There have not always been dogs in my life, but there have always been dogs in my heart. All of them, except the setters, who were family and Echo, who was a gift, were rescue dogs. And all of them have known how to smile.
The first was a dog I never even knew. His name was Paddy and his life ended before mine began. My mother wrote his story once and sent it off to her publisher. It was returned with a note saying that it was a beautiful tale… it had made the office smile and weep in turn… but it was ‘too far fetched’ to be suitable for publication.
It told of a stray dog who had wandered into the lives of my grandparents when they were a newly married couple. They had bought a neat little house in which to set up home and, in spite of the onset of war, they soon became a family. My mother was born, Grandad was sent to fight in Burma and Paddy moved in to take over the care of the family.
In spite of the hazards of war, the world was, in many ways, safer and simpler. Paddy would take the basket to the shops and bring home the necessities. He would watch over my mother and, in later years, collect her from school. During the war years, he made it his business to make sure she was taken safely to the air-raid shelter when the sirens sounded and stayed by her side until the all-clear. Even so far north of London, this was not an empty precaution… in March, 1941, an incendiary bomb fell on the house and the scars, like the shelters, still remained into my own childhood.
There were dogs around when I was born… my great grandparents had a house full of Irish setters. Rory was a great, gorgeous creature always ready to laugh and play. Bonnie, his sister, was a pretty, delicate fairy of a girl, while Meg, their mother, already touched with grey around the muzzle, mothered us all impartially.
My own first dog was Kim, a German shepherd. Kim was not really ‘mine’ as I was tiny at the time, and we did not have him for long. My mother was devastated when he was killed by the number 77 bus. After that, and with married quarters, it was not until after I started school that Sandy came into my life. By this time, we were living with my grandparents. Sandy was a collie/labrador cross who became my friend on the day my grandfather picked me up from school with the soft little puppy in his arms. Sandy did not have an easy time, and had to be nursed through months of illness, but he lived to a ripe old age.
My first real experience of grief was when Rory died. I had lost one of my great-grandmothers, but had been too young at the time to be aware of more than the grown-ups reaction to her passing, though I remember the scene vividly. She was someone I barely knew, but Rory was my friend. I will never forget great-grandad coming to tell us in person, his handsome old face streaked with tears. Meg went soon afterwards and Bonnie did not survive them for long… I don’t think they knew how to live without each other and, at the time, I felt equally lost without their presence.
There were no more dogs for a good many years, not until I was thirteen and came home to an offhand comment from my mother. “There’s a fur on your bed…” Thinking it was a new ‘fun-fur’ coat that was all the rage, I dumped my school bags and ran upstairs… and found the German shepherd pup we named Sheba. I cuddled her all night… and we deflea’ed the pair of us next morning.
We moved to an isolated property where Sheba was joined by Cindy, a lurcher. By this time, Sheba was a huge, menacing creature, who stood almost as tall as me on her hind legs. She would attack the fence to warn any passers-by to stay away… and yet would let my two-year-old brother drag her in by the tail. Cindy was found bound, starved and discarded… my mother put her in the pushchair with my little brother and brought her home. We did not think she could survive the wounds and starvation, but Sheba lifted her and made her eat. The two were inseparable until tragedy struck. Sheba was shot by boys playing with a pellet gun. The pellet lodged in her brain and her fits were dangerous. The vet said we had no choice.
There was no chance to have a dog for a good many years after that as I married and left home. There were occasional cats, Fred, the guinea pig, the odd bird… but no dogs. My mother always had dogs, my boss in France had a dog, Bilbo, who filled the gap until he was kidnapped, and my mother-in-law had a poodle who changed my opinion of the breed for the better. But it was not until my sons were in their teens that I was able to share a home with dogs again.
Molly, rescued from the most appalling circumstances, and Echo, my laughing girl…a gift of love given in grief… joined us after the death of my partner. Their presence healed my heart and their loss broke it. I never thought I would have another dog.
And then, unexpectedly, there was Ani…
Ani is the latest, and perhaps she will be the last, to bring the gifts of love, companionship and simple joy into my home. She was acquired from a rescue to be an assistance dog for my son, following Paddy’s lead. But my son recovered far better than we could ever have hoped and Ani stayed with me.
