eBook
Available on Compatible NOOK devices, the free NOOK App and in My Digital Library.
Related collections and offers
Overview
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781524672652 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | AuthorHouse |
| Publication date: | 03/13/2017 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 112 |
| File size: | 44 MB |
| Note: | This product may take a few minutes to download. |
Read an Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
And So It Began- Puzzle and Erich
We were newlyweds, finishing college, living in a small rented house near campus, working part time and counting our pennies. We certainly didn't need the responsibility or expense of a dog. When you are young, nothing seems difficult. We went to the animal shelter.
Looking at us through a wire cage was a sad face with watery eyes. "What is she?" we asked. "She is a Manchester Terrier whose elderly owner died. The family turned her in to us. You probably want a younger dog", the attendant said. "She might not adapt to a new home."
"We'll take her", we said. The papers were signed and she was in the car with us in twenty minutes. We counted out change to take her to a veterinarian who discovered she had an ear infection and he couldn't really determine her age. We named her Puzzle and not one of us ever looked back. She traveled everywhere with us – long and short trips- usually riding on the high headrest part of the front seat behind the driver. Sometimes she rode in the long window ledge over the back seat. There were no seatbelts for anyone in 1964.
Puzzle loved our next door neighbors and carried notes back and forth between the two houses. She slept in our bed, trained us to give her treats, and politely accepted visitors. After graduation, we moved to Charleston, SC. Puzzle seemed contented in her new home and the big yard gave her lots of exploring opportunities- but she was an indoor girl at heart.
Perhaps it was out of boredom or inquisitiveness that we started to teach Puzzle some new tricks. She already knew the basics of "Sit" and "Lie Down" and "Stay", and she eagerly headed for the front door when we said "Car". We upped the ante. We taught her that when we pointed a finger at her then said "Bang", she was to lie down and roll over onto her back and hold her legs up as though she had been shot. She picked it up after only a few repetitions. She added her own take to the trick. She wouldn't lie down and play dead on a cold floor. She would stagger around until she got to a rug or carpet, then plop down and roll over. We never could get her to 'die' on a hard floor.
We didn't fully appreciate how easily Puzzle fit into our daily life and routines. Furthermore, we didn't ask her about our idea of getting a puppy- we just did it.
Never believe that you can just "go look" at a litter of puppies. Your life will be changed in some way. My husband, Herb, wanted a German Shepherd and as a young married couple we knew we couldn't afford to pay for magnificent breeding so we began to look for individuals with registered shepherds of rather common heritage. One day, advertised in the paper, we saw 6 weeks old German Shepherd pups - pureblood the ad said. Once again we went to look at puppies in hopes of finding just the right one. The mother was a good looking dog with an apparently good temperament. As the puppies tumbled all over her, we watched them carefully and asked about their sire. He belongs to a family right around the corner, we were told, and off we went to see him. He was a beautiful, large shepherd and we were increasingly impressed with the health and personalities of the parents. Once back with the puppies, we studied them intently. All those little black and tan bodies were very similar in markings but one male kept attracting our attention especially when he tugged on Herb's pants leg with his little puppy teeth. He seemed happy, bright, and friendly. Even though we had been looking for a female, we couldn't leave without him.
In the car, the puppy curled up between us on the front seat and fell promptly asleep while we began discussing names. Puzzle sighed when we walked in with this squirmy, furry ball of energy and decided that her responsibilities were changing. We explained to Puzzle that the puppy was staying and set about to feed both of them and to fix his bed for the night. That evening he began to acquire a life-long taste for canned milk. We weaned him on chunks of canned meat in diluted evaporated milk and bought cases of it for him until he was two years old. Even after that it was always a special treat for him.
We named our new puppy Erich and Puzzle willingly relinquished her position as only dog and stepped into the role of teacher. With very little help from us, she trained and housebroke him. She was not having a mess in her house. We are still not sure exactly how she did it but we were grateful for the help. Puzzle even taught Erich to play dead by watching us 'shoot' her and seeing her drop down and roll over.
Erich grew quickly into a mostly obedient and obviously very intelligent dog but at about six months it was apparent he was not a full German shepherd. We carried him to the Veterinarian who had taken care of his mother and littermates. He said that he had seen other puppies from this litter and some appeared to be full Shepherds and others, like Erich, did not. His only explanation was that there were two fathers to this litter. Of course, there was no doubt he was ours and we would keep him.
Soon Erich understood all commands and responded to most of our conversations. He and Puzzle were together all of the time and they worked out a communication system of their own.
