The four-legged family member
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Jamie Gardner
I’ve eaten a lot of words in my lifetime. One of the biggest tales I’ve told over the years is, “There will never be a dog or cat in my house.”
A few years back, we got a Boykin Spaniel for Jacob. Boykins are known for their hunting ability, especially bird hunting. Jacob has become very fond of duck hunting over the past few years and a Boykin makes a good hunting partner in the creeks and ponds of South Georgia. Roy Johnson was happy to oblige us with the newest member of the Gardner household. Jacob and his girlfriend, Bentlee, decided his name should be Bear. This little fellow worked his magic on Amy and Cole as well.
“But he’s too little to stay outside.”
“Someone might steal him.”
Those were the excuses that were presented to me as the reasoning behind letting this little brown hairball take up residence in my house.
Slowly, but surely, this little fellow began to win me over as well. I’m still not exactly crazy about the idea of a dog in our house, but to be honest, he is a really smart dog. He quickly learned to go out to do his business and has had very few accidents. Thankfully, he sheds very little hair as well.
We did have to learn to keep socks away from him. For some strange reason,n he liked to eat socks when he was little. Thank goodness the veterinarian taught us a trick with peroxide that would make the sock come back out the same hole it entered, if caught quickly.
He also liked to chew holes in my underwear. Imagine my surprise when I discovered a hole in my drawers one day after arriving at work. I had those religious underwear on…you know, they were “holy” {holey}. Amy had to bring me a new pair and she was very amused by the little demon’s actions.
“That dog will never sleep in my bed,” was my next foot-in-mouth moment.
After Jacob went off to college, you can imagine who became the number one person in Bear’s life. That’s right, Bear is no longer Jacob’s dog. He is Amy’s. It has become a running joke around the house that this little dog has taken the place of Jacob, Cole, and me in the pecking order. Bentlee may be the only one that ranks up there with Bear now. The hierarchy status around the Gardner household has certainly changed. Baer ranks at the top with Amy.
Guess what this now means? That’s right…this little critter is normally sleeping, on top of the cover, on my side of the bed after I shower prior to going to bed every night. He normally gets a nudge from me to move. Bear usually moves to Amy’s feet or off our bed and onto his bed, and you probably guessed it right again, his bed is beside Amy, of course.
It’s amazing how pets can become such a part of our lives. It is also amazing how we dads can eat a few words due to the love for these pets.
