AIpha's Fellow Traveler

       My life is sometimes quiet and oftentimes filled with boundless joy, but that has not always been the case. The happiness derives from the close and interdependent relationship I have with the person with whom I share my life.This bond has in turn enriched the experiences of countless others. I am referring to the celebrated and time-beyond memory pact between man and dog.I am the more loyal and loveable dog of this pairing..I don't do anything crazy-such as talking or driving like dogs on television. . My vocabulary and understanding of language, though, is far greater than the so-called "dog experts" have pegged at the toddler level. Thank God my owner Bill-though I call him Alpha because that is a dog's highest compliment-doesn't dress me in those ridiculous outfits and post them all over the internet. Alpha does have an interest in dog agility because of his background and seems fascinated by the concept, but thankfully so far hasn't enrolled me in any of those exhausting classes. I am a certified therapy dog and will relate my tail-,"Gotcha-tale",about the events that lead up to this point in life.

   Alpha is very ancient-but I consider most humans ancient since dogs unfortunately have much shorter life spans.Even twenty-four year olds have lived twice as long as the average canine. I know about Alpha's background because he has told the story of our lives-separately and together-to countless groups of people. What everyone doesn't realize-maybe not even Alpha himself-is that his personality and the trajectory of his life altered once we became a twosome. Alpha is sixty-four and was sixty when he adopted me.I prefer that term to owned though legally I am his property. He was a sergeant in the Army,stationed in dozens of places around the world and trained troops for combat. I still can't fathom the concept of war. Members of our species are territorial, fight and occasionally kill each other, but not nearly in the scale and scope that humans do.Indeed,humans are often responsible for a dog's aggressive behavior. Alpha was married and loved his wife Samantha. The pair lived in exotic locations all over the world but were never blessed with children. Alpha referred to Samantha as ,"my cricket on the hearth",since she preferred to stay home cooking, gardening and reading even though traveling the world. Alpha said they were as close as any two people could be and did everything together .When Alpha turned fifty-five, he retired from the service and the couple returned to their original roots in upstate New York and bought a house in the country. After three short years-although much longer in dog years-Samantha died from a fast-moving pancreatic cancer.She and Alpha spent many long hours in the hospital until she lost her battle. Alpha was devastated and sunk into depression. They had depended upon each other ,and Samantha had been the one to keep in contact with his sister, old friends, neighbors and took the lead in initiating conversations with everyday people they met. Alpha felt deeply, but said little. Those acquainted with him thought him taciturn and a loner.I cannot say for  certain how he spent those  long  empty hours, but some of them might have been  taking  long  hikes on his property, doing projects  around the house and consuming a fair amount of Budweiser.It was during one of these beautification efforts-rebuilding a fallen stone wall that ran along the front of his property-that he met Alyssa. Alyssa was a volunteer at the animal shelter-Happy Tails- six miles away.She passed by Alpha's house about  three times  a week on her way to help out with the dogs and cats. She admired his progress on the structure that had collapsed decades ago and now was so charming. After stopping several times and prying conversation out of him,she convinced him to help out with some badly needed repairs around Happy Tails. This is where my life and Alpha's intersect.

    I don't remember the early days of my life,but that is probably for the best.Alpha knows my history very well,though. My mother,five siblings and twenty other dogs were rescued from a house twenty miles away.Some lived indoors, others were chained or were in fenced-in enclosures. There had been no abuse,but all of us suffered from malnourishment and neglect.A woman even more ancient than Alpha had gotten in over her head and couldn't take care of that number of dogs.Most of us including my mother and siblings were relatively healthy and were farmed out to a few local shelters and foster homes for adoption. However,I wasn't so fortunate.I was the runt of the litter and had somehow picked up infections to my left hind leg and left eye and had other health issues.When Doctor Steve examined me,he said I was in rough shape but decided I was worth saving.He agreed to nurse me back to health "pro-bono"as he has done on occasion and I could be adopted out in a few months . However,he couldn't save the leg or eye but I would live-an older member of the rescue had to be euthanized. It was then I was given the ironic name of "Lucky"-a name that would never change. .After the surgery and during the two month recovery at the vet's, I became a great favorite of the staff.Whenever someone came to give me food, medicine or let me outside,the running joke became,"I'm going to get Lucky".They claimed I was the friendliest and smartest dog they had ever seen-which is obvious. They all expressed the desire to take me home,but everyone had pets already.When Alyssa picked me up to bring me to Happy Tails,there wasn't a dry eye in the place.

