Howdy,
Over 30 yrs. ago, on our way to town, we found a dog, chained to a tree, with a wet bowl of food, (kibble and
water in the same bowl). On our way back home, he was still there. My son ,8 yrs. old, said we
should bring him home, which we did. We put up signs about found, no
answer. So began the Adventures of ROADSIDE. He became a very good friend, I was still working reforestation (tree planting, cone picking,environmental/wildlife studies) and took him with me, N. calif. to Montana. In Montana in one tree planting camp, he treed a bear right next to my tent. We spent the night in the crew bus/kitchen/lounge, which the crew thought was funny. People always asked about his name which would lead to a list of stories. I found out later that Roadside was "visiting" my neighbor, They called him"willie". He was a very smart dog. He knew the difference from "Get the Rope, Get the Stick, Get the Ball". He would play Tug a War with the rope.
A few years later Roadside came home with a new friend, a female Chow type. She would not come close to us and would stay just on the edge of the woods around us. One day we got her to come up to us. Since she would come and go, we put a bandanna on her with a note and our phone number. After a week or so, still with the bandanna/note etc, she just started staying with us. We called her "Shawnee". I was living here on 40 acres and they would take off together, sometimes gone for what seemed like days. I would ask my neighbors if they had seen my dogs, some of them didn't even know I had dogs. I was on some tree survey gig, looking at pollen/cones for future picking and looked up to see both Roadside and Shawnee disappearing into the forest. Calling did no good and I had miles to cover. So I went off and did the road route I had mapped out, got my working partner on the CB and told him where that site was, and that's where I would meet him at end of route/day. I had a really hard time with thinking that I was going to loose both my dogs. We were parked at that spot at end of day, waiting. Every now and then I would get out and call for them. After I don't know how long, I looked under the vehicle, and there were the 2 of em. that
goofy grin and gleams in their eyes, "Did you miss us?" "Whats the big deal?"
After about 10-12 years, Roadside began to show his age. He wasn't going far from the house, he would go outside and just lie down, his fur started to fall out. Vet didn't know what was really wrong with him. It got to where I was having to carry him outside and anywhere. I was outside and underneath my truck, had just put Roadside on the porch, could see him from where I was and 5 minutes later he was gone. He hadn't been actually walking for days. So I called Shawnee, "Find Roadside". And we began a search. I never found him. I thought it would be easy, being he hadn't been moving for days. I just figured He had His "Resting Place". Even in the years past when I would be foraging for
mushrooms all over this property, I never came across any evidence of remains. Shawnee never showed signs of missing him, (would I even know), but she didn't go off wandering like the 2 of them used to.
A little later my partner came home with a fur ball of a puppy, Russian Red Shepard. Never heard of it, and we called Him Nico. He grew into a big furry malmute/husky looking dog. Shawnee immediately began to show this "young pup" just who was Top Dog. They grew into 2 close companions. And on it goes, until Shawnee began to have some health problems. The vet said we would have to put her to sleep at some point. She wasn't eating, etc. So one day the vet came up to the house and did the deed. I buried her in a spot below the garden and built/placed some artsy old growth
wood pieces at the site.
Nico began to show up at home with cats, that he would bring home. Our area seems to be a place that is used as a dumping ground. One cat he brought home was so small we thought she was a kitten. The vet said she was 3 YEARS OLD, very small. She grew into a full cat in no time. We called her Fluffy, cause thats what she was. Nico would stand over her and they went places together and she would always be right underneath him, like a guard over her. They would sleep together. Nico showed up with 2 other cats, just out if the blue, with a look in his eye, "Can I/We keep em?" After about 10 years Nico developed a condition where he was swelling and holding huge amounts of liquid/water. We took him to the vet and again the vet didn't know the cause, but could relieve the symptoms and drain it out. It was a long and expensive process. He also said it was distressing Nico and we might be thinking of "putting him down". We could see a change in Nico and knew that he was in distress. I was gone for almost a month and expected Nico to be passed by when I returned. He was still alive when I got home, lived for 10 more days. He wasn't moving much, just when he wanted to go outside or come in. On his last night, he came up and slept on the bed with us, something he had never done. In the middle of the night or early morning, he wanted to go outside, so I let him out. He laid down on my outside sleeping pad, so I laid down there with him. And thats where it ended. I dug a place where he used to lie, in this grove of old growth pines. He had always played catch with pine cones. Within a week to 10 days our garden was raided and then demolished. We didn't get to harvest anything that season.
It has always been hard to think about getting a new friend/companion. Even though the times together are so rewarding it's the loss that is the hardest to handle, makes me think if I want to do it all over. I "found" Badger on craigslist. A family had rescued him when a homeless guy was being harassed/arrested in a shopping center parking lot. These 2 little girls were attracted to "the little puppy". Animal control was called in to deal with the issue, and the girls kept asking"whats going to happen to the puppy"? The issue of "euthanizing a dog" came up and the girls wouldn't hear of it. The animal control officer said the puppy wouldn't be but an older dog at the
shelter would be to make room for the puppy. They weren't having any of that and the family got the permission to take the puppy. While they were waiting for this to come about, an older couple that had seen what was happening, came out of the store and gave them a dog bed, a feeding bowl, a bag of food, and some dog toys. (even though he has outgrown them, I still have them). The girls named him "Badger" cause he has a line down his face, from above his ears, down his nose, like a badger. Why was he on craigslist, they weren't allowed to have pets in their apartment building. So, we got him and I still have him. It's been a little over 10 yrs.He is my closest companion.
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