I have learned so much from loving and living with dogs. Their presence has filled my days with laughter and an example of joyful living in this moment. Watching some of them recover from the most appalling treatment has taught me how to accept and how to forgive. I learned from them how to grieve and how to live with happy memories instead of the weight of loss. And, perhaps most importantly, I have learned that the love that wants nothing for itself can heal almost anything.
Sue Vincent's Daily Echo 
What a beautiful post.
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Thanks, Tori.
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Oh, I am absolutely loving this post ! Pets are just amazing at teaching us so much, and I know dogs have a special way of becoming a part of lives… My pops had a special dog, Rex, when he was young, back in Kenya, and he still has a photo of him in his wallet!
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They are family… simples 🙂
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They are indeed!
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🙂
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A beautiful tribute to all your canine friends. Dogs are wonderful. 🙂
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They are…life would not be the same without them 🙂
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What happened to Cindy after Sheba Sue? You’ve had a great selection of extended families during your time and it seems they have one thing in common, they all respond to love.
xxx Unlimited Hugs xxx
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Cindy was lost for a while… but lived to a comfortable and ripe old age, David. A real survivor. I think we all respond to love. xxx
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I was a bit tearful reading through this post, Sue. My family have always had dogs and they have all had totally unique personalities and been special in there own way. We have also mostly had rescue dogs and they still hold a special place in our hearts. My mother spent much of this winter poorly so in her “downtime” she spent her time knitting woollen blankets for the dog beds at dogs trust, determined to do her little bit in return for all the love dogs have brought us in our lifetime. KL<3
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They bring something quite unique into your lfe, don’t they? Especially when a child bonds with a pup. They are wonderful friends and teachers.
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This is a lovely post, Sue! I am not sure if I have ever seen — or even imagined — what a collie/labrador cross might look like. Hurrah for Sandy and all the other dogs in our lives! I wrote a blog post a couple of years ago which features a tender and wise song by Babbie Green called “At The Pound” about how dogs can teach us how to love. Here’s a link if you are curious to hear it — https://amusicalifeonplanetearth.wordpress.com/2016/10/04/at-the-pound/
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Thanks, Will, I left you a link also.
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Reblogged this on anita dawes and jaye marie.
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Thanks, Jaye x
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Sometimes I feel the need to have another four legged friend, but your post made see the truth behind my desire. I don’t want a new friend, just one that I have already loved and lost!
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We do miss them… but there are lots of dogs and cats in rescues needing new friends when their own are gone 😉
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I think that’s the essence of the companionship between humans and animals. It shouldn’t be, I want this so I’m going to buy it and own it, it’s, this creature is in distress through the fault of human beings ,and I have the means to alleviate it. The creature will love me forever, and I will offer the same.
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I think that is the problem with the way we define love across the board. It should be no more than ‘I love’… a gift given freely with neither need nor deisre for return, but we almost always seem to hang some kind of reciprocal ‘price tag’ on it.
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One of my daughters keeps talking about getting a dog and she’s decided which breed she wants. At least she say’s she’d only adopt one from a shelter. I don’t understand the wanting a particular breed thing, as it means you’re encouraging the persistence of the dog breeders who dump unwanted puppies at the SPA…
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I can sort of understand it. Dogs, for me, have to be the right shape to be ‘proper’ dogs… setters and German Shepherds have a lot to do with it… but I wouldn’t hold out for a specific breed. I’d see what the rescue has listed. Some of the bigger rescues, like Many Tears, have pretty much every size, shape, breed and cross.
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If it’s size that matters, I suppose you just have to measure the dog in the cage to see if he/she will fit 🙂 She is holding out for a daft breed bred purely as a lap dog. What I like about sight hounds is that they look like the dogs in ancient manuscripts. They are old as the hills. Not that many of the registered breeds aren’t completely overbred like Wolfhounds that have any number of genetic diseases and die before you’ve hardly got to know them. She’s very unlikely to find a fancy breed in a refuge. I hope she’ll just adopt the one that looks at her and says, you’re my human.
