A Good Read: Soul of a Dog, Yours & Mine

I’m in the middle of a good read, Soul of a Dog, by Jon Katz.  It raises an interesting question, do dogs and other animals have souls?  I don’t know if I’m going to get to the bottom of it, because I haven’t finished the book.  That’s not the point though, at least not yet.  The point, I think, is what do pets do for us–while doing for themselves?  Katz is working through that narrative in describing Rose, seen below; and Izzy, the barn cat.  Rose is a wonderful companion and an even better herder of sheep.  Izzy is a decent companion, and the mother of all exterminators when it comes to rodents.

I think it’s only natural that we think of our own relationships with animals when we read about someone else’s relationships with theirs. 

I have a few good dog stories to share with you that I’ve lived, or someone I’ve lived with has been witness to.  My dad tells some good ones.  As a boy he had a dog that was sprayed by a skunk.  They tried to bring it in the house to give it a bath.  The dog wouldn’t go inside.  They realized the dog was embarrassed by its own smell.  They bathed the dog in a washtub on the porch.  Once the dog knew she smelled better, in the house she went.

I brought my Golden Retriever Susie to college with me at Purdue.  She lived in the fraternity house and developed a liking for beer and wandering around campus.  One day I came home and Susie was nowhere to be found.  I walked a couple of blocks and saw Susie in the company of three pretty coeds and a guy who leashed her and was probably using her as date bait.  Susie, of course, was loving the attention.  So I asked for my dog back and the guy’s name.  He goes “Kevin Walsh,” while extending a hand.  I went to school with almost 40,000 people and my lost dog finds another Kevin Walsh.  I still can’t believe it, but it’s true.

The family dog is now Beverly, a German Shepherd who’s little more than a year old.   A couple of months before we got Beverly, I returned home with my kids to find my other German Shepherd, Tiffany, dead on the floor.  She gave us 13 good years.  But believe me when I tell you, that’s a day that still haunts me.

Beverly has served us and loved us well.  She loves joining in on family reading.  I got her by raffle, which sort of requires an explanation.  It was a few months before I lost my job with the old CN8 Network.  The economy was turning and it was clear all of our jobs were in jeopardy.  When we lost Tiffany my first reaction was to get another dog fast.  What I didn’t realize was how expensive dogs had become.  German Shepherds cost $1000+, and I wasn’t sure I should be shelling out that kind of dough at the time.  But as fate would have it, the money found me.  I entered a Patriots Day 50/50 raffle at Brandywine Country Club.  Wouldn’t you know it, I won.  So we supported the troops, and got a new dog in the process.

Does Beverly have a soul?  I think so, but how can I know for sure?  I know this though, she means as much to my family as Rose did to Jon Katz on his farm.

I’m sure you have a good dog story, or two to share.  Post it here.