Blog 1848 – 10.15.2020

The Bravest Dog Ever

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KqOE52WUAFYwEWajn_WqmBQkhBL38_t8/view?usp=drivesdk

The Bravest Dog Ever

From a boy I have always been a fan of brave and heroic dog stories. From Jack London’s Call of the Wild to Disney’s Old Yeller and all the countless tales in between, I have sat riveted to stories of dogs named Lassie, Rin Tin Tin, so many famous names, even Balto.

Balto is the embodiment of the devoted friend and guardian. I resist the term pet for how can one assume to own anyone let alone such a larger than life hero. More times than not they end up owning our hearts as much as we their devotion.

One of my favorite doggie tales is one my daddy recounted of a big black guard dog his parents owned. When he was a baby still in diapers and his mother had to help his father and two older siblings in the fields she would place him nearby on a blanket and instruct the dog to make sure baby Jake stayed on the blanket. Most days the dog was able by gentle nudging the baby with his nose to accomplish that task. But one day when mama returned to check on the baby both he and the dog were gone. After a brief frantic search she found them both, the dog head over a cliff with baby Jake dangling by his diaper in the devoted doggie’s mouth.

Like most of my daddy’s tall tales the story was probably enhanced and the size of that cliff grew over the years to be sure, but no more than the hero status of that big black dog. I do not recall the dog’s name, I do not think my daddy used it in the story. Perhaps it was Balto more likely Blackie or Nappy.

Your friend and fellow traveler,

David White

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1S_ysLH4hPufXxXOCAbSc9McY3_O0fqmQ/view?usp=drivesdk

All That We Let In