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ByUNDA
RHODESBAMBKY
Special to
Mirror-Herald
(Ed. note —Linda
Rhodea Ramaey la among
the many animal lovers In
town. Other dog owners
will appreciate her story
aiiimi ' jSaiiyj"*. who;;’. aSs
rescued from the pound.
Her story la entitled, "Ode
to "Happy” Memories".)
It was the first of the
summer when I found her.
I'U never forget It. My
husband, Steve, and I had
only been married since
December and he had to go
Into the hospital for a
couple of days for minor
surgery. The animal pound
was on the way from the
hospital, and I was lonely
going home to an empty
apartment, and couldn’t
resist stopping by the
pound since I’ve always
been literally crasy over
animals. I stopped by Just
to waste some time. There
she sat. A blonde female
version of Benjl, sitting In
that cage with three or four
other animals, looking
lonely, shaking with fear,
and I thought I’d die from
the need to hold her or put
my hands on her. She
seemed so grateful for the
small pat I was able to
bestow through the cage,
and I Immediately turned
to ask the man In charge
how to go about getting
her. Now this man was the
last person I’d ever expect
to be a keeper of
animals..to say he was the
pits Is the kindest thing I
can think of. He carried a
big stick or cane-llke ob
ject which he used to beat
on the cages, and possibly
he’d had a bad day, but
never the leas, he told me
in a few choice words or
less that these dogs were
due to be destroyed and
because I coulibi’t pay
cash, he would not wait for
me to go cash my personal
check, and to say the least
was a terrifying spectacle,
and I was Infuriated. Being
the martyr and lover of
animals I am, the first
thing that popped Into my
head was city hall, and I
proceeded to drive there
within two or three
minutes and hit It wide
open. I ended up with one
of the city councllmen
going with me to the pound
to get my pup, upon which
I’m sure the pound was put
Into better hands.
She was trembling as the
man placed her In my
arms, and almost Im
mediately she seemed to
sense that she had been
'rescued, and began to
almost talk her thanks to
me as she whined and
licked my face. To say the
least, she was the happiest
little dog I’d ever seen, and
that’s what I called
her...“HAPPY”. She was a
Joy to us from then on. Now
don’t get me wrong..that
first year, she showed us
she stlU had some dog In
her, and went tactfully
about chewing up every
cord In the house, various
magaslnes and books,
stuffed animals, and on
one particular day I
remember dlatlnctly, she
chewed up one each of
every shoe I had. I took the
last few dollars I had and
bought a pair of summer
sandals to wear until
payday, since I’d been
wearing a pair of tennis
shoes, and a secretary
can’t wear sneakers to
work. Also, my husband’s
family had never had
animals, and he wasn’t the
least bit desirous of having
a dog In the house, let alone
one who had taken over the
left comer at the foot of his
bed. When Steve came
from the hospital, he was
confined for a few days.
You know, It only took that
loveable bundle of hair and
big eyes two days to melt
his heart, and from than
own, she was always
Daddy’s girl. She was an
official member of the
family; loved to ride, and
Linda’s Ode To Happy
Thursday, June 14, l»T»-MIRROR-HERALD-Page SB
START TODAY . . .
LOSE WEIGHT
BY FRIDAY
with
EXTRA STRENGTH
SLENOER-X CAPSULES
looked like a mlnature
dumbo with ears flying
back as she would hang
halfway out the window,
and went everywhere with
us. She developed a taste
for ice cream, water
melon, applesUces, candy,
and because of her sweet
tooth, and love of cookies,
feiv/Ko vlt?:
nicknames she Inhertied
along the way such as
”Happy-Joe’’, and "Joe-
Joe”, she was occasionally
called "cookie-monster” to
which her ears would perk,
and she would stand by
wagging her tall knowing
perfectly well the extra
cookie or tidbit was hers.
She hated leashes, and
we soon learned that with
her obedient nature that
we both fared better when
she walked by us and was
Immediately In her place
at the slightest murmer.
She hated getting her feet
wet,and on occasions both
Steve and I resorted to
taking her outside In bad
weather under an um
brella so she could go to the
bathroom. She had only
two major dislikes that I
can recall. Flrst,ahe hated
being without us, and
secemd, she was terrified of
loud noises, particularly
gun fire,and we had
* several ahreaded screens
to prove the fact when she
was left out and near-by
hunters were In the ares,
or on holidays when
fireworks were going off.