         I was six months old when I started this new journey.I will give you kind readers a description of myself now that my surgeries were complete and my winsome personality was well-established. This delightful package was now on the market for potential admirers to adopt.I am a combination of two noble dog breeds and don't like to be referred to as a "mutt".I am one-half Pug and one-half Shih Tzu.Alpha likes to share my DNA results with everyone and emphasizes the first syllable of Shih Tzu.I am chocolate brown with a squirrel's tail and weigh sixteen pounds,along with three legs and one dark brown eye.I can run like the wind. I am also missing another part of my anatomy removed during surgery which I would rather not discuss.You would think people would be fighting over me,but alas that was not the case.Happy Tails posted my picture and description on their website,but somehow there didn't seem to be much interest.It was a rural shelter and not a lot of people visited.I won Alyssa and the other volunteers over though,just as I had at the vet's.One middle-aged man asked for a meet and greet.He had a mean look and stunk of body odor and onions.This smell was magnified many times given my keen sense of smell.I confess I lifted my leg and peed on his cowboy boots in fear of him taking me home.He lowered his arm swiftly as if to hit me,so that brought the interview to an abrupt end.The staff later said they didn't blame me-they thought he was creepy.A pretty young woman was also interested but seemed vain and said the missing eye bothered her too much.Time went by and now I was eight months old-and no luck yet.Other dogs,puppies, cats and kittens that came in after I did found new homes.It was at this point when I met Alpha.

      He was as old as the hills,like I have previously described.He was about six feet tall,had close-cut steel gray hair ,blue eyes,and a trim build.He looked very neat in his denim shirt and jeans.He smelled of Ivory soap mingled with a hint of wood-smoke,which I found pleasing. He had his toolbox with him and was repairing an outdoor kennel that had fallen into disrepair.I was observing him from an enclosure about thirty yards away.It was now October and the once green leaves were a golden yellow and Alpha's eyes and clothing were indigo blue. Yellow and blue are the only colors I am able to discern.Alpha looked over at me,stared for a long time and then went back to his work.He glanced over now and then and then left for the day. He was back two days later to work on some fencing.He was a little farther away and I barked my best greeting-almost like a wolf's howl to garner his attention. He walked over and I worked my charm on him-turning my lips upward almost forming a smile and wiggling my whole body.He let out a subdued laugh and extended his hand for me to sniff.His voice cracked a little when he said,"Hello",like it was rusty from use.We had a staring contest for a few minutes-which I won-and then I stood upright against the fence wagging my squirrel tail.Alpha finally tore himself away,returned to his original spot and left an hour later.He next came back a week later carrying a weed whacker to cut down the overgrown brush that threatened to overtake the fence.When Alyssa came out to give him a water,he stopped working and both came over to my kennel.She was telling Alpha that Happy Tails had been thinking about putting me on the weather segment of a local news show that highlighted animals up for adoption. She said a push might be needed to find me a home. Alpha seemed a little concerned and asked if that usually worked. Alyssa replied that the publicity often sparked a lot of interest-was Alpha thinking of adopting me?Alpha put forward his arguments against that notion -animals were a lot of work,it had been years since he was around a dog,and he preferred larger breeds such as Shepherds and Huskies.He said the last thing he imagined was taking home  a one-eyed three-legged rescue..Alyssa told him my history and his face softened. He said he had been through a rough patch himself and had been thinking about me over the last week.Alyssa extolled my virtues,said he shouldn't wait and opened the gate of my kennel.Alpha entered the space,sat on the ground and waited for my approach.I walked over and sat on his lap. As he petted my head and ears,we both felt instant chemistry-this unique connecting human/dog bond that has spanned centuries. I licked his salty hand and he stood up.He bent over,scooped me up,walked over to retrieve the weed whacker and walked to the desk inside the shelter to fill out the paperwork. He laid a blanket on the seat of his Ford truck for me to sit on and rolled down my window some so I could catch the breeze.He drove us to his small but very neat and sparsely furnished home with ten acres.It smelled of Murphy's Oil Soap ,wood stove and stew in the crock pot.It was heaven.

