just a dog

When I was a kid, we had several dogs. My dad liked German shepherds. He felt they were good protectors and would bark if someone entered our yard or passed too near our property. We had numerous pets including cats, rabbits, chickens, goats and turkeys. Dogs were my favorite, and still are. They were pets, but stayed outside most of the time. In the summer we would chain the dog under one of the big trees and used wash tubs for supplying plenty of water. We would use old hub caps as dog bowl to put food or scraps. Our dog had houses that were really little more than plywood boxes with left over tar paper for roofs. My dad would build them from scrap lumber that he would find in or near the dumpster behind the lumber yard. After all, it’s just for the dog,. “we are not making movies out of it” my dad would say. We never bought a dog, but would get a puppy free if someone local was giving them away. We never took our dog the vet, and rarely did they get a dog license. I remember once our dog got loose and was picked up by the dog catcher wile roaming the back alleys in town. My dad had to go claim him, or he would be put to sleep. The only way to get the dog back was to promise to register the animal and get his shots updated and present the documented proof to the city. My dad only did this once I think. And when that dog died, he would simply “transfer” the collar to the new dog. That was another advantage of having the same kind of dog. They all looked alike. We had one dog named Gypsy. I think my mom named her. She was very loving, but also very protective. She was a mix. My Dad only lets us have her because they claimed she was part German Shepard. She was black and had white on her chest. I don’t know why, but she had a bob tail. That is something that you don’t usually do to a German shepherd mix dog. She came that way. Gypsy loved to play and she liked when we could would her for walk around the block. She lived most of her life on a chain, so exploring the neighborhood on a rope was a better deal. I think now a days using a tie out stake is considered cruel. My dad insisted she be tied up, because Gypsy would climb over the fence in the back yard. Where was she trying to go? My dad would get mad and threaten to shoot her if she got out. That always scared me. My dad kept a 22 rifle under the seat of his pickup and bullets loose in the glove box. I had seen my dad shoot rabbits, turtles, and snakes out in pasture. And we didn’t want that to happen to our beloved pet. If she did get out, we would try to put her back so my dad wouldn’t find out. She even had puppies, although I don’t think we kept any of them. In the winter time, we would put old blankets in the shed and keep the dogs in there to shield them from the cold. They didn’t have a great life, but after all, they were only dogs. Gypsy had gotten pregnant and had puppies in the shed. Her litter was only four pups. My friend Michael had stopped by on his way home from school and I took him to the shed to look at them. They were so cute. They were like black balls of shiny fur that whimpered when Gypsy got up to eat or get a drink of water. Unfortunately Gypsy tried to bite him for getting near her pups. She had never tried to bite anyone. She would only growl and bark if a stranger was in our yard. My dogs today have it so different. They sleep all day, enjoy treats, toys and live indoors. I take care of them when they are sick and treat them like my own children. They are each special and precious. And I glad they have a better life than Gypsy. Gypsy suffered a deep cut on her neck from the old rusty chain. It got infected and we tried to keep it clean with hydrogen peroxide and clean gauze. We didn’t have money for a vet. But she was ok. But it eventually healed and left a large scar. She got old and lived a few more years. We eventually buried her in the back yard near the old shed. She was our dog and I have not forgotten her.