Erich often accompanied us to our family lake house. Usually, another family dog, a little Pekinese, was there too. The two dogs played well together but neither really liked going into the water. One afternoon, my cousin and I decided to take a small, motor less, boat onto the lake. Erich wasn't a fan of the idea from the beginning and barked his disapproval. He never seemed anxious when we were in the ski boat but now he tried to block our attempts to take this small boat into
Herb Moore & Kathy Moore
the water. We persevered, launched the boat with our paddles in hand, and soon were drifting away from shore. Erich continued to bark and pace on shore. By this time, we were laughing at our paddling attempts - which mainly took us in ever-widening circles. We were drifting from the shore but still confident that we would master the art of paddling at any moment. Erich changed his tactic from barking to howling and I looked up in time to see my reluctant swimmer enter the water. He swam directly to our small boat and tried to grasp my paddle in his teeth in an apparent attempt to take charge of the situation. It was only after I got in the water with him that I could coax him back to shore and he finally seemed reassured of my safety.
Quite suddenly, Erich and Puzzle stopped eating their supper. They always had good appetites and this was indeed strange. They were not losing weight, actually, they seemed a little fatter. Herb and I worried, tried new foods for them and decided we should be able to out think our dogs. After a couple of weeks of this no appetite routine, the "highly intelligent" humans realized that at about the same time each night, Erich would go to the door and ask to go out. After a few moments, Puzzle would repeat the request. Herb decided to follow them. Apparently, Erich waited outside until Puzzle was freed from the house to join him. We had a fenced back yard, but they were asking to go out of the side door, which wasn't totally unusual. This, after all, was the door the neighborhood children used each afternoon after school when they knocked to ask if Erich could come out to play.
Herb watched from his hiding place as Puzzle came outside and Erich stepped up beside her. They trotted toward the street, Erich nearer the road and Puzzle walking beside the ditch. They set out together with Herb following at quite a distance. He watched as the two dogs maintained a steady pace with very few stops to investigate interesting smells and always side by side. There was little traffic in the neighborhood but when a car passed them, the two dogs stopped and stood very still on the side of the road.
After about three hundred yards, Herb saw Erich and Puzzle make a left turn that would take them toward the highway. They cut through a few yards and Herb was concerned that he might lose their trail but then he spotted them about a hundred yards ahead and saw them turn left again. Realization dawned. Erich was taking Puzzle out for dinner! They walked up to the kitchen door of a highly popular Charleston steak house and waited. In only moments, the back door opened and a kitchen worker in a stained white apron appeared. He immediately went back inside and returned with a most generous serving of steak scraps. Of course, Erich and Puzzle weren't surprised but Herb was. As he stepped out of the shadows to speak to the restaurant employee, the two dogs looked up but didn't interrupt their supper. They probably had been aware of his presence for some time.
"Oh yes," the employee said, "they have been coming here to the kitchen door for about two weeks. At first only the big dog came but then the little one started coming too. We always save some steak for them."
Of course, we had to end their nightly visits to the steak house but we also had to admire their taste.
One afternoon Erich came in limping on his left front foot. When it was no better the next day, we took him to our Veterinarian. While we waited in the outer office, Erich whined and showed his displeasure at being there. An examination showed that he had no cuts or thorns in his foot and the doctor suggested that perhaps he had a sore muscle or perhaps had stretched a ligament and predicted that a few days rest would bring improvement. He was correct in his diagnosis and in several days Erich was showing no signs of pain. However, the lasting impact of this sore foot was that at each veterinarian visit after that, every time Eric's name was called to come to the examining room, he exaggeratedly limped on that left front foot. The staff members always peeked out to see if the drama of the hurt foot continued- it always did.
Erich eagerly expressed his friendship to our family and friends through vigorous tail wagging and a desire to join in on whatever we were doing. However, just like the other members of our family, Erich did have his quirks. We were never able to ease his fear of loud noises, especially thunderstorms and fireworks. At the first rumble of thunder, he found someone to be near, really near, until the thunderstorm passed. We happily provided comfort for him during those times and always felt a little worry if we were not home on stormy days.
Another consistent habit that may have been connected to loud noises, was that every time Herb opened the door to the gun cabinet, Erich disappeared. He usually walked beside Herb as they approached the gun cabinet as though all was fine, he then stayed beside him as he was reaching up to retrieve the key from on top of the cabinet and finally, with keys in Herb's hand, Erich would still be by his side. The instant the gun cabinet door was opened ... poof, Erich was nowhere in sight. No sound. No scrambling. Just gone. We could always find him somewhere in another room, not acting scared or nervous- just waiting for his family. We wondered if he anticipated the noise of a shotgun and just wanted no part of the open gun cabinet. Erich consistently pulled the disappearing dog act each and every time and though we didn't fully understand it, that quirk became an endearing part of his personality.
Puzzle lived to be quite elderly and after she died, Erich never again played the shooting and falling dead trick. We guess he associated that trick with his friend Puzzle. Without her it just wasn't the same.
