Member-only story
I Never Thought I’d Have Another Dog, and Now I Have Two
I swore off having pets. It didn’t last.
There are few things in this world more precious than a dog.
They are four-legged friends who come into your life and in a short time dig their way into your heart, among other places.
I, like many people, had a dog growing up.
She was a massive beast, a mixture of German Shepherd and Lab, but she had a heart of gold and a gentle demeanor.
Shortly before I was born, my uncle found her along a rail line. He gave her to my parents as he was living in an apartment and couldn’t keep her.
She was covered in fleas and malnourished, I was told, when I asked where we got her. They nursed her back to health and they kept her.
She became a part of my parents’ life. I may technically be their firstborn, but she was their first child.
My father worked nights and when he was at work, the dog, named Mandy, would sleep in bed with my mother. My mother told me she never worried about being home alone as Mandy was always there.
Then I came along.
Once I was able to see a home movie of the day I came home from the hospital. My grandfather took it. And there Mandy was, the…
