Dog In The Window

I called dad after Reiner died. I remember we’d watch All In The Family in the late 70s, just something we could do together, sometimes we’d laugh, sometimes cry, like that time Meathead said goodbye to Arch, said he’d miss him despite all the arguments, that there were good times…Watching with dad was good for me in a way I didn’t really understand at the time. Flash forward 365 days ago today I said goodbye to the dog who took me on walks, ate my flapjacks when I left the room and put his head on my lap when he somehow knew I was down, when I wanted to cry.  Despite all the times he drove me nuts, chasing cars, eating shepherd’s pie off the stove, there were good times. The dog would go golfing with me and the boys, we’d hit balls, he’d hunt squirrels and sometimes chase our chip shots, then run off with the Titleist, but if it was a good day he’d drop the ball 3 feet from the cup...He thought he was part of the game. Part of the family. Zaggy was also sicker than most – a real case study for the medical

community – saw more doctors than an old man battling an aging body and weakening heart. He had bipolar, eczema, stage IV cancer, chronic ear infections and something I’m pretty sure resembled IBD, but he was my vitamin D every morning and, like dogs can be to so many, he was good for my soul.  I love how so many hospitals, nursing homes, colleges and cancer centers now use dogs to help people recover. Some 60% of universities now use dogs to lower the stress and anxiety in students and legend has it some dogs even cure people or extend life. They are tomato soup on a cold December day, an underappreciated therapy prescribed not nearly enough. And mine, well, he may have taken our pillows outside in the rain and, at Christmas time, find a way to tear open the presents before sun up, but he was our dog. He’d hustle say to hello and look sad in the window when we left. And I have never cried so much as that cold December day 1 year ago, so much the tears hurt. He was good for me, my health and our family in a way I didn’t really understand at the time. He was good for the soul that dog. Like so many dogs can be.