How Abby Got Her Name

            My daughter was expecting her third child.  If a girl, she would be named Abigail.  If a boy, he would be named David.  And so; it happened, David was born.

My daughter’s husband was an avid hunter.  He heard of Labrador retrievers for sale.  He was offered a good deal with one for two hundred dollars less than usual cost.  With both my husband and daughter in agreement, they purchased a female Labrador retriever puppy.  At first they talked about breeding the dog, but later decided on having her spayed.  She was to be trained as a hunting dog.  The name of the dog came easy as Abigail (Abby), not given to their baby, was given to her.  As her husband went hunting less and less, Abby became the family pet.  She never did get trained for hunting.

Abby became a companion to the three little boys.  She went everywhere the family could take her.  They went to the park.  They went to the lake.  They went camping.  They went bicycle riding.  Abby was having as much fun as the rest of the family.  At night, she took turns sleeping in each one's room.  She sat with them as they played computer games.  She watched television with them.  Abby had the best of a life any dog could ask for.  She was loved by all and she loved all them.

David would often have ear infections.  Abby did too.  Off to the pediatrician David went.  And off to the veterinarian Abby went.  It was soon my daughter was asking, “What are the chances of one who was to be named Abby and the one getting the name Abby having ear infections the same time?”

“It’s just coincidence,” I answered.

“I know,” she continued, but she kept using similarities.

“David loves to go to the Pediatrician.  Abby likes to go to the veterinarian.  They like to see Abby come.  She is such a friendly dog.   She shows her happiness with the wag of her tail.  David shows his happiness with non-stop talk.  I could name lots of things they have in common.”

“They do live in the same house.  There are bound to be similarities.”  I said, “But remember; one is a dog and the other is a little boy.  They do have a bond.  I think any pet and owner can create things in common if love is there.”

In visiting my daughter and her family, I saw the love between the dog and the boys.  It especially showed with David and Abby.

How a dog is treated is what makes his/her personality.  Abby is treated with love and affection.  She receives no abuse at the hands of her masters.  Why anyone would mistreat a helpless animal puzzles me.  A dog wants to be loved and will return that love back.

It won’t happen, but saying it did, I would take Abby in a minute as my dog if they ever wanted to give her away.  She is a gentle and loving dog!

Christopher to the Rescue

The old wood house

There were no fine brick homes in the country I grew up in.  It was so many years ago.  Our house made out of wood with shingles as its siding.  The neighbors all had similar dwellings.  The house was open door in the summer time with a screen door to keep flies out.  It was only latched at night.  It was hot!  But it was something we got used to as we had no air-conditioning or fans.  But winter brought a different story.  The door stayed shut as the house was always so cold.  The front room had its open fireplace and half way in the middle of the seven room house was an old wood burning stove.  The attic door always left open with hopes heat would rise.  Upstairs was where the boys slept.  I still remember how there never was enough cover to keep the toes warm in bed at night.

            In the day time everyone fought for their place in front of the fireplace.  The old wood stove was seen as dangerous.  The fireplace was not seen that way until that one day.

            We had just come in from playing outside in the snow.  It was bitter cold.  It seemed everyone was as always fighting for their place in front of the fireplace.  With six of us fighting for a spot, one was sure to get pushed.  And so it happened, six year old David got pushed right into the blaze.  He was left standing, but his pants leg caught fire.  In panic, David went to shouting and then went running.  He opened that front door and ran outside.  An older sister came running from the kitchen.  She saw the front door open.  She took an instant head count as she was babysitting that day.

            “Where’s David?” she asked.

            “He ran outside!  He’s on fire!”

            It was not only the sister who ran after David.  But before her, went running our dog.  He tackled David and had brought him to the ground.  Whether that dog was playing or whether he was in a rescue mode, I really don’t know.  But he stopped a running kid from getting more seriously hurt.  It made it easier for the older sister to get to David and roll him on the ground putting out the fire.

            The pants that burned away from David’s leg revealed one awful burn on the back of his leg.  It was a burn going all the way down from the knee to the ankle.  It appeared deep in the flesh.  Since Mother did not believe in taking anyone to the Doctor, David’s burn was treated by her.  It was a lot of pain he suffered until eventually the burn healed.  But it left a forever lasting scar.

            What I saw from the whole experience was someone taking all the credit for rescuing David.  The older sister, who was babysitting and supposed to be watching, took all the credit herself.

            “I saved David,” she said.  And it is like a sibling never to let anything die down.  She constantly reminded David of her heroic conduct often. 

            It has been said, “If you are too close to something, you don’t always see the truth.”  Simply stand back and you see.  The only hero that day was not my older sister.  After all, she did not act alone.  Maybe her taking full credit was to stop any repercussions by mother who had left her in charge.  Regardless, I saw the actual hero as being our dog, Christopher.  He was outside.  He was in the right place at the right time to stop the running boy.  Some dogs don’t seem to do anything outstanding.  But when a real emergency comes about, I wonder how many of them would jump into action?  I think any dog is about protecting its master.  After all, the dog got the name Man’s Best Friend somewhere.