D is for Daisy and Divot, two Dogs

I didn't grow up in a pet-loving family, but my wife did. So shortly after we married, we got ourselves a puppy we named Beauregard (hey, we lived in Alabama at the time). Sadly, she came with distemper and lived only a few days. Then in 1967 we got a healthy mutt we named Daisy, and often referred to as Daisy Dog, or Daisy Dog the Wonder Dog. The day after she came home my Dad died in Massachusetts, and we had to rush around on a Sunday night trying to find someone to take her for a week. Luckily, that worked out. A few years later, a friend of our son accidentally (?) opened the screen door and let her loose, and she disappeared for a week. I was heartbroken; who knew a dog could mean so much? But then she showed up again, and our neighbor's kids held her on our front porch until my wife and I came home from work. What an occasion! We celebrated by taking the kids out for ice cream.

Daisy Dog the Wonder Dog

Daisy lived to be about 12, and her passing hurt us a lot. But then we adopted Divot, a black lab / doberman mix who was a bundle of energy and joy. The previous owner gave her the name and was probably a golfer, because Divot loved to make divots in the back yard. She was sweet as could be, but Lord, was she a yipper. A Cambodian man named Song Ling saw her and remarked that he ate dogs in a refugee camp. "In Cambodia, dog number one," he declared. I told him that if he ate my dog he was number ten. He got the message. 

Divot lived to be almost 17 and truly geriatric. When she finally passed on, we took a long break from owning pets, much as we dearly love animals. In time we adopted two cats, but that will be a topic for another day.

Divot, playing with Song Ling
(who is also a topic for another day)