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Our Messed Up Pets

Part 4 - Honey

By Ron KretschmerPublished 3 years ago 3 min read
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Our Messed Up Pets
Photo by Todd Mittens on Unsplash

Not long after we adopted the poodle, Sugar, my younger daughter had a Labradoodle generously given to her by another family in 4-H. Honey had been the runt of the litter and had some hip and leg problems, but he was absolutely amazing. It was the second time that my daughter had happened upon a pet that was practically perfect for her. Sugar also became chummy with the new guy. They developed a 'Bert and Ernie' type friendship that lasted for over a decade.

Right around that time, my son had discovered Star Wars, which was an acceptable addition to his ESPN viewing habits. Because of this, we spent a lot of time in the yard having lightsaber battles. Sometimes, we used actual licensed sabers from the toy store, but when they had either broke or been misplaced we would use plastic baseball bats. This game highly amused Honey, as well. At first, he would run around us soaking in the vicarious joy. After a while of watching the festivities, he decided that he no longer wished to observe so he figured out that he could pick up one of the plastic baseball bats in his mouth and swing it like a Jedi. He wasn't particularly skilled. Then again, he was sparring with his sword in his mouth instead of a hand.

He made the perfect pillow, spread out on the ground like warm bear rug. I don't know how many hours my daughter spent laying on the floor with him, but Honey loved it. A perfect day for him was just being with his person, no matter what she was doing.

Of course, he had other favorite activities, too. You would never guess that he had leg issues based on the way he ran with abandon on the beach. His smile would be visible 100 years down the sand and he'd gallop around until he was almost too tired to stand up. After getting knocked over by a rogue wave one time, he tended to stay up away from the water. Snow doesn't fall regularly here, but when it did, Honey couldn't get enough of it. His buddy, Sugar, was a little too low to the ground to find fun frolicking in the frozen fairway, so he often watched Honey bounce around the yard in the wide and drifting snow. One morning we awoke to find that the 4-5 inches of snow we had the day before had been covered by a slick layer of ice. The car doors wouldn't open, the stairs were treacherous, and the only vehicle that could easily maneuver around the roads would have been a Zamboni. Is a Zamboni street legal? Honey bolted out the door for his beloved snow playground, only to quickly find out that it was not the way he'd left it. The poor dog landed spread-eagle on the ice. After a few second of trying to stand and make sense of what had become of his wintry paradise, he looked up at me with his giant, expressive eyes, wanting me to fix it.

Honey and Sugar were absolutely inseparable, particularly in their later years. Most of the time, Honey was the obedient one and Sugar was the sneaky one. If you instructed them to 'kennel up', Honey would immediately make his way to the kennel, while Sugar would drag his feet and wait to see whether the instruction would stand up. There were some moments where the two of them worked in tandem for nefarious purposes, such as Honey giving Sugar a boost up so he could grab food off of the counter. Generally though, Honey was so eager to please that he hardly ever had to be reprimanded. Even the cats loved him and would sometimes take naps next to him, or on top of him.

Eventually, his legs began to bother him more and more. During his last couple years, we didn't witness the reckless fun part of his personality very often, but he still took great care of his person. He watched over her for 14 years, as a pillow, a source of amusement, and as the most affectionate companion a dog could ever be.

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About the Creator

Ron Kretschmer

Ron is a published writer, illustrator, and teacher. from Tacoma, WA. He recently lost his wife of 27 years to health complications related to Covid-19. Together they had 3 children. Ron enjoys writing, painting, sports, and movies.

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