It was 11:30 p.m. when the phone woke me out of a sound sleep. "Hey we have a puppy
running under the trucks at the fuel line. Come & get it." My response was "I have enough.
I don't need another one." To which they replied, "OK, he's gonna get run over. He's laying
under some truck tires." That did it, I took off in my nitegown & housecoat and away I went.
In the fuel shack was a 5 mo. old shivering, scared puppy bleeding from his head. It was
apparent his owner didn't want him as he had scars all over his head from the beatings.
I picked him up & hugged him & he immediately responded to me. So I brought him home
to doctor him up & set out to find him a new home. Well---he got one---Mine! I already had
6, but 7 was my lucky number. All my furbabies greeted him with open hearts to my
amazement. For awhile everything was OK. Then the digging started & puddles in the house
& he would not listen. So at 1 1/2 years it was off to obedience school. I thought he would
never learn. The instructor told me the day of graduation, "I thought when you started --
that dog will never make the grade." He finished top in his class.His attention span was only
1/2 hour though probably due to the beatings as a puppy.

He was a bad one into everything, under my feet. And then he scared me. I found out I met my
match. He would open the screen door & go out. So I locked it (in front of him). "There, now 
you can't be running in & out all the time." As I walked away, I looked back, he reached up
with his paw and pulled the lock down, pushed on the handle & out he went. I just stood there.
Speechless!!  About a month later I had peanuts in a can for the squirrels. Spud helped himself. 
So I said, "I'll fix you." and I got a gallon jar with a screw lid & put them in there Went over
and sat down to watch and laugh. Well the laugh was on me. He tilted his head sideways,
opened his mouth, and twisted till he unscrewed the lid. That did it. This dog was smarter
than me.

Spud grew into a beautiful Austrian Shepherd, Blue Healer mix. And unfortunately he wanted
to be Top Dog in my life. I have a little Snoodle who has been my lifeline for 15 years and
no one can replace him. The fights began and Mischief got the worst of it. The blood would fly
& I got bite several times. From then on they were separated in the house. They were only
allowed together outside as that was neutral territory and there where never any problems.
But as smart as Spud was I never figured out why he thought Pebbles (a cock-a-poo) was a
cow. He would herd her all over the yard, wash her face and protect her. That was his soul
mate. Where she went he went and at times she would come to me and look as much as to say,
"Please make him leave me alone." He baby-sit the others as he would stop the arguing, and
just took care like he was somebody. Well I guess he was only at the time I didn't know it. He
was just one of the pack. My neighbor lady told me one day,"That dog follows you around and
looks at you like he worships you." The past year he had to be where I was and when I came
in the other room to be with Mischief he would sit at the gate and cry. I kept telling him, " Be
patient, all these guys are old and someday you'll be the only one and I'll spend all my time
with you." Beings that Mischief had a bout with cancer and the others are 14 years and up to
18 I always felt he'd be there to get me through. Little did I know he'd be the first to go.

Time went on & I spent alot of time with him. But not as much as I needed. And then one day
I came home to blood splattered on the floor. I thought he'd been hurt. I watched for days and
then I realized it was coming from his nose when he sneezed. I took him to his doctor and they
ran tests. The results-nasal cancer. We thought maybe with medicine- 3-6 months. It was more
like 3 weeks. The medicine helped but I had to get up at night and put him out, and run home
from work to do the same. But I didn't mind as I found out to late how much that dog meant to
me. He wasn't just one of the family, He was My Shadow. He would have laid down his life for 
me. And then the night came when I laid on the couch with him and listened all night to him
trying to breathe. It was then I decided the lumps in his nose and throat  were causing him to
struggle. I called the doctor and said I needed to bring him out. IT'S TIME.  I didn't want him
to be in any pain and before it got to bad I had to do the right thing. There  was no hope
anymore. At the doctor's office the other patients mommies were admiring him  and it was hard
to keep the tears back as I knew what was going to be. The doctor took one look at the lump
that appeared in the last 3 days and said Yes it's time. I held him and talked to him and it only
took a second but that will be the longest second of my entire life. I Don't Think I Have Ever
Taken Death so hard as I Did Then. It haunts me every day and I will never forget it. But I
would do it again if I had to, as at least I was the last thing he saw and I told him I Loved Him.
He lay beside me on the way home, and I took him in and laid him on the couch.The others
and cried and cried. I still do not understand this. I have his ashes now and his picture with
Angels around it. And I found a little Dog Angel which I sat on top of the box. It's been 7
months and I still cry alot and miss him.I would give anything just to see him and touch him
again. And I know someday I will, as he is waiting for me at the Bridge. I prayed to God to
give me a sign that dogs DO go to Heaven. I had a doggy Angel pin for years,
that I wore when Mischief had cancer. It came off my coat shortly after I ask for a sign.
We found the pin and the clasp. The dog was nowhere to be found.The wings were attached.
We found the wings. So I guess this was my answer to my prayer. Dogs Do Go To Heaven.
   

As for Pebbles, she has been grieving ever since. She laid at his cage and came to me for a
long time with that look. She has a heart problem now that she didn't have before. And I
may lose her too. But if I do, I know Spud will be so happy to see her and they can run in
the fields together till the rest of us join them someday beyond "The Rainbow Bridge"