For a change, I thought I’d share a personal story about my very first dog.

When I was still in fifth grade, my dad went into business for himself, a used car lot in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The people next door had a watchdog, so Dad’s first priority was to make friends with the dog, so it wouldn’t bark when he was showing customers around the lot. His strategy was simple: food. Before long, he and the black and white border collie mix were good friends. Lucky was an appropriate name for the dog, since he’d somehow survived distemper as a pup, though it left him half blind. He was a pretty good watch dog, though, even though he walked in circles.

A bit later, Lucky’s owners sold their house and planned to move into an apartment. My dad was upset when he learned that they couldn’t take Lucky with them and were going to have him put down. My dad immediately offered to take him.  (My dad was an outwardly tough guy, but with a soft spot for babies and dogs.)

That day, I came home to find out that we suddenly had a dog, something I had been begging for for years. Lucky was about seven years old, blind in one eye, scrawny and underfed, and a little on the grumpy side. He growled at anyone hovered too close. Not a menacing growl, just a warning. Naturally, I was thrilled! The next day I brought my friends home to see my new dog. He growled at us, of course, but I wasn’t daunted.

It took a while for Lucky to go from being a solitary outdoor watchdog to a pampered indoor dog, but a little care and love made a big difference. He filled out and his mostly black and white coat became full and shiny. He still growled occasionally, but never bit anyone.

There were two things Lucky really didn’t like: cats and rides in the car. Even though he walked in circles most of the time, he ran straight out when chasing a cat. He used to run in his sleep, and we decided he was chasing cats in his dreams.

Lucky was afraid of the car, though, probably because the only times he’d been in one before joining our family was to go to the vet. The day we moved to Florida, Lucky hid in the basement and had to be carried upstairs and dumped in the car. Next morning, he hid under the bed in the motel room and had to be hauled out to the car. No matter how many times we put him in the car and didn’t take him to the vet, he never got over his car phobia.

Lucky lived with us for about 3 1/2 years before developing some kind of neurological disorder that caused convulsions. The day my mom and dad had him put down left us all in tears, and it was a long time before we got another dog. Lucky was gone but not forgotten.

Leave a comment to win an e-book copy of Romancing The Pages, an anthology published by my local RWA Chapter. I was honored to be one of the editors for the stories, most of which feature new and upcoming authors. Several of the stories feature animals, mostly dogs, so it sort of fits today’s theme.

We never forget that first pet. What was yours named?

Linda McLaughlin
website: http://www.lindamclaughlin.com/
blog: http://flightsafancy.blogspot.com/