The Puppy

by Susan Handle Terbay

And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind…and God saw that it was good.” (Genesis)

The puppy arrived inside a blanket; big brown eyes, curious of his surroundings, squirming anxiously to roam the new territory greeting him. He frees himself and scampers from one object to another, sniffing – taking it all in. Then I sit on the floor and this bundle of loving energy jumps into my arms, licks my face and wiggles with glee in my lap as I cuddle and hug this new addition to my life. This was to be the beginning of a long friendship unlike any human friendship, unlike any love that I will ever encounter again in my life.

The days that followed were tests of love – mine and his. We got through the paper training fairly easily – he understood that the paper was his place of deposit. However, he failed to understand at first that even though his front paws were on the paper that his behind wasn’t; or that there were only certain papers for his usage – not every paper that would be on the floor. We had a few moments of trial and error but success came and except for an occasional “accident”, the training was quite successful.

I began to realize that puppies tended to think that everything is theirs and all things are play toys, including shoes, scarves, bath sponges, erasers, trash cans and the ever popular toilet paper on a role. When frustration built up in me and scolding of “bad dog” came screaming out of my mouth, out from behind a chair would come these two big brown eyes, fixated on mine, looking innocent and contrite. I sit down exhausted. Onto my lap jumps this bundle of love, nudging my hand to rest on his head and gently stretching up to my face to lick my cheek and tug again at my heart. He had me so wrapped around his little paws – all four of them.

The first night the rule was set that he had his own place to sleep – a special bed with a special blanket and special toys – recommended and purchased at the local pet shop. No one told me that puppies cry when left alone. The pet shop didn’t inform me that all these “special” items meant nothing to a little puppy who wanted to be held and snuggled at night. Hoping that having my hand resting in his bed would be a source of reassurance for him I moved his special bed next to my bed. This only proved to be more traumatic. He was way too little to jump onto my bed but he certainly was not going to allow that to stop him. With his little paws and nails he managed to crawl up my coverlet and snuggle close to me and fall sound asleep. The next morning, the special bed, with its special blanket and toys were placed on the closet floor. The blanket would be dragged around instead of my scarf and the toys chewed instead of my shoes, but the bed never made it out of storage.

The next challenge was the collar. I had purchased his license and got a red collar on which to hang it. Of course the pet shop again sold me this necessary item. The challenge came about after the collar was placed around his neck. First came the rubbing and rolling on the floor, then the scratching with the hind paws and finally the wimpering in my lap. It was tough but I had to persevere in this endeavor. This time I won out and the collar became a permanent decoration around his neck.

This little fur ball came to me during the winter months. After the paper training came the outside training. Of course this meant if he had to go out into the cold, so did I.

At first he was excited about the new adventure. As the temperatures dipped below freezing, it was a quick in and out and I didn’t even have to put a coat on. The first time it snowed I decided to take him out for the experience. The snow flakes were quite big as they fell from the grey skies. Tentatively he walked out onto the porch. Then he became exhilarated with the cold breeze and the feel of the snow under his paws. Hopping and jumping into the air trying to catch the snow flakes, he made the untouched fallen snow his mass of paw prints and yellow snow. What fun it was to watch him. Soon we began taking walks – more like runs – down the street to the park. It became a nightly ritual that continued for both us after I would come home from work. Off we would go to the park, rain, sleet, snow, hot or cold. It got us both out of the house and into a much needed exercise routine. He was my inspiration to get up and get out.

He was my best friend, listening to my day’s events – never judging me – just listening and allowing me to be me and loving me anyway. Even when I would come home upset and yelling – he would “take it”, then come over, nudge my hand onto the top of his head and stretch to lick my face much like he did when he was a puppy. He loved me unconditionally. When I would be home sick with a cold or flu, he would lay up against my back to give me support, or lay close by if I needed the space. He always sensed my needs.

Periodically we would take trips in the car. In the beginning it was to the vet for all his shots and check-ups. Needless to say he wasn’t thrilled about the car rides at first. But after awhile he knew which direction was to the vet and which direction was to a new adventure. While he reluctantly went to the car, his manner changed as the car turned onto another street other than the vets. Soon he was sitting ever so proper next to me, looking out the side window, tongue hanging and with excitement of anticipation in his eyes. I swear he would even smile at times.

Life was like this for about 15 years. As he grew older, his excitement wavered but never his contentment to be around me. Our car rides became less adventuresome and more of visits to the vet. Our walks sometimes were put on hold because the weather wasn’t always suitable for his old aching bones. Soon it became just him and me, laying on the couch, watching tv and snacking.

The last week of his life, his body slowly gave up its energy to live. Getting up to go outside became a chore and once out, I would have to carry him back in because he just couldn’t move any more. I knew his time was coming near and I didn’t want to make the choice of having him put to sleep. One morning when he was so very tired, I went into my room and said a prayer to God to please take him – that I was incapable of making the decision but that I knew I would in order to keep him from suffering. I came out of my room and on the old blanket from his puppy-hood, he was lying – gone from this world and into the next. I cried from the shear pain of losing my best friend.

It has been several years since his death. When I hear of someone losing their pet, it brings tears to my eyes and also some very happy, warm memories. It may be difficult for some people to understand such things, but until one is loved so unconditionally by a creature of God, then there is no understanding- but God understands…. “And God said, Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind…and God saw that it was good.”