Thoughts on Angus...

He was a small black puppy. Dad's friend Stan had gotten him from a neighbor whose sheepdog had been impregnated by another neighbor's black lab, and since we were having to put our beagle, Shirley, to sleep the following Monday, he thought we would want him.. I wanted to name him Jack. Everybody else thought he looked like a cow, so we named him Angus. (I just didn't like the association with then-governor of Maine Angus King, thank you very much.)  That small black puppy had very sharp puppy teeth, and he had a lot of puppy energy.

That small black puppy grew up to be a very big, hairy black dog. I thought he kinda looked like Animal from the Muppets. He had these eyes that were always looking for food. It's funny how the most obnoxious qualities of a pet become the thing that you sort of miss the most...Angus would not let anyone eat in peace. He would get as close as he could to you, and stare at you until you finished eating...you could never eat fast enough for him. Yesterday, before he passed but wasn't with us, I ate a slice of pizza in peace...and the peace was glaring. It felt odd to not have him staring at me while I ate...

I loved how he loved to lie next to the wood stove in winter. He would lie right next to the fire and would not move, even though he'd be panting heavily. Just loved to lie next to the fire. The eight years I lived in the same house with him, I felt safe at night if I was home alone. His barking would scare the daylights out of anybody. (Never mind that the adage "His bark is worse than his bite" applied to him big time.)

In later years he had an ear infection or something that never quite cleared up. He hated to have his ear cleaned and his fur trimmed. Every time he'd have a bath as soon as he was out he'd be running around like crazy.

He really was a loving dog, though he got kind of cranky in later years. In one particularly poignant moment, two Windham police officers turned up at the house to deliver the bad news that my sister had passed. I started crying, obviously. The officers walked me in and Angus was barking furiously. I had to haul him by the collar and put him outside. He was being protective of me...he must have thought they were hurting me (well, they were, but only by being the bearers of bad news). There were many times that I'd have a bad day and I could pat Angus, cry, and just feel that somebody cared. Because the great thing about pets is that they can't talk back. Animals cannot gossip. They cannot slander, they cannot libel, they can't talk back. (Granted they can bite and scratch, but that's another story). They can't lie.

Every a beloved pet passes, I ask myself why we put ourselves through this, and then I think about how much emptier my life would have been without the experiences of owning and loving a dog. And I think we were designed by God that way. (Some of us more than others.)

And the Lord God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a companion who will help him. So the Lord God formed from the soil every kind of animal and bird. He brought them to Adam to see what he would call them, and Adam chose a name for each one. He gave names to all the livestock, birds, and wild animals. But still there was no companion suitable for him.....Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib and brought her to Adam. (Genesis 2:18-20, 22)

It is interesting to me that God made all the birds and animals before He made woman. It is also interesting that He told Adam to name the animals. Many people who grow up on farms with livestock are told not to name the pigs, etc. because once you do, you become attached. So I think God intended for us to form bonds with His creatures. Not as intense as the relationships we form with our spouses and families, but I still think we are to treat out animals well and to even love them. And that's why it is so painful to lose a pet.

Angus, buddy, you were much loved. We will miss you with all our hearts.