      I will now explain how I have trained Alpha. Over the course of that winter, Alpha made many rookie mistakes.He thought I was going to sleep in the dog bed but surrendered that notion after a few days. He attempted to have me rise and shine at 6AM,but I usually refused to budge unless nature called.Sometimes even he rolled over and went back to sleep. I managed to look sad enough for him to share some of his food-which he swore he would never do.He showered me with toys,treats and bought me booties for the cold winter weather-I couldn't afford to lose any more body parts.He claimed he deserved a refund since I only needed three.He's a neat freak and at first attempted to bathe me every day.My dogged resistance combined with my determination to shake off the bath water onto him to share in the humiliation cut that ritual  down to once a month.I got him to watch more television-football is awesome- and enjoy being a couch potato and snuggling.My biggest accomplishment ,though, was completely transforming Alpha's personality.At first, he barely spoke for hours on end.As he grew more comfortable with my company, he started talking a blue streak.The man wouldn't shut up.He talked about Samantha, the Army, places he lived and his childhood. He pointed out various things of interest on our walks and his plans for upcoming projects around the house and HappyTails.This suddenly- opened dam extended to our social life.He brought me with him while he did repairs at Happy Tails. Everyone was eager to chat with Alpha and see how I was doing.Alpha's sister started coming over for weekly dinners.He stopped pulling on my leash when I approached friendly strangers and usually initiated a conversation instead. Alyssa suggested Alpha enroll us in obedience class-which he he was Gung-ho to do.This was right up his alley.He was a little crestfallen when  instructor Kay correctly pointed out he needed training rather than me.Everyone at class thought I was marvelous and Kay thought I would make a terrific therapy dog. Alpha took this to heart and did his usual careful research to see what was involved. It was a seven week process and Alpha had to take a day- long human training course.I wasn't there,but I would bet five beggin' strips he had more difficulty with his requirements than I did with my five hands- on classes and vet screening.He received one correction and I was perfect when our human-dog team was evaluated. We were now certified and ready for placement-the part I liked least was wearing the shirt that identified me as a therapy dog. It was a bit embarrassing. Our first gigs were at a senior facility. I don't know which one of us was more popular amongst the women.I'm not certain,but Alpha may have been slipped a few phone numbers .We were then asked by a librarian visiting her mother if we could appear at her place of work to encourage young children to read aloud.An enchanted teacher attending the library event with her daughter arranged for us to visit her class.Word got around and we were in high demand in a variety of health care settings, libraries and schools.No matter which setting we were visiting, people were curious how I lost my leg and eye. Others-especially children-sometimes seemed a little frightened about my appearance at first. Alpha told our story in such a way that each audience member-from one to over fifty people-was paying rapt attention. In most all cases, any reluctance disappeared and everybody clamored to pet me.I swear Alpha became one of the most talkative humans I ever met and made us practice various routines to try out at our appearances.Invitations to dinner and parties rolled in,and Alpha came close to accepting a date.It has been several years now since Alpha and I have become fellow travelers. That old dog has learned some new tricks and he is taking psychology classes at the local Community College with the goal of working with veterans diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The closest admission Alpha has made regarding his amazing transformation was just the other day.He said,"Lucky, it was you who rescued me."Of course, I knew that already.