that is slowly getting fixed - a portion of the fence has been replaced, but a significant portion remains. This takes financial resources and the coordination of the neighbor.
I would love to have a dog again (I prefer them to cats), but until "we" are all ready in this household, I will have to hold on to my memories of Fred and Alice.
Ladies first. This is Alice. No, her eyes did not look like that all the time; that's caused by the flash from the camera.
This is Fred. Yes, his hair looked like that most of the time. I can't tell you how difficult it was to brush him. He was soooo uncooperative! I actually had to tie him to a fence in order to brush him, and he fought me the whole time.
This is actually 3 different pictures of Fred and Alice that I cut up and pasted together. These pictures (as with the two others above) were taken at my old house years ago. I keep this particular picture collage in a cheap plastic frame in an inconspicuous place. Just a pleasant reminder of the companions I had for 10+ years.
This is Fred in the backyard of my current home. This was taken about a year before I had to put him down. He had a lot more room to roam around this backyard compared to to my old house - not that the old one was small - this yard is just BIG.
So how did I get stuck with these dogs? I ask that affectionately because I loved them very much, and I know they brought joy to several people. Alice belonged to a friend of mine (JP). JP had Alice since she was a pup. JP needed someone to share a rental house with. JP's cousin shared the house with JP, but cousin joined the Marines and would be oversees for a few years. Enter me. JP's girlfriend found a stray dog, but her backyard was too small for this big beast. Alice needed a companion, and I always wanted a dog of my own. JP came up with the name and everyone thought they sounded good together - Fred and Alice.
A year or so past and JP moved out and took Alice with him. Both dogs slipped into depression. After a couple of months, JP realized it was better to have the dogs together. My house had the bigger backyard. Time passed and I moved in to a house I owned, of course taking the dogs with me. Years passed and much happiness was had by me, family, and friends due to the loveable and playful Fred and Alice.
One Sunday morning, while was gone to church and then breakfast, I returned home to find that Alice had peacefully past away. Much sadness was had by Fred, me, family and friends. Time passed and I met my wife-to-be. We knew the house I lived in was too small for the family plans we were making, so a larger house (with a larger yard) was bought. Brother-in-law-to-be came up with a nickname for Fred: Wooly Bully.
Fred (Wooly Bully) was with me (and after the wedding, us) at our current home until May of 2000, when I had to put him down due to a tumor. Much sadness was had by me, family, and friends. But in retrospect, much happiness was had by many due to these beautiful animals. My mom, in particular, really enjoyed stopping by my old house to give the dogs treats. They loved it when Mama Norma stopped by. My sister once gave my mom a license plate frame that said "Doesn't Everyone Carry Milkbones In Their Car?"
Fast-forward to present day. My kids have asked numerous times if "we" can get a dog. I keep answering no, and I tell them why: 1. our fence is not secure; 2. "we" really means "me". I have already spent more than 10 years feeding and cleaning up after 2 big dogs, and I'm not going to "take over" for them when they realize how hard it is and get tired of doing it. The wife and kids have already proved me right with the kitty, and then later with the cat (2 different pets) that we used to have. I fed them most of the time, and was nearly the ONLY one to clean the litter box. As far as the fence problem goes, that is slowly getting fixed - a portion of the fence has been replaced, but a significant portion remains. This takes financial resources and the coordination of the neighbor.
I would love to have a dog again (I prefer them to cats), but until "we" are all ready in this household, I will have to hold on to my memories of Fred and Alice.
posted by D.O.M. Dan @ 7:30 AM
2 Comments:
At July 20, 2006 5:24 PM,
Diane said…
Hi Dan - I hopped over from Bean's blog - first of all, re your post today, you've got to understand that by your wife getting 4 (count 'em 4) tops for 80 bucks she actually saved you money! ;-) Also, get a dog - maybe 2 - the rest will follow . . .
At July 22, 2006 7:05 PM,
D.O.M. Dan said…
I also said I owed her an apology for going ballistic, which I have delivered. It's my "again" comment that i hoped would clue the readers into what caused me to get upset in the first place.
As far as getting dogs "again"; not for a while.
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