1928 - Alderson High School - 1968

 

 

Allan Ladd GALLOWAY Sr.

THE END OF INNOCENCE

Alex McLaughlin - February 28, 2016

We have two wonderful shelter dogs, Enzo a spaniel mix and buddy a golden lab mix. This picture taken was when they graduated from pet obedience school at Pet Smart. We were so proud of them. They probably weren't the best students in the class and it didn't help a lot. But they tried.

Enzo is a bundle of energy that is always saying " look at me ". The alpha dog of the two and always the most likely suspect when dog damage has occurred.. Buddy on the other hand except for fence climbing, which has generally tapered off with age, and digging up holes in the lawn for moles (which is clearly defensible) has generally been considered the more perfectly behaved of the two. Enzo could play all day and demands constant attention. Buddy never really learned to play and is a sweet, composed, mind his own business dog.

When we walk the dogs Enzo always has his nose to the ground and is pulling hard on the leash. Buddy, except for the rare occasion when a deer or rabbit is spotted, barely pulls on the leash. So when the most recent destruction of phone books and hard backed books occurred the usual suspect was naturally Enzo.

One day Mary Jo discovered that Buddy was doing more than his share of document destruction. I was stunned. Almost perfect, Buddy was not so perfect. It was a brief end of innocence. I will always think that Buddy is one of the nicest dogs we have ever had. But going forward I will always keep a wary eye out for him. And when we come home to some destroyed papers instead of saying "that damn Enzo" I will say "those damn dogs". Also someday I will suck up my pride and pull Enzo off to the side and ask his forgiveness for blaming him for everything in the past.

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