She had an unforgetable
way of cocking her head
sideways when you called
her name, and I’ve no
doubt that she understood
my every word, and
probably tolerated me
better than any living thing
In this world. Numerous
times, I’ve had people ask
me why In the world I
wanted to have animals In
the house,and pausing to
think about her you
reallMd what a friend you
- Indeed had. She love yo«f'
endlessly, regardless of
your moods. If you don’t
want to wash dishes or
clean up, she still loves
you. If you don’t wsmt to
cut the grass or paint the
house, she still follows you
patiently, if you appear
slouchy and need a
shampoo. It’s alright with
her. When you’re down and
out, full of tears and
anguish, and the whole
world seems to have
turned against you, she
will still nuzzle against you
and In general boost you
back Into happiness with
the slight cock of her head
and a wag of the tall.
We had other animals
along that we took In and
protected and found homes
for, but she was always
number one. She tolerated
numerous cats and strays,
and even once before we
• had her spayed, we bred
her with a little black
terrier. Since she was so
small, the vet said she
would probably have only
cne or two. Well, once
again she out-dld herself
and bore five. She raised
her litter patiently, and
with a protective eye.
There was a black and gold
one, a blonde one Just like
her, and a solid white one,
all three of these with her
same poodle qualities.
Where those two black and
white beagle ones came
from Is beside our
knowledge, but they were
all precious, and the whole
neighborhood was eager
for them because they
were Happy’s. We sold
them for a penny a piece
since I’d been told If they
were given away they
would die. Hal I remember
she looked almost relieved
when we gave the last one
away, and even though we
left the big wicker basket
out, she never went back to
It, and resumed her place
at the left comer on the end
of the bed.
I remember the fear of
having to part with her
when our little girl was
bom. Several people had
told us stories of animals
that Injured children, or
mapped from Jealousy, but
Happy seemed to adore
our little one and It was
almost as If we’d brought
the bundle home Just for
her to protect. She even
gave up her position on the
bed for a while to sleep
under the basinet. During
the day, at the least cry
from the baby, she would
b® Bt the baby’s side, and
guarded our daughter.
Tiffany, as If she were one
of her pups. For all the
tugs and pokes she
received from our little
girl as a growing toddler,
before we were able to
instill Into Tiffany the fact
that animals are to be
loved and dealt tenderly
with, Happy never once
snapped or growled, and
often gave me the urge to
be more patient with
things myself from Just
seeing how si.e tolerated
everything.Only In her old
age did we notice a change,
and then It was only that
she chose to steal away
from smaller children, and
seemed to be avoiding any
trouble by lying patiently
out of the way.
Actually, she was never
sick untU the last few
weeks, and I try to
overlook my grief from the
loss of her to thank God for
the years he gave us with
her. Oh, she had a few
bouts with itching and
worms, but was sdways
well and "Happy”. She
always hated the trips to
the vet. We’ve always been
fortunate In having good
doctors, but she could
never stand to be closed
up, or away from us, so we
tried to never leave her
overnight at the veto
unless It was absolutely
necessary, which was only
once, when we had her
spaded. She was always
overjoyed when ever we
took her In for check-ups,
and would run circles when
we left, and Jump right up
Into our arms as If to say..I
knew you’d never leav^
me. I’ll never forget the
night she first became
sick. I stayed up with her
all night while she seemed
to pant and gasp for
breath. I even called our
vet at three In the morning
and he was helpful In
telling me what to do for
her symptoms and told me
to bring her In first thing In
the morning. That next
morning when I took her In
and Dr. Yarbro told me her
heart was beating
tremendously faster than
normal, and that her
pressure was doubled, and
It Just did not look good,
was the first time that
Steve and I really came to
acknowledge between us
that her age was taking a
toll on her and that we
couldn’t keep her forever.
For the first time In my
life, I came to grips with
the fact that It was the
living, breathing things on
this earth that mattered.
