The Vegas Voice 3-21

Pets
By: Stu Cooper / Happy Adventures
If and when I write my autobiography, the title
will be “My Older Brother was a Dog.” Not
that anybody will read it, but I hope my children
might take a look at it.
And the first story I will tell them about is my older brother, a “Heinz
57” variety of a dog named Woody. He was part of my family before I
was. He was already two years old when I came
into the world and for the
first fourteen years
of my life he was a
very important part
of my life.
From my earliest
memories, it was my responsibility
to care for him, to play with him, to
feed him
and to treat him as part of the family. Back in the 50s there was no
leash laws, so every morning by 7:00 am Woody would wake me up to
let him out.
I would wait the ten or fifteen minutes until he came back. Then I
poured his morning meal in his bowl and either climb back into bed
or get ready for school.
In the afternoon, I would take him for his walk to the local green
By: Crystal Merryman-Sarbacker / Out & About
like to talk to my dog. No, I don’t mean that
I Watson, my three-year-old Bichon rescue
dog, and I sit around
discussing melting polar
ice caps or Amanda Gorman’s newest poem.
That would be ridiculous! But I must admit
Watson is a pretty good listener, especially when
we are talking about something of a mutual
concern - like what does Watson want for dinner,
or does Watson want to visit a new dog park?
And there’s another hot topic that attracts a
lot of attention in our house. It’s who knocked
over the wastebasket?
Admittedly, this is not a subject Watson enjoys
because he can’t fool me. I immediately know
who did it. But he certainly pays attention when
he suspects there might be some disciplining
coming, or his precious treats may be put up
on a shelf.
Watson is a bichon frise. They are known to be very intelligent dogs
with an interesting history that includes everything from pleasing
European royalty to amusing circus crowds. I have always been drawn
to this breed because they are free thinkers.
38
My Pal Watson
March 2021
area, unleash
him, and let him
run around for
a few minutes. I
would play fetch
with him and
take a long walk
with him. He was
my best friend.
After Woody, we
had many dogs
Stu & Casey
culminating
with our most recent “Minnie Pincher” Casey. She was our rescue.
She had a tough first five years of life in a puppy mill just being a
momma and making babies.
By the time she got to us she was emotionally damaged. She
never lived inside, never walked on floors, never played on grass. It was
a tough adjustment for her.
Over time, she became a loving, though independent sole. She
became a congenital lap dog. We had her for ten years. Taking her in
as a rescue, in my mind, was a good deed and we gave Casey a great life.
For the Cooper family, dogs have been an important part of our
family life and brought joy and companionship to us, our children
and grandchildren.
Many years ago I sent my first bichon to a doggy camp,
so it could learn some manners. But after only a few days, I
received a call from the trainer who told me I needed to pick up my dog.
All the other dogs were at attention, but my
dog was running in circles trying to create
a rebellion. I acted embarrassed at my dog’s
conduct, but secretly I couldn’t have been more
proud that he could think for himself.
Our dog predictably starts every day with a
snappy walk around our neighborhood followed
by breakfast and an assortment of daytime
activities, which usually include a few short
errands by car and daily visits to see the wild
rabbits that are around our house.
Watson doesn’t try to catch them. It keeps
him amused until precisely 3 pm when Watson’s
inner clock fires up and dictates it’s time to go to
our dog park.
Watson’s canine friends are already there
munching on treats, and new dogs are greeted
by sniffing rituals that would make anybody blush.
Next month we’ll help Watson learn how to travel.
Crystal Merryman-Sarbacker is a travel agent and the owner of
Vegas Vacationers Inc. She can be reached at:
Merryman2@aol.com