Daytripping September-October 2021 Issue

The
Daytripper
Now in CLINTON, STRATHROY, ARVA, MOUNT BRYDGES, EXETER & ZURICH
SHOP
LOCAL
DOGS
By Agnes Burroughs, Dorchester
How many of you lucky folks out there
have a family pet? If you’re really lucky
that pet is the universal favourite—a
dog. Your dog doesn’t care if you have
a good day at work or a bad day. They
will just lick your hand and be by your
side through good or bad. No need to
explain anything to Spot or Rover or
Celia. Those friends will be there no
matter what is happening in your life.
We always had a dog when we
were growing up, and it wasn’t like we
needed another mouth to feed. With
eight children running around our dog
never needed to be walked. He just
was always there wherever we kids
congregated and played.
Our dog was our protector—no need
to fear anyone stealing us out of the
yard. He was our playmate—who else
would chase a ball continuously for two
hours with nary a complaint? And our
greeter when we arrived home from
school, but best of all our friend.
My mother was always partial to
German Shepherds with their long
pointy ears, big tongues and slim bodies.
As we were leaving for the beach one
day a large German Shepherd wandered
on to our property. Mother took one look
at the hungry and apparently homeless
beauty and saw the potential no one
else did. She promptly went back in
the house and cut off a large chunk of
our Sunday roast we were supposed to
be eating for supper when we returned
home. She admonished the dog to eat,
drink and be sure to stay there till we
got back. No one was more surprised
than me, when we came back after a
long, long day to see Rin Tin Tin lying
on the front step as if he belonged
there. That dog stuck with us through a
variety of homes and job changes and
never failed to protect us and stay on
the front porch when we went away.
That dog had a sixth sense about folks
and you could always tell if a person
was welcome or not by his reaction to
visitors. Gentle as a kitten but only if he
liked your looks. We trusted his instincts
and were always safe.
For many years, our little children’s
cousins would come to play for a
whole day filled with fun and games
and frolicks with our dog, Buddy. Their
stepfather came to pick them up one
day and they weren’t too pleased about
having to leave and started to cry and
whine. I guess patience was wearing thin
at this point and the stepdad grabbed
one of the girls by the arm to speed their
departure. All day the girls had been
happy, carefree, laughing and playing,
and this big mean person was making
one of them cry. Buddy was not happy
and showed his displeasure by clamping
his jaws around the stepdads wrist. I
noted all this and told him to let go of
the child and back away to the truck. He
let go of the child, the dog let go of him
and everyone proceeded to the truck. He
never came back to pick them up ever
again. To me, Buddy was justified and
showed good judgement of character.
Our dogs pretty well start out in the
porch or garage, but someone
invariably sneaks them
in under the table and
who, but bad old Mom,
would put them outside.
Honestly someone has
to clean up their big,
old slobbers and
their constant under
footedness. Guess
who? Me.
Buddy One was
the biggest, old dog but a real softy at
heart. If we had to take him to the vet
for his shots he would howl all the way
there, get his shots and return home
with not a peep. After many years of
this, we finally found a big animal vet
who would come to the farm and give
the dog his shots. Certainly saved our
hearing and the stress for Old Bud.
One time our crazy Buddy ran up and
out of the ditch in front of a very fast
car. The vet said the best thing was to
keep him confined until his hip could
heal. This necessitated carrying him
back and forth to the barn at least three
times a day for several weeks. But he did
indeed get better and ran many more
miles, following whatever implement
was in the field. He would follow you
until you couldn’t stand it anymore and
pick him up into the cab. This worked
out fine until he thought he
should be right up front
of the steering wheel.
Oh well, he just wanted
to be where we were.
When we learned
our Old Buddy Two
had cancer, we
weren’t sure what we
should do. His chances
were slim according to
the vet and he might not
make it through the surgery. Our son
chose to let him live out his last days
here at home with us. Bud was buried
with his dog tags so “God would know
who he was when he got to heaven.”
They leave a paw print on your heart.
KILDONAN HOUSE
BED & BREAKFAST
71 KIRK ST, CLINTON
519-482-1163
A Healing Arts &
Energy Wellness Haven
43 Albert St.
CLINTON
226-457-0575
Mon-Thurs.
by appt.
Fri 10-5
Sat 10-3
A must see store,
come & explore.
Retail:
Crystals • Books • Oracle/Tarot Cards
Pottery • Incense • Artisan Crafts & Gifts
Services by Appointment:
• Card & Mediumship• Crystal Healing
• Reiki• ThetaHealing®• Reflexology• More
Open Fri 12-7, Sat 12-5 & Any Time by Appt.
Ask about our private group bookings &
upcoming workshops, classes & events.
QUALITY Mennonite-CRAFTED
Furniture, MADE IN ONTARIO
www.cinnamoncabinco.ca
Gourmet Edibles
& One-of-a-Kind Items!
26 Isaac St., Clinton
Your Open Door to Infinite Possibilities...
86 Albert Street, Clinton
@journeysofthesoulwithjackie
jackie@journeysofthesoul.ca
See Facebook for Current Hours
519-482-1445
www.madeinhuron.com
Page 34
Phobias… The fear of horses is called hippophobia
Sept-Oct 2021