I have had dogs for as long as I can remember. Growing up in rural Alabama, dogs were just a part of life. All were loved but some are remembered more fondly for their unique personalities. This is the story of one of those special dogs.
My wife, Sherry, and I were married in 1992. We moved to our current home in 1998. Shortly after we moved, we went to a local flea market, which is a place with hundreds of vendors selling just about everything. There one can find something you need and many things you don’t.
While walking up and down the aisles, Sherry found a man selling Golden Labrador puppies for $25. We looked at them and talked about getting one but kept walking. Later we walked by them again, this time the price was $15. We decided to buy one. There was a male that was pretty, more red than golden, so he came home with us. Sherry named him ‘Cole’, I called him ‘Coleman Younger,’ after the old west outlaw.
Apparently, he had been abused because he was afraid of every human. Always hiding in his doghouse, I had to pick him up and carry him around with me until he learned to trust us. After doing that for a week or more, he started to trust us and was always by my side. As he grew, he lived up to his outlaw’s name.
This dog ate everything. He chewed up more than twenty flowerpots, 14 sets of Christmas lights that Sherry had decorated the back porch with. Then he chewed on the porch itself, damaging many of the rails and posts. He also ate two rope toys that we gave him, literally, because they came out at the other end. By the time he was two years old, we thought that maybe his destructive days were over. We were wrong.
My favorite movie at the time was “Last of The Mohicans”, starring Daniel Day Lewis. But I had never read the book, so I told my family that if they wanted to get a Christmas present for me, I would like that book.
About a week later, we came home and there was paper strewn in the driveway and front lawn. I started picking up all the pieces and when I picked up a larger piece, I realized it must be from a newspaper or book. As I walked around picking through the litter, I saw pieces of cardboard as well. Then I saw a piece that caught my eye because it was a title page. What was the title? “Last of the Mohicans.”
That dog had destroyed the book and the packaging. Then Sherry told me that our son, Wade, had ordered the book for me. I was at a loss for words. After I had everything cleaned up, I realized that even though Cole couldn’t read, he still had a taste for fine literature.
My wife, Sherry, and I were married in 1992. We moved to our current home in 1998. Shortly after we moved, we went to a local flea market, which is a place with hundreds of vendors selling just about everything. There one can find something you need and many things you don’t.
While walking up and down the aisles, Sherry found a man selling Golden Labrador puppies for $25. We looked at them and talked about getting one but kept walking. Later we walked by them again, this time the price was $15. We decided to buy one. There was a male that was pretty, more red than golden, so he came home with us. Sherry named him ‘Cole’, I called him ‘Coleman Younger,’ after the old west outlaw.
Apparently, he had been abused because he was afraid of every human. Always hiding in his doghouse, I had to pick him up and carry him around with me until he learned to trust us. After doing that for a week or more, he started to trust us and was always by my side. As he grew, he lived up to his outlaw’s name.
This dog ate everything. He chewed up more than twenty flowerpots, 14 sets of Christmas lights that Sherry had decorated the back porch with. Then he chewed on the porch itself, damaging many of the rails and posts. He also ate two rope toys that we gave him, literally, because they came out at the other end. By the time he was two years old, we thought that maybe his destructive days were over. We were wrong.
My favorite movie at the time was “Last of The Mohicans”, starring Daniel Day Lewis. But I had never read the book, so I told my family that if they wanted to get a Christmas present for me, I would like that book.
About a week later, we came home and there was paper strewn in the driveway and front lawn. I started picking up all the pieces and when I picked up a larger piece, I realized it must be from a newspaper or book. As I walked around picking through the litter, I saw pieces of cardboard as well. Then I saw a piece that caught my eye because it was a title page. What was the title? “Last of the Mohicans.”
That dog had destroyed the book and the packaging. Then Sherry told me that our son, Wade, had ordered the book for me. I was at a loss for words. After I had everything cleaned up, I realized that even though Cole couldn’t read, he still had a taste for fine literature.
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Lonnie McKelvey is a freelance writer from Fort Payne, Alabama, and is a regular contributor to Grandparents Day Magazine. |