When we found ourselves with just Erich, I talked Herb into going with me to look at some cocker puppies. "Just to look", I promised. A mischievous black female ran away with my sunglasses and there was little doubt that she would go home with us.
Due to a job transfer, we moved to Florida and of course, our new cocker spaniel, Shadow, and Erich went too. They settled easily into our new lifestyle, quickly gaining popularity as playmates for the neighborhood kids.
Shadow was typically spaniel – a little stubborn – especially when called, very clever at reading our moods, quite food motivated and happiest when she was near us. We didn't have children yet and somehow I thought puppies would be a great idea! After much research I carried Shadow to a local breeder's home and left her in the company of a beautiful blonde male spaniel. About nine weeks later, Shadow delivered six puppies: 2 black, two blonde and 2 black and tan. Puppies were a lot more work than we thought! When the puppies were old enough, we found homes for each of them. Sometime later, the owner of one of the blonde females called to ask if we could take her back because her family was divorcing. We said yes and BJ came back to live with us.
When we moved to a rural area in Florida and acquired horses, Erich transitioned into country dog and became a trail companion and camp guard. His one bad habit was chasing the horses in the pasture. We fussed, we leashed him, we commanded him to stay by us – none of which worked. One morning, on the way to the barn, Erich ran beside Apache barking and staying close to his hindquarters. Apache had great timing and good aim. His running kick caught Erich solidly on his jaw. Without a sound, Erich ran directly to me and when I reached out to check him, he dropped his tooth into my hand. Lesson learned.
Erich generously made room for our two boys when they came along. He came for me if they cried, and when I left our first born playing with toys on the floor of his room and said, "Erich, watch after Jeffrey for me, I'll be right back", I was surprised to soon hear my son fussing. As I stepped around the corner from the adjoining room, I saw that Erich had stretched out across the doorway. Jeffrey wasn't walking yet and he was frustrated in his efforts to crawl across this furry barrier. Indeed, Erich was keeping him safe.
About two years later, we moved back to South Carolina with four horses, Erich, B.J. and Duke. Our future dogs were to benefit from the many lessons Erich taught us about living with canine companions.
First Horse - Apache Many little girls dream of having their own horse and I was one of those girls whose hope never faded. I rode a little when I was young – at my aunt's and uncle's in the South Carolina low country, with friends who kept horses near Charleston and even at local riding stables.
It wasn't until Herb and I moved to central Florida that my dream of horse ownership came true. We began riding regularly with friends and soon we were seriously exploring the reality of owning a horse. Central Florida was actually quite rural at that time and there were many breeders, stables and backyard horse owners.
Herb and I looked at several horses advertised for sale and of course, I wanted each one! Herb was a little more cautious and we continued our search. One Saturday morning we followed directions to see a horse briefly described in a For Sale ad. As we turned into the long driveway, we could see a sorrel and white paint horse with a tri-color black, white and sorrel mane and tail, standing under a tree. I tried not to feel or appear too anxious. He had a quarter horse head and looked healthy with a slick coat and well muscled legs. A teenage boy was standing beside the horse – sort of leaning against him. After introductions were made, we learned that Johnny had gotten Apache as a six month old yearling and raised and trained the young horse by himself. They had been very successful in Gymkhana events of speed and agility and often explored the nearby trails and rural areas with horse-owning neighbors. Apache was now six years old and Johnny, like most teenage boys, felt the urge to swap from horses to cars, so his first step was to sell his horse. That money would take him closer to the car he saw in his future.
Apache's ground manners were impressive and Herb decided to ride him. We hadn't always gotten this far with the horses we had gone to see. So many didn't live up to their "For Sale" advertisements so we often ended up just looking and moving on. I was getting hopeful. Apache was quick, responsive and seemed willing to follow the cues of a rider to whom he was unaccustomed. He was calm beyond his years, yet quick to respond in reining and turning. In short, he was far superior to other horses we had seen.
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "Stopping By"
by .
Copyright © 2017 Herb Moore & Kathy Moore.
Excerpted by permission of AuthorHouse.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
Stopping By,
Prologue,
And So It Began- Puzzle and Erich, 9,
First Horse - Apache, 17,
Uncle John and Nosey, 21,
Clark, The White Truck, And Buddy, 33,
Pronto, 39,
Susie and the Hat, 45,
Cotton Eye Song, 49,
Duke – He Was No Dog, 55,
Blackjack, Tom and the busted outboard, 63,
Coming Home - Maggie, 65,
Skoal – Not the Chewing Kind, 69,
Learning to Trust - KC, 71,
Norma, 75,
Woofus - Lost and Found, 79,
Home Again - Suzy and Buster, 83,
Never Wrestle a Goat, 87,
Lapdog Molly, 91,
The Doctor is out, 95,
Absolutely Abbie, 103,
And Now there is Barney, 107,
Epilogue,