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Actually, there are many of the fancy breeds in rescues (I couldn’t resist a look at Many Tears’ website where we found Ani). They have pretty much everything…and I need a farmhouse and loads of land to give them all a home…
The best dogs are the crossbreeds these days…fewer genetic probems, loads of intelligence and as beautifula as any fancy breed. having said that…I would love another setter. Ani is half setter,half Toller…and close enough for me.
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I used to want an Irish Setter, and I remember them being big, calm dogs, extremely intelligent, and the longest livers of all dog breeds. The ones I see here are much slighter than I remember, neurotic and unpredictable. They seem to have developed the inevitable genetic problems and their life expectancy has dropped. It’s heart-breaking. We tend to see a lot of hunting dogs and the popular breeds like labradors and the fashion fads, like French bull terriers and Huskies. They are often rejects from breeders or pets bought to go with the wallpaper and turns out they don’t fit in after all.
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Yes, indeed!
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This is a wonderful post Sue. Dogs have played a large part in my life too, and we have already decided that after Maggie, we won’t have another. Kizzy was a GSD found tied to the gate of a breeder’s farm. They believed she’d had pups, and been discarded after weaning. She was a nervous wreck, and I like to think had 5 good years with me before I lost her to mammary cancer in 1990. She was 10. I love dogs, no matter size or breed, and they seem to love me. Even some owners comment along the lines of ‘She seems to like you’ or ‘She’s not usually good with strangers’.
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I get that a lot… I imagine that meg, Bonnie and Rory left their mark on the child in their care 😉
I’d never say no to another dog, though I’m only allowed the one here, I’d have another tomorrow… but if I am around after Ani, who is middle aged now at seven, I’d adopt an older dog. They get overlooked so often in the rescues.
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Maggie is 13 now, and will be a hard act to follow. I’ve rarely been without a dog, so I don’t think having another will ever completely be ruled out., but we wouldn’t be in a hurry (I think…………)
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I know, bless her. You can never ‘replace’ them, only open your heart to another .
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They always manages to weave their way in don’t they
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They do… they have a real gift for it 🙂
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🙂
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aw, this is beautiful, sue. i wrote about dogs today as well )
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Thanks, Beth… they are such sepecial creatures. I’d give a home to a pack of them if I could.
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I love this story Sue, maybe it is my favourite of all. I too have been blessed to share my life with animals — dogs and cats — and know first hand what peace and joy they bring; and all they teach us. How lucky are we who have loved and been loved by our four-legged family members.
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I too count it a blessing, Fransi. I feel I would be less human without their influence.
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Absolutely, me too.
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🙂 x
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Ani has touched us all. (K)
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She’s a special girlie 🙂
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Pingback: A family of dogs – The Militant Negro™
Thank you.
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A beautiful post Sue. Our beloved canine friends teach us so much about unconditional love. 🌼
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They do, Brigid. I’d be lost without mine.
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Wonderful, WONDERFUL story, Sue! I must say that the story your mother wrote that didn’t get published WILL make an outstanding children’s book. Really. I can tell just by what you wrote. I know this stuff. So, I urge you, explore you, to consider writing that and finding a publisher / agent. Tell the story through the voice of the dog. Keep me posted!
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If I had the story, I would, Jennie.. but perhaps Ani could help fill in the gaps…
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A good idea. Yet, it sounds like you have most of the story.
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I can probably remember a good bit more if I set myself to it.
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I think you can, by the way you told the story. I don’t mean to sound pushy, but this would be a terrific children’s book. Especially if the dog tells the story. Much like “The Poet’s Dog.” Hint-hint!
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It is in my ‘really must think about this’ folder 😉
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😀
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And if you haven’t read “The Poet’s Dog” I will send you a copy. Just let me know. It’s that good.
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I have a copy beside my bed 🙂
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😀
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What a wonderful post. I loved reading about the dogs in your life. We had dogs on the farm growing up but they weren’t allowed in the house. The first one I remember was Paddy. (a nice coincidence) When my son was little we had a cockapoo named Andre who lived to be 12. There were no more dogs after Andre died 35 years ago but we had cats. Then we moved to Spain and I missed my kids and grandkids and hubby was bored. So he convinced me to get Dot, a rescue dog, 18 months ago.We just love her to bits. Can´t imagine life without her.
