Take the house where I used to live, there were 3 dogs who lived there, they have ruled the roost for many years and are part of the family. For the sake of clarity I shall name them as follows. First there is "Loss", a kind of shaggy collie/alsatian clone who has been with the family the longest. This animal has seen all manner of strange things, she watched the sons grow up, she saw her friend grow up and together they got lost a few years ago. Fortunately the family got her back but it was a close call with that treasured pet almost being put down, because the local SPCA did not bother scanning her for an identipet. Loss is a very vocal dog and has long meaningful conversations with whomever she decides to impart her love on. Whines and barks, strange noises and soulful eyes all are part of her retinue. Unfortunately she is getting on in years and and you can see how she occasionally struggles to leap the wall the way she used to. Hip displacia has severley curtailed her dragonfly chasing but she never gives up in the vain hope that one day she will be fortunate enough to actually catch one. What she will do when she does is another story of course.

Then we have "Squeeze", a German shepherd type dog, the closest thing to a hippy dog if ever I saw one. A very laid back dog, he spends long portions of the day sleeping and having doggie dreams. Not much gets Squeeze down, OK, apart from the endless barking of the other 2. I suppose he would cover his ears if he was able, that noise could just be too much for a dog of his temperament.

The last of the bunch is "Puppy" a young German shepherd who has huge paws and way too much energy for his own good. Puppy spends his day harrassing the other dogs and eating anything in site, be it trees, bones, bowls or Parktown Prawns. He is not the sort of dog who you would like to meet on a dark night either, apart from falling over Squeeze in the dark you may just find yourself on the receiving end of a thumping great pair of doggie choppers. Puppy, in his infinite wisdom is a sucker for a torch and he will happily attack any small speck of light shone on the floor. If it was possible to harness his paws when he tries to dig up the kitchen floor you could solve the energy crisis.

My brother has had his fair share of strange dogs too, Ok, there were only 2 of them, but they both deserve a mention. His first dog was a white schipperke who was named "Skipper" (my brother is very original when it comes to things like names). He was owned by this dog for 14 years and the pair of them were inseparable. The dog would sit for hours at the gate in all sorts of weather waiting for my brother to get home from work. Once he was at home then the dog would settle down on his own chair and dream doggie dreams. If my brother did manage to evade the dog and Skipper woke up to find he was missing, well, to say that the dog would get totally paranoid was an understatement. If dogs could wring their hands together this dog would. For such a small dog he had an amazing sense of self importance and could look down his regal nose at any lesser breed with aplomb, of course, he did have a pedigree which was longer than he was. Again age would determine how long this unlikely pair were together, and, following a long illness my brother had to have his little pet put down. The strange thing was that shortly after the dog was put down you could still hear him in the house, and my brother has a photograph taken in his lounge where you can see the dark outline of the dead dog still sitting on his favourite chair.

My brother's next pet is difficult to describe, he is kind of long and flat and hairy and fat with odd paws, sort of a cross pom/daschund/piggie/terrier/poodle type thing with the unlikely name of "Nelson". Most dogs spend most of their days on the ground, not our dear friend Nelson, his domain is on other people's laps. He is the typical lap dog and seems to prefer the added height and softness of sleeping on other peoples laps. Of course he wrote the book on laziness and is very adept in travelling by car. Preferring the passenger seat much to the detriment of anybody else. He also has his own chair and sleeps in the bed with my brother, usually taking up as much room as he is able. Nelson is very sweet though, he has a soft nature and is very good with children. He is cheeky and very playful and the envy of any witchdoctor for his ability to throw bones around.

Nelson

In my travels in the USA I encountered a dog which also needs mentioning, a small Boston terrier whom I christened "Squidgy" This small bundle of nerves suffers severe anxiety whenever left alone, so much so that she would wet herself if the owner left her alone without properly explaining why and where and when she would be going. Squidgy would wait till her owner was sitting on the couch and then jump on the couch and bury herself into any handy nook and cranny available, accompanied by many loud snuffling and grunting noises. Once it was settled the other dog (a rottweiler) would jump on the couch, and, more often than not, sit on Squidgy, who would emerge later on looking very much smaller than she did before she went to sleep.

Alas, sadly poor Squidge is no longer with us, and has left a considerable emptiness in the life of her owner. I know that I am saddened to hear of her passing, because I too was privileged to have my life touched by this little dog. Rest in Peace Cassie. It was a pleasure to know you.

Cassie (Squidgy)

Many years ago, our domestic somehow acquired a small fox terrier which had been abandoned by its previous owners, this pathetic puppy suffered from divided loyalties, spending its day chatting up my mother and then forgetting her once the domestic came home. It would only sleep in a milk crate and at night would be kept up chasing mice which were a problem where we stayed. The next day it would be totally exhausted and collapse at my mothers feet just waiting for the domestic to come home. This little foxie who ended up being called Skipper too, was a very sweet dog and loved to do leopard crawl across the carpet. Eventually he would live at my brothers house where he would rule the roost with Skipper until he had to be put down when his kidneys failed.

My own childhood featured 3 canines in it, the first was a small black schipperke puppy which was brought to us by my grandfather. I was terrified of dogs when I was young and this puppy cured me of my fear of dogs. We named him Blackie and I remember many games with this animal, we were great pals and when he was run over by a car I was devastated. His replacement was also a black schipperke, also named Blackie, which was a bit older and grumpier and really eccentric. He had this huge bladder and could sleep in his basket the whole night without once having to be let out to pee. Once the door was opened, then the floodgates were released and he would leave a Mississippi-like trail across the yard. He would not eat his food and often had to be cajoled into tackling his supper. However if we had visitors then this dog would eat everything in 2 bites, I suppose it must have had something to do with him having been used for breeding when he was young. He also loved to attack peoples feet and would attach himself to their shoes and try gnaw his way through until they left. He suffered from heart problems and Guy Fawkes was always his worst time and as he got older so we had to revert to using tranquilisers to get him through the evening. Crackers were his downfall and we had to have him put down after his heart started failing. He was 12 years old when he left us.

Our final dog was a misplaced gift to my mother from my bother, a cross ridgeback/keeshond which had huge paws and very little respect for anything which it could not eat. The dog, who we named Rex, was still a pup when we got him and he grew at a phenomenal rate, by 6 months he was as big as an alsatian and was eating more than all our dogs had ever eaten. Alas, our yard was very small and he was given to friends who lived on a farm. I like to think he had much fun running and jumping and playing out in a field somewhere.

The final dog I would like to mention is one of the nicest dogs I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. He was a Great Dane which I christened Poepies. A friend of mine bought him when he was a pup and he ate and grew and ate and grew until he was huge. Unfortunately he never lost his playfulness and could outrun and out-eat anything I ever saw. I spent many hours romping with this crazy hound, wrestling with him for possession of a rawhide bone (although why I needed a rawhide bone is beyond me). He was a wonderfully boisterous dog and very eccentric too, having a fear of baseball caps and coats hung from a door.

I suppose the point I am making is that my life has been enriched by encountering these animals, and I hope that one day when I shuffle off this mortal coil I will meet up with them again, I don't want to consider what we will do, I am sure that one Blackie will want a walk, while the other will rush out and eat his food. Rex would like to play and that maybe both Skippers will jump and greet me with enthusiasm. I do know that Nelson will want to sleep on my lap and that Poepies will be waiting for me to throw that bone. As for Loss, well, she will come and make whining noises and Squidgy will try burrow into my back pocket. Squeeze will roll over and make sure that I am there, while Puppy, well, I am sure he will do his best to wreck heaven.