How much is that doggie in the window?

Dad... and if you look closely, you will see a small puppy tucked at his side.

My father had a dog when he married my mother. I believe the dog's name was Ferdie, but that may be another dog and another time. On the snippet of video that I have from 1940, you can see the dog, just an ordinary mutt, but clearly loved by my father. It is my understanding that the dog did not get along well with my brother, as there are no pictures of it from shortly after my brother's birth. Sometimes, growing up, I thought that we should have kept the dog (grin)...

This loss apparently weighed heavily on my father, although I never heard anyone EVER mention it. I say this because we never had a dog. We had everything else under the sun, heaven knows, but no dog. We got a cat when I was 2 and a half. Smokey. A huge persian/alleycat mix who was as sweet as a cat could be. My sister used to be able to wrap her in a towel and feed her with a doll bottle when the cat was fairly middle aged. She lived until I was 21... all of my life up to that point.

We had hamsters. We had guinea pigs of all sorts, colors and sizes (one rather memorable one used to squeal excitedly when my father pulled in the driveway... it LOVED my father). They were REAL guinea pigs... from some lab up near UCLA I believe. We had rats and reptiles and birds, but never ever had a dog.

My brother went off to college, and their dorm adopted a mixed breed dog named, aptly, Pooch. Pooch was a Corgi/Dachshund mix. When my brother came home after college, Pooch came with him. When he went to Europe for the summer, Pooch stayed with my Mom and Dad, who reluctantly agreed, just for the summer. Of course, Pooch never went back to live with my brother. Dad warmed to the idea of a dog and,having denied himself for so long, adored Pooch way beyond reason. He mourned the loss of another dog in time, and they were dogless once again. When we all mentioned getting another dog, he was dead set against it. Period. The end. My father, in case I haven't mentioned it before, was ' a little friend to all the world'. He was empathetic to a fault, and sensitive. No more dogs... nope.. none!

My sister came up with the solution. One Christmas they gave Mom and Dad a card that said a puppy was going to be born that spring, offspring of their dog. Dad fumed and fussed , but the deed was all but done. I think, even then, that we knew that this dog would outlast my father, and that my mother would need a companion...

And along came Katie... a small bundle of Golden Retriever who so completely stole my father's heart that it was a joy to watch. The picture is evidence of his capitulation. The puppy spent much of her time in his chair, his lap, on his shoulders... they were inseparable.

And, in the long run, she was great consolation and joy to my mother, too...