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The gaps are just waiting for the right heart to fill them, I think, Darlene.
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I was not goign to read blog posts today but I couldn’t resist this one.
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Sorry about that 😀 Now back to that deadline, woman 😉
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Lovely post Sue.. always up for a dog story and you brought so many for us today.. Have pressed for later.. thanks XXX
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Thanks, Sally… I wouldn’t have been without any one of them xx
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I am with you on that xx
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🙂 xx
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Such a lovely post, you made me well up, you’ve had so much love and so much loss, that’s the hardest part of sharing our lives with our pets.
I’ve been fortunate to have 4 dogs (2 Golden Retrievers, a Tibetan Terrier and a Jack Russell), all of whom have lived into their teens, though my last loss has broken my heart and I’m sadly not in a practical position to have another one just now, though I keep looking at the rescue websites. One day I will have another…
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I made the mistake of looking at a rescue website earlier… and lost my heart to a scared old lady who is losing her sight. I wish I was allowed two dogs here…
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It’s so hard, we can only do what’s possible.
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I know… but I wish it were more…
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Me too ❤
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❤
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This post made me so teary, Sue. I’ve grown up with dogs my whole life and losing them is so hard. I find peace in knowing that their lives with me were filled with love and fun, the best I could give in return for the unconditional love they gave. Beautiful post. ❤
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Thanks, Diana. Once you have loved and shared your life with any creature, two legged or four, they are a part of your heart forever… I do not believe that love is ever lost. ❤
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What a beautiful story of love and dogs! And of course, there is Ani, the hopefully not last in a long line of dogs you hold in your heart. But I hope she has a looooong life. She is special.
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She is indeed one of a kind… and I hope she lives a very long and excited life. (She’s fair bouncing tonight because there is a hint of snow…). I’d love to have a companion for her, but the landlords alow one dog….
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Beautiful post, Sue. Lots of love in thee stories. Bless you and Ani.
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Thanks, John…and awful lot of love for these dogs 🙂
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I know.
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🙂
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🙂
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Pingback: A family of dogs | Smorgasbord – Variety is the spice of life
Thanks, Patty and Campbell
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Loved this post.So many dogs, so much love! Sue,you’ve helped me to remember the three dogs who lived/loved with us. We now have a share of my daughter’s dog (they have lived in what was our holiday apartment attached to the house) She, Marli,is a cross between a Beadle and a Cavalier King Charles and leads us a merry dance, … and I love it. Thank you for the memories.x
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I almost had a cavalier King Charles once… we dogsat for a neighbour who tried to give us the poor dog afterwards…. but a more destructive creature you could not find and so scared of everything that she became aggressive. I’d have taken her and given her a bit of security if I’d not had two very small boys at the time.
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I had some dogless years, but whenever it was possible, there have always been dog or dogs … and usually cats and occasionally ferrets and parrots and once, a small South American wildcat. But the dogs fill a space in the heart that nothing else has ever filled. I’m not sure how Garry lived without them. He adores them and they adore him. They drive him crazy and he lives to be driven crazy. They keep him alive, so even though they put a strain on the finances and a stress on us in other ways … they are life-giving, life affirming and passionate.
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That sounds so much like me, Marilyn… ‘lives to be driven crazy’…and wouldn’t have it any other way.
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What a great dog tale … ‘de-fleaing’ both of you. Hehe … and this is perfect, ‘…the love that wants nothing for itself .’ … except for maybe some cheese, now and then, and maybe a bit of chicken, here and there. 😀
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We both needed it 🙂 But making her feel safe was more important than flea powder that first night.
I thnk they allow us to give them love and cheese… it is part of the way they teach us 😉
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You’ve had many loves, Sue. ❤ I really can't imagine life without dogs in it. They truly give all and ask little. Perennially cheerful, they have taught so much about presence and dignity.
