Memoirs of my dog.

Thought I would share my written!

Yiddish :Shayna Ponem English: Beautiful Face.

1989, Eleven year old boy with no friends. Living in a house new to him with rooms the size of his own personal gym. Brother wasn’t around to play with him, and his sisters too self absorbed to do anything other then play with dolls, or dress up. Mother always on the move and new boyfriend made him uneasy. It was May, the first weekend of May exactly. Unforgettable day, because every first weekend of May is Mayday. An all day event in Minneapolis that is suppose to celebrate the labor of earth. Every year the family would gather across the park where the event was held at an uncles house. The boys moms boyfriend walking up to the boy with this small cute dark puppy. It was no bigger then the boys two palms. It was very round with lots of extra skin on the legs and neck. Looking down at the boy, he said it was the family dog. It was a female; Shayna Pondem. Said it was a Rottweiler. Nieve in youth, that meant nothing to the boy. Nor was he prepared to how big she was going to get. Sure, he knew his other uncle in the family had an old Rott. But all she did was sit around and sleep. This puppy was black all over with socks of brown on all four feet, with a brown strip over the face. The grownups were telling stories that females are easier to train, and are sweeter than males.
Going back to the house, the family let the dog explore her new home. The floor was wood, and the puppy kept running to play, which caused her to slide across the room as if she was on ice. She would lick every ones face, and would not stop to say hello until she got her kiss. She wasn’t nervous, nor scared, she acting like she knew she was home.
Training went well, teaching her to ask to go outside. At first the family put her on a leash, but as years went by she grew bigger and stronger, and would break her leash in the yard. The family tried bigger wires and stronger bases to tie to, but nothing that would keep the young pup from staying in the yard. It wasn’t that she was running away. In fact, the family knew when she broke the rope by her full body jump on the glass window on the patio to ask to come in. She was then trained to go outside without a leash in the backyard. She would walk with the person whom took her out, do her job, and walk back inside with the family member.
But those years had many hardships with the pup becoming a monster size dog. She would love to cuddle up on laps like a little dog. And many couches went through a depression where the dog slept on the couch at night when everyone was asleep. As if the dogs weight broke the suspension on the couch. She would chew on anything she could get; shoes, hats, coats. The family learned to keep things up and away. Always given her balls and chew bones occupied her from getting into trouble. In fact, her favorite toy was a soccer ball, she would speak and kick the ball around with herself between her legs all day long.
Her love to play never calmed down. She loved tug-a-war with anything she could find. She loved tag. She would run up and down the stairs chasing all the children running in the house, even when her clumsy feet caused her to slip and slide into walls. When she caught up to the children running, she would just bunt her nose into their legs or even up their rear. She would walk around the house like looking for someone to play with, and would always be handing out hugs. The children did everything to her, dress her up, make her count as another person in a game by making her sit still or speak.
She did speak. She didn’t bark, it was like a gurgle with a pity whine. She would respond after a question, like she understood or like she would take the attention even if one just talked. She did bark, but only those moments where everything seemed to be alright, and she would bark like something spooked her. She would stand up and bark out the door or at a window. She would go to any person in the house if you told her to go get someone. She knew to go up the stairs and to their rooms. She would go upstairs/downstairs on demand. And she would sit and stay for as long as the words, “okay, or go” wasn’t said.
Time went on and the children grew up, took her to the lakes where she loved to swim. They would go to the parks, and she would run all over. Play all day, and when they got home, she would sleep for days. The dog got older, her knees got weaker. But it never stopped her from trying to play. The younger boys loved to wrestle with the dog, and she would just let them take her down. On the ground, she would just like their faces. Time went on and the family moved out and moved around. Every time a family member came to visit, she would jump up on her back legs and try to hug them. But no one got hurt, because they were ready for her to jump up. It became less frequent when her knees starting given out. She greeted everyone, and she would do anything to say hello. Once she got her head pet, she could lay down and go about her own business.
Her love for outdoors grew over years. She would go outside and run around. In the winter she would jump over the snow. In the Spring she would catch the rain with her mouth. In the summer, she would run and roll in the grass. In the Fall she would burry her face into leafs. Yet, she knew when it was time to go back in doors, and never tried to run away or explore outside the yard.
Years later, she got too old to run and play, but she was so sweet, the grand children could use her as a body pillow and she didn’t mind. She moved slow, but still loved to fight the pain and sneak on the couch. In her last days, she wanted to go outside more and more as her bladder got weaker and smaller. The young boy grew up and went home to help around the house after college. One day he went through the collections of dog chains that got thicker and bigger to stronger metals just to hold the big giant teddy bear dog. She would inch her way to his lap and allow him to pet her. Even when the boy now man was down stairs, she would find strength through her pain and crawl down the stairs. Even if that meant she got herself stuck on the lower level with the grown boy. One morning, The man woke up and the dog asked in her talking voice to go outside, the “please I need to go look” So the man opened the door, yet, this time with her weak body and deep breathing old soul, wasn’t able to get up and walk outside.
The man figured its better to let her go outside, then on herself and the floor. So he lifted her up and carried her to the yard on a nice patch of grass. It was a clear, warm day. Fresh smell of air, and clean spring feel. The dog looked up with a grin with a happy pant. Then she took a deep sigh and laid her head on the grass. There in front of the boy she died in peace, happy of her surroundings, satisfied with her life. The young man want shocked 13 years is a full life for a dog. She was ready and he sad. He cried over her petting her one last time. Then he had to go inside and tell the family.