Introduction

As I sat down to write, I realized since dogs live far shorter lives than their owners, most of the stories about our beloved pets have sad endings. I saw this as an obstacle until I thought about all the stories I wanted to write about and how even though there were some sad endings, the joy these precious creatures brought into my life far offset the pain and sadness of their passing. I hope you share the same viewpoint as I do as you read these true stories. Since you are reading this book, I assume you either have or have had a dog that left an impression on you. This is the story of the dogs I’ve had the joy to know in my 53 years on this great earth. Some were in my life for only a short time, while others were with me for many years. Either way, they all left some kind of impression on my life. Most of these dogs were my family pets, while others were my friends’ or relatives’ pets, but all left memories I’ll try to recount to the best of my ability for you. It would be nearly impossible to fit them all into my book, so the ones you will read about are the ones that meant the most to me. I hope you will enjoy this and just maybe it will bring back some fond memories of the paw prints of your past.

My Younger Years

Think back. Think back as far as your memory will allow to the first dog that made an impression on you. As far back as I can recall is when I was four years old. We had just moved into the house my Mom and Dad still live in. That is where my love of dogs began.

Oddly enough, the first pet I can remember us owning wasn’t the fondest of my dog memories. We had acquired a pretty little redbone hound named Ginger. Other than the memory of how beautiful she was, the rest of my memories are not so fond. Looking back, I now see her as being full of energy, wanting to play with the little four year old that just happened to be terrified of her every time I went outside. Every time she would see me come out, she would stop whatever she was doing and run to me which at the time looked to me as if she was running at me. As I would try to run from her, she understood that as me running with her as if I was playing with her. This was a problem for me because I wanted to like her; I just didn’t understand what was going on at the time. As bad as this situation was, it got worse.

My Dad started looking for a new home for her because of me I suppose, and finally found one with a teenager named Ray from his Sunday school class. After building a pen for her, Ray picked her up and carried her home with him. This should have been the happiest day of my life but it was far from it as I had started to like the little nuisance. Ray’s family lived almost a mile away across Hwy. 202 which was the main road employees used to get to Anniston Army Depot which the main reason for the existence of our small town. Two days after we had given her away, she appeared at our back door waiting patiently for me to come out so she could chase me. In my mind, I believed that was the reason she was born. It was great to see her and we played most of the day. Dad called Ray when he got home and told him she was at our house and it wasn’t long before he came and carried her away again. Like déjà vu all over again, she showed back up at our door the next day.