Category: Love

by Anna Cooke, Editor in Chief, The New Barker

Early on in our relationship as a couple,traveling at the spur of the moment was how Steve and I enjoyed our lives. Pack a bag, jump in the car or catch a plane to go somewhere for a couple of days or a week. Nothing, especially no one, to hold us back. We often never made reservations for accommodations until after we’d reached our destination. And back then, there was no such thing as Google. Risk-taking adventurers, whether it was to Key West or Lake Tahoe. 

Then, one day in the mid 80s, the most remarkable thing happened, just after the new year. Needing a break from the post-holiday blues, which had crept in like one of our sudden Florida winter storms, we decided to run some Saturday errands at a nearby plaza. Brunch afterwards was our motivator, so expediency and efficiency were key. We split up, agreeing to meet back at a designated spot within a short period of time. 

I finished my errands first, and sat down to people-watch. Steve arrived a few moments later with a look of consternation. “You have got to follow me and let me show you what I’ve found,” he said. 

As we entered the pet store, I noticed the mostly empty cages lining the walls to the right and left of us. Sure signs of successful holiday sales for the proprietor. A Siberian Husky crouched uncomfortably in one of the cages that was much too small for her growing body. She looked right at us with the bluest eyes I had ever seen. She was beautiful, even with the splotches of missing fur on her face – from mange, the store owner said.

He had already told Steve the dog would be shipped back to the Midwest breeder where she’d been born to let them deal with her. He repeated his message to me in an ominous tone that I can still hear, 44 years later. 

“Nobody bought her over the holidays, and I’m not spending any more money to continue caring for her,” he said. “She’s grown out of her puppy cuteness. And, no one will buy her now.” 

Quite the sales tactic. I wondered if he had used it on all his post-holiday customers. Nevertheless, it worked on us, and all plans, including brunch, were diverted. Life, as we knew it, had just changed forever.

We named her Clouseau, because like the bungling beloved police detective, her lack of judgment often led to her sticking her nose into places it should never have gone in the first place. She lived with us for 10 years, and we continued treating her mange on the occasions it returned. Steve called her Little One.

Back then, we weren’t familiar with mange, and we definitely had never heard of puppy mills, which have been around since just after World War II. Today, after publishing The New Barker for almost 18 years, I can certainly tell you a thing or two about puppy mills, now, and why I will continue to support the passing of local ordinances and state laws to phase out the retail sale of puppies in stores. 

Every dog who comes into our lives takes up a spot in our hearts that lasts forever, long after their beautiful physical beings are gone. Writer Ernest Montague wrote that a dog is just asleep in our hearts, therefore, a dog never really dies. And, that sudden occurrence of the memory of a dog who’s been gone a long time? Well, that’s the dog’s wagging tail pounding, wap, wap, wap on your heart, stopping by to say hello.

I’m never sad when this happens. On the contrary, it will remind me of a funny moment or an endearing trait of the dog who’s paying a visit to my heart. Sometimes, the memory is so strong, I can conjure up the familiar fragrance of the dog’s fur. That is the power of a dog’s love, and as you’re reading this, I know you know what I’m talking about. Looking back over the years, and the relationships we have shared with our dogs, I realize how each one of them has shaped the evolution of The New Barker dog magazine. And each dog, since our first publication in 2006, continues to inspire me. They have taught us so many lessons, some of which we fail to recognize right away. But, it does feel that with each new dog experience, the time we have with them, somehow continues to improve us as humans.

Thank you Clouseau, Elmo, Zoe, Chloe, Rita, Dougie, Midnight, Angel, Greta, Nellie, Henry, and Teddy.

Steve serenades Clouseau, aka Little One. He’s probably singing The Beach Boys Little Surfer Girl with the opening line: Little surfer little one.