Memories (Continued) - Spot was our family dog who wandered onto our porch the week I was born and stayed with us for the next 15 or so years until his untimely and tragic death from old age. I have been told that he was my baby sitter when I was a toddler. I would play in the front yard and Spot would prevent me from getting near the road by blocking my path and knocking me on my butt.

When my mom and dad left the house to go to the hospital where I was to be born dad found the dog on the front porch, covered with sores from being beaten with a chain and with the mange. He tried to shoo the dog off, but Spot had found his new home and would not leave. Dad got him cleared of the mange and healed from his beatings and adopted him into our family. His ‘owner’ showed up some time later wanting to take him home and dad quickly removed him from our property. Spot had chosen us as his new family and the dog beater would have to find another one to abuse!

Spot was a smart dog who protected his family faithfully and could instinctively sense if a visitor should be welcomed or rejected with a warning bark and/or growl. He was infinitely patient with children and very impatient with cats or other dogs who thought he could be challenged. His reputation as a cat killer was unparalleled in our neighborhood and I have watched his killing technique used relentlessly on the feline population. He would chase the cat until it tried to turn and swipe at him. At that point he would back off momentarily, but as soon as the cat turned back again to run away the dog would have its neck in his mouth and that was all she wrote. I have buried many, many cats over the years when our Spot was on the prowl.

Spot was also one of the best fighting dogs I’ve ever seen. In all the time I knew him I never saw him lose a dog fight. Back then dogs roamed freely, which meant there were often disagreements over territory and Spot always settled that problem quickly. Also, if there was a bitch in heat a group of dogs would be found circling and would eventually have to decide which one had the honors of reproducing. I can remember a huge dog fight in my uncle’s back yard and we all ran over to see the outcome. There were a number of very large dogs in the mix, but when the dust settled Spot was standing alone in the center of the circle having cleared the lot of them. I could not have been more proud of him. German shepherds, retrievers and mutts all had to yield to the old bird dog. Wherever I went on my journeys in the neighborhood or others I would make sure our dog was tagging along just in case we crossed paths with an unfriendly dog.

My granddad had a dog who was Spot’s best friend. He was a long haired mutt and the too of them were constant companions. Raggs was hit by a car one day in front of my grandparent’s house and apparently Spot was there to witness it. He pulled Raggs out of the road and into a ditch and then stood guard over him until my granddad could go out and retrieve him. It was a sad time for the family but we were so amazed at our dog’s behavior when confronted with his friend’s death. He really seemed to understand the situation and was very pissed.

Dogs are special to children and adults alike and often the most common and non-pedigree seem to turn out the best. Spot was just a dog. There was nothing special about his breed and he was probably bred to hunt, but there was something special about him to our family. To us he should have been recognized in the halls of lore and venerated as a giant among his peers, but he was just a dog and I’m sure many families have as many tales to tell. My older brother and I used to argue over whose dog he was. I maintained he was mine since he showed up when I was born and I felt like he hung out with me more. He maintains Spot was his dog because he hung out with Spot more when I was just a baby and therefore had more quality time with him. Of course, he was everyone’s dog who belonged to our family and everyone appreciated and loved him equally.

I’ll never forget that dog fight either. Man, he could fight!

More memories to come,,,