All the things that I had,
material things, diamonds,
the tom screen I fussed
over, furniture that I
grumbled over being
covered with animal
hair...can>et stsdns I had
mumbled over where she
drug her food from her
dish, all my china and fine
things I had held selfishly
as mine and Important to
me, I would gladly trade
for the life of my little
"Happy”. I wasn’t
ashamed anymore of being
animal crazy, of being the
lady who will take In
strays, and spend the last
dime she has to buy them
food. Steve and I must
have called the animal
hospital from our Jobs that
morning a hundred times,
and by lunch her condition
had still not changed. I
drove over at lunch, and
q>ent my lunch hour with
her. Just holding her and
telling her I loved her and
she seemed to be much
more active. I almost died
having to leave her
standing there In the cage
when I left to return to
work, but when I called
around four, she had
Improved so much I could
take her home. I was
overjoyed. It was If the
silent prayer I had
whispered In my mind all
day had been answered.
She had bronchitis, and we
thought that was the
problem with her
breathing. When I picked
her up that afternoon, the
whole family was over
joyed, and she ran up on
BIB f-Ji-ch, dij S *S’.V ?:?"
Joyous circles as If to cover
her territory,and flew In
the door and Jumped up on
my husbsmds lap, as If to
say..! knew you’d never
leave me.
Tlie night before last,
when I woke at two and she
was panting again, I
believe I knew In my heart
that we were loosing her. I
stayed up all that night
with her. Just she and I,
with her gasping for
breath. A few times we
ev sr walked outside when I
felt the fresh air would
make It easier for her to
breathe. I thought morn
ing would never come so I
could take her to the
animal hospital. When I
left her that morning to go
on to work, I told myself
that I knew she was old.
We’d had her with us for
ten years now, and I ac
cepted the fact that
nothing could live
forever ,but somehow I Just
counted on going to gether
that afternoon.
When the vet called me
at work, I accepted the
news qultely, and did not
weep until about thirty
minutes later when I
realized that she had died
alone, without us. I
couldn’t locate my
husband and daughter who
had gone Into town, and
even though the animal
hospital kindly offered to
take care of her body for
us, I knew I wanted to go
get her, and so I did. I
remember weeping uncon
trollably and telling her
I loved her as we rode
home the last Ume, and
telling her how sorry I was.
I felt In my heart that God
had seen fit to give us this
extra week with her, but I
believe the memories of
her antics and capers over
the years must have all run
through my mind on the
short drive home, and I
thought I would die tor the
need to gather her still bdy
In my arms and see her
wag her tall as If to say, 1
1mve
me.
When I arrived home,
Steve and Tiffany were
already there, and had
already talked to the
animal hospital. We picked
out a place In the yard to
bury her, under a shade
tree, and while my
husband dug her her
grave, I went Into the
house and found the piece
of chsmtUly lace I’d saved
for years. We wrapped her
In the lace and the three of
us wept as we burled our
precious friend, praying
for the time when the fond
memories of her would
replace Uie torment of the
emptiness we felt at the
loss of her. I can still hear
my little girl saying,
"Don’t cry Mama, she’s In
Heaven now with Grand
ma, and Grandma vrill
take care of her.” I smiled
at her and looked to God,
hoping that somehow
Happy could hear me as I
walked away and said.."I
love you Happy, and No,
we’ll never leave you, for I
know we’ll carry with us
the memory of you, and
because of the love you
instilled In us, and the love
we have for you, we’ll
rescue another puppy from
the pound smd never leave
her.
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GRIFFIN’S
DRUOS’TORE
Disco
Dance
Course
The Gastonia Recreation
Department will offer a
six-week disco dstnee class
at Bradley Center
beginning July 13. Class
will meet on Thursdays, 8-9
p.m. Instructor Is ^nnle
WeUs. Cost U 810 for Oty
residents and 114 for Non-
CKy residents. Fees must
be paid by July 0. Make
checks payable to
Gastonia Recreation
Department and mall to
P.O. Box 1748, Gastonia,
N.C.
For more Information
call Cynthia Byars at 864-
8211, Ext. 297.
great giving for
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We’ve got a
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All sorts of
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Get down
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WemeK Qa/uln&Ci
EASTUDGEMAU.
GAST09BA. N.C.
Open Thurs. and Fri. Nights 'Til 9:30
1