June 8: Dogs rule, cats drool

This is the fourth note where I have to write about cats.

*Sighs.*

The good news is I can also write about dogs. I love dogs but I don't own one. That's because I live in an apartment and I can barely take care of myself. A dog would be catastrophic. My brother has a dog. The dog's name is Coogee. I think my brother named his dog after a bay in Australia. My parents have a dog named Kipper. They named it after Finnish goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff, whose name I probably spelled wrong.

Here are other dogs we had:

- Gizmo. Named for the creature in Gremlins. Gizmo was a shih tzu.
- Lobo. A St. Bernard. Best dog ever.
- Sheltie. A collie. My dad hated him.

We also had three dogs named Spanky. Apparently, I insisted on calling each dog Spanky. The first Spanky was a beagle. The second was a golden lab. The third was a dalmatian.

They are dead now.

So it goes.

-

As I said, the St. Bernard was the best.

But he had a drooling problem.

All St. Bernards have drooling problems.

I was seven when we got the St. Bernard. We kept him in the backyard of our suburban home in southwest Calgary. My dad decided that the St. Bernard was too big for our home, so he gave him to a friend who had a farm. He said that the dog would be happier there. This made me sad. My dad used to say that I was Lobo's favourite person. I didn't want Lobo to have another favourite person.

Years later, my dad told me he wished he let me keep the dog.

-

Once we took Lobo to a friend's house and Lobo ran a way. We spent about an hour trying to find him. Then I had an idea. I thought Lobo might be sleeping in the shed. So I ran to the shed and I found him and my dad was happy and told me I was very smart. Then we drove home in a pickup truck and I stayed in the back with Lobo. Lobo was scared of the traffic so we got under a blanket and I pet him and he fell asleep and this made me happy.

-

In my family's backyard, there was a little hutch beside the woodpile that was big enough for a kid to sit inside.

One summer night, I asked my dad if I could sleep out there.

"Won't you be afraid?" he asked.

"No," I said. "Lobo will be there."

Lobo usually slept by the back door. But that night, he slept right beside me.

That night, about two in the morning, Lobo woke me by licking my face.

"I love you, Lobo," I said.

Lobo yawned.

-

Lobo made me late for school so many times.

I would leave for school and behind me, I could hear Lobo jump up and put his big paws on the top of the gate so he could watch me go. YOU COULD NOT LOOK BACK! You really couldn't. If you did, you would be hypnotized by those big brown St. Bernard eyes. Lobo looked so sad and you had to go back and comfort him. You had to tell him that you were just going to school for a few hours but you would be back later and you could play together then.

You would pet Lobo and tell him these things and Lobo would calm down and he would take his paws off the fence and then you would start the walk to school again.

Behind you, the gate shook as Lobo planted his paws again.

Don't look back.

-

Once Lobo got hit by a car.

I saw it happen.

It was winter. The streets were covered in snow. It was a brown station wagon. The woman saw Lobo and hit the brakes. The car hit him.

And Lobo ran away.

The lady was crying. She rang our doorbell and told my mom that she had hit our dog.

I told the lady that it was okay. That Lobo was fine. He was a strong dog.

-

Lobo died of cancer.

I cried when my dad told me.

Sometimes, I think he lied when he said I was Lobo's favourite person. Dogs like whoever feeds them. I never fed Lobo but I did love him and I did play with him.

He was my dog.

-

My dad told me that when I go to heaven, Lobo will be there waiting for me.

That was more than 30 years ago.

I still believe it.