Old Dog, New Trick

Buster as a half-grown pup. 

Paul and I got our first dog, as a couple, about 5 years after we were married. We had to wait because our first house, in Oakland, CA, was a condo with no yard. After relocating to Napa, CA we rented a house with a fenced yard. Now, at last, we could go out and find a dog to fill the backyard. We wanted to get a dog from a shelter and for some reason I insisted it had to be the San Francisco Animal Shelter. I can't remember why that was so, but Paul was kind enough to agree to drive the 50 miles into the City to fetch (don't you just love puns) our dog. 

After arriving at the shelter, we were shown where the dogs were housed. We walked down a concrete corridor lined with 4' x 6' fenced enclosures each containing a dog. Now, when I'm looking at dogs, or anything for that matter, I tend to be drawn toward unusual colors or markings. The dog that captured my attention was on the small side (around 20 lbs.) with black and white markings. We were told he was full grown.  His ears stood "bat-like" at attention. He had a patch of black hair surrounding one eye on a white face and the ear opposite his "patched" eye was speckled with black dots. He looked like a cattle dog cross, A.K.A. a Heinz 57 or mutt. I thought he was adorable and, at that point, Paul knew he had no say in the matter of dog choice. We filled out the paperwork, put our new charge into the pet carrier we had brought and headed home. 

On the drive back, we pondered on what to call our new pet. I really wanted to name him "Spanky" because he reminded me of the dog on the "Little Rascals" show that I watched as a kid back in the day. Paul just couldn't see himself hollering "Spanky!" across the neighborhood when he needed to call the dog. So, we agreed on my second name choice - "Buster."

As it turned out, Buster was not full-sized when we picked him out that day at the shelter. He was, in fact, about 6 months old. We were informed of this by our vet when we took Buster in for his first checkup. His large paws should have given us a clue to his eventually size of 60 lbs. He was a good dog. He enjoyed the many walks we took with him and happily accepted the addition of our second rescue dog "Chelsea." When our family grew to four with the births of our two sons, he welcomed them with "open paws." Always being gentle and patient with them as they crawled around the floor with him.

Buster in his later years with our oldest son,
Christopher, who was eleven at the time.

Life moved on. The boys grew up and Buster grew older. As a family, we relocated to Washington state and Buster came with us. By this time, he was a canine senior citizen and his days consisted of napping, eating and the occasional slow stroll around the backyard of our new home. One of Buster's favorite napping spots was next to the wood-burning stove. 

One day, I was vacuuming the carpet near Buster as he lay sleeping by the stove. He didn't stir as I moved the vacuum around his inert form. I completed my work, turned off the vacuum and unplugged it from the wall outlet. I didn't rewind the cord because I was going to move the vacuum to another room. Suddenly, I remembered another task and I left the room for a moment, like about 3 minutes. When I returned I grabbed the vacuum to move it to the other room. When I picked up the cord it felt slightly lighter. I looked down and noticed the plug was missing from the end of the cord. You know the 3-pronged pointy part that plugs into the wall? Gone. All that was left was the chewed, slightly damp end of the electrical cord. I looked at Buster. He had not moved an inch since I last saw him. He wasn't even awake. I searched all over for that missing plug. I even woke Buster up and gently asked him to move so I could search under him and found - nothing. 

We never did find the plug. Eventually, we took the vacuum to be repaired and told our story to the bemused shop owner who clearly doubted its truth. Buster suffered no ill effects from his apparent consumption of the plug. Neither did I find it out in the yard, if you know what I mean. But he must have eaten it. I have no other explanation as to what happened to it. Buster and I were the only ones in the room and he wasn't talking. 

BARN SHADOWS

10x8 inches, oil on linen canvas, 2016

BUY THIS PAINTING AT AUCTION Click on this link to bid: http://ebay.to/1GkcXfG

Barn Shadows - auction ends on Sunday, May 29th at 9:00am PST. 

This barn is located in Skagit Valley, Washington which is situated between Seattle, WA to the south and Vancouver BC to the north. Agriculture is the number one industry in Skagit County. More tulip, iris and daffodil bulbs are produced here than in any other county in the U.S. Plan to visit during the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival in the spring (usually April) to see acres of tulips. Don’t forget to bring your camera.