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I have, Eliza… and I am grateful for their presence and gifts. They are wonderful friends and teachers.
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Agreed.
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What a beautiful history of furry friends Sue. Echo looked somewhat like Ani? ❤
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Ani looks very like Echo, just a little smaller. ❤
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I thought so ❤
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She didn’t when we first met her… she grew into it ❤
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❤
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Reblogged this on Viv Drewa – The Owl Lady.
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Reblogged this on Die Erste Eslarner Zeitung – Aus und über Eslarn, sowie die bayerisch-tschechische Region!.
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Thanks, Michael.
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You have certainly had some wonderful 4-legged companions, Sue. Very lovely for you. I didn’t grow up with dogs and we don’t have one know but I have managed to acquire two delightful cats.
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I have indeed been lucky to have so many dogs in my life. I like cats too, but I’m a ‘dog person’ at heart.
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Wonderful post, dogs are such glorious animals the world would be a lesser place without them 💜💜
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I know mine would. ❤
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Oh my golly gosh, we’re great aren’t we and it’s so wonderful to read of a two legged thing that appreciates it. You have had a lot to put up with and I’m so glad there was one of us to help you through. You have me and my person weeping buckets here. One day, when I have lots of time, and have figured out all this hash back and pingback stuff, I’m going to start my own weekly challenge, for humans to record what they have learnt from their animals that week. Thank you for writing such a lovely blog about us. Love Ben xx
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Hey, Ben. Ani says hi.
I have indeed been lucky, having so many dogs in my life, both friends and teachers, all of them. xx
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Fabulous heartwarming post.
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Thanks, Lucinda. 🙂
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Beautiful story and pictures of your friends! Dogs just make a home a home in my opinion. I cannot imagine life without them. I am so glad I passed that love to my daughter as your mom did. I You might enjoy reading my post First Love about the friends who have touched my life.
( https://catherinematthewsimages.com/2018/02/03/first-love/ )
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Thanks for the link, Catherine. I did indeed enhjoy reading about your lifelong love of dogs.
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Dogs are women’s and men’s best friend. Dog spelled backwards is God for a reason. I believe they were put here to keep us sane and help us deal with all the craziness of everyday life. I had three dogs in my lifetime and one cat and many fish and two parakeets. We may one day get another dog once we stop traveling. I hate to leave a pet in a kennel. They don’t understand being left behind. It’s so sad to see.
I wrote a story about one of my dogs for young children which will be coming out tomorrow. She was a little bit of dog but had a big heart and kept me sane during a difficult time in my life. I miss her still today. She was a great listener and helpe me deal with problems without saying a word. HA! Thanks for sharing your lovely post and dogs. Bless them all – so precious. Hugs xx
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Just lost my own little love of 10 years, so I really appreciated this.
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I am so sorry. They take up such a big place in our hearts.
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Oh my goodness, Sue. This is just the most delightful thing; you write so beautiful and with such heart. I don’t have a dog, but I know the unconditional love they bring. And boy do I know that smile. xx 🙂
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Thanks, Brooke.
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You write very beautifully about your dogs! Loved reading your story with dogs 🙂
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Thank you 🙂
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omg! that;s so lovely ♥♥
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My heart has a flood of emotions reading this post. Thank you… thanks so much! Dogs come to our lives and rescue us. Beautiful!
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They do indeed.
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Wasn’t Ani the most adorable puppy? And what a lovely companion and helpmate now 🙂 🙂 My Mam always had dogs- mostly cairn terriers- and my stepsister bred dogs and was always at a dog show somewhere. It was never my cup of tea. It took me all my time to nurture a goldfish 🙂
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Ani has always been a little beauty… in every way 🙂
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I found you by way of Jo’s Monday Walk and I thank you for this lovely post. I had to wait for my first dog until I was 29 and he, with two brothers who were given away later, was a rescue newborn from the trash. He grew up into a fine Labrador retriever mix and lived to 13.5 years. I now live in Tuscany and all through my 8 years here a bestia mix called Fonzie keeps me company. Dog love is hard to match. All well to you.
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Hard to match indeed… they grow into out hearts.
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