Happy Super Bowl Sunday everyone! This year it also happens to be severely overrated former president who has been mythologized day. Most importantly, it is lockewasright doesn't do squat but play with the kids and watch football day.
My wife has left for work. The kids remain asleep. Vespa's nine year old doggy bladder could no longer stand the strain. So, it's out of bed and greet the new day for yours truly. I wasn't ready to get up yet, but that's alright. Vespa ranks pretty high on my list of truest of true friends, so I don't mind sacrificing a little bit of shuteye for her.
As many of you know, we have three fur butts in our family. They are Vespa the corgi/something mix. Hope the maybe manchester terrier/something a little larger mix and Brutus that cat. Since we've not been able to establish concrete breeds of a generally recognized variety for our canine girls, we've declared our own. Vespa was long ago established as a North American Dorkhound. Hope's breed, Southwestern Speckle-Tongued Doofus, was established just a few short years ago, as she wandered into our lives more recently. Brutus... well... he's a cat.
I am not trying to slam on Brutus. He's ok as aloof pet cacti go, but I am a dog person and always will be. I like pretty much all critters with fewer than eight legs, but dogs are the top of the heap as far as I am concerned. Folks who've been near me in real life or here at Dkos for any real length of time have doubtless become familiar with my repeated assertion that: Most of the dogs that I have known have turned out to be better people than most of the people that I have known, and I like people.
There has almost always been at least one magnificent dog in my life. I have no memories which predate the all white german shepard and black lab that were part of my life as a child and bringing home our golden retriever is one of my earliest memories. Even during the periods where there was no dog in my home, I found myself on my feet during a commercial and wondering why. It was when I got a dog back into my life that I realized why. I was looking for a dog to go love up until the commercials were over! Yup! I am undeniably a dog person!
That german shepard was named Shana Madela (yiddish for beautiful girl). When I was in diapers, my dad would put me in the yard with her and go sit on the porch. If I wondered to close to the road, Shana would herd me back into the middle of the yard.
The black lab, Zack, was in my life until he passed away late in my junior year of high school. He was nearly eighteen years old! Zack, like many labs, had a ton of personality. He was lazy, and stubborn, and all about the ladies. He broke into the fridge and learned to work a door knob so that he could steal Milkbones from pantry. He would talk back when my stepmom reprimanded him. He once had his stomach pumped by Children's Hospital of Columbus, Ohio. The day he passed was easily the worst day of my life so far. He was a fantastic friend.
When Zack died, the golden retriever stopped eating. Jed was the quintessence of a loyal, goofy, affectionate golden retriever. We had to give him nutrition by IV for a little while until he was emotionally healed enough to go back to eating on his own. It didn't matter who you were. Jed loved you. If I lost a wrestling match, Jed loved me. If I was feeling low about something I had done during that period of my young life when I was learning never to do such a thing, Jed loved me anyway. If I was feeling awkward and insecure under the strain of adolescent peer pressure, Jed didn't care if my skin was good or if I had a cow-lick right in the middle of my scalp. He was born to give love and he was single minded in his pursuit of of this goal every day of his life.
Then there was the stray belgian shepard that my cousin and I discovered one fourth of July when we were in high school. Romeo was a good boy even if he did eat the corner off of an imported italian leather couch as well as a couple of cordless phones and a tv remote. My step mom was infuriated about the couch. She was ready to find another home for him. Years later, when she and my father divorced, she took him with her. He became her rock in hard times. He was her best friend for years. Cancer took Romeo from us six years ago.
When I fell in love for the first time, the girl over whom I was so bonkers moved with me to South Carolina. We got ourselves an apartment and a chow/lab mix that we named Free. Free was a bowling ball covered with fluff. By the time things had finished going very painfully bad and she left taking Free with her, I was pretty sure that Free was the bigger loss.
As I mentioned above. Today we have Vespa:
and Hope:
Vespa was brought to us by a coworker of mine. Someone had left her in the desert as a pup too young to be weened. She was probably left for the coyotes to eat. (makes my blood boil!)
Hope was malnourished and walking down the street in our neighborhood a little over three years ago. We took her door to door looking for her owner. I wanted to give them a piece of my mind and ask if I could adopt her into a loving household. In that process we didn't find her owner, but we did encounter a realtor who related to us that she was likely one of the growing population of foreclosure orphans. People are leaving behind their dogs when they leave their foreclosed homes. It's happening a lot.
It is for that reason that I write so much today. Domesticated dogs are ill suited to take care of themselves as strays. A dog without a family to love is a tragically missed opportunity to add fullness and love to somebody's life. If you can, I beg of you... please adopt a dog in need. They are magnificent creatures. You will get much more back in devotion, companionship, affection, unwavering love, protection, and loyalty than you will invest in kibble and milkbones. Sure, you may have to get up and let your buddy out some Sunday morning. It is SO worth it. Dogs truly are the best people around.
Here are some of those pictures that Todd took and some others to fill the time (it's a long song):
Because this version was mentioned last week:
Classic Hound Dog Taylor:
Zeppelin:
Roy Buchanan, Albert Collins, and Lonnie Mac:
Speaking of large collections of talent sharing a stage, my brother posted this one on my Facebook page this week:
Cuz I dig it, that's why:
Same reason, very different song:
As always, we're very grateful that you are spending some of you Sunday morning with us. The experience is enhanced for us because you are here. Won't you please stick around and post some tunes in the comments section? Or just add to the conversation. Your thoughts are always welcome.
Remember, Todd and Lila love you.
So do the pups.