Missy and Me.

First encounter:

It was late spring and she was only 3-6 months old when she jumped into the old man’s lap.

Actually, the man wasn’t that old. He just had an old part hidden in his heart that he was unaware of.

Scrawny and looking underdeveloped, she still had the desire to jump right into his lap at the first meeting. His heart immediately pumped up a notch. He felt something.

He named her Missy. (Sort of Short for Miss Thing)..

She looked like a hound mix. Funny ears. Brown and white spots with freckles on her belly.She had one crystal blue eye and one half blue~half brown eye. Her eyes were so familiar to the old man. She had that look; It was otherworldly. And at times, regal.

She still had stitches in her tummy from being spayed by Lucky Dog. Lucky Dog was the group that saved her and her brother. She and her brother were indeed lucky dogs. And so was the not so old man, but he didn’t know it then.

His house became her home. Her home was his home. It wasn’t easy for either one of them at first... He wasn’t used to caring for a pet. Let alone learning to be the master of a pet. (Not sure if he ever became her “master”)

Missy never thought she’d be where she was. What was this new environment? Rescuers had found her in a barn in West Virginia, she and her brother were both near death. She was intimidated and jumpy, shy and withdrawn. She was frightened by all of the city noises and she didn’t know how to speak. That was one of his first lessons to her..He started with a growl while he played tug of war. She mimicked his growl. The man would bark and she would cock her head, perk up her ears as if saying “What are you talking about”? After some time, she started to bark back. It was a baby bark. Soon enough she was letting him know she was there…

Growling and barking were new skills that lifted her up. It lifted him up, too. She certainly let the neighbors know she was present. Some neighbors enjoyed her.. Others were not into animals at all. The important thing was that he knew he had a force on his hands. She would be his guard. He felt safer in his own neighborhood- in his own home, with her being with him.

About 3-4 months into their relationship, Missy suddenly expanded into a full grown dog. She loved running and hopping on and off bales of hay in his green garden space. It was if she could compete..She was feisty. Running after squirrels, birds, people on bikes and especially motorcycles. She also had a barking ritual with the UPS truck.The UPS person would smile and wave and call out to Missy. It made the man laugh.

As the months passed, Missy’s barking got better and more nuanced. Her “hound sound” was a delight to the man and his friends. She got a thrill barking at city rats. Several rats died because of her never ending barking. She literally scared them to death.

One day while the man was having his coffee out in the green space, Missy caught a rat. She tore into it. Whipping her head back and forth while firmly gripping onto the rat’s body. She came to the old man a bloody mess and dropped the dead rat at his feet. She had caught it for him. She was panting and grinning ear to ear. She was happy she caught it.. That gave the man lots of joy.. He didn’t much like rats either. He cleaned her up and rewarded her for her gift. It was as if she found a new calling~Seek and destroy vermin for her master.

This growth spurt felt overnight for the man.. After all, it was almost 7 years for her. Only a few months for him. He thought hard and asked himself, “What have I done?” “I really shouldn’t let a dog into my life~ into my heart”. But he did it...He needed her more than he knew.

Missy was a dog with needs, you understand.. Food, play time, dog walks to poop and pee.

For a while he called her his “holy terror”. She tore up shoes, several blankets and a good rug. She chewed on everything! He still loved and appreciated her presence. He had to adjust to this new life in his domain. He figured he could grow into having life around.. So they kept moving forward.

It took time to get her to walk on a leash. She had to lead. She was the queen in this family.

She was slow to be house trained. He knew it was simply because of the heavy transition that got her to him. He was somewhat patient about that ,. (Most of the time.)

The old man once trained her to push the door closed after doing her bio thing outside. She’d come running inside to get a treat after doing her duty. If she didn’t immediately close the door, he’d say, “Go push”. She'd then run back and push the door closed and then run up to him to get her treat. Those big beautiful eyes kept his heart beating. He was so proud to have a dog that could close the door behind herself…

She barked at strangers, she barked at every dog that came along. She wanted you to know she was around .Whenever she barked, she’d stomp her front feet. It became quite endearing for him. A bark, a hop and then a stomp....A classic Missy move. She’d go into that routine every time the old man danced. She’d bark and dance along while he danced inside for exercise..

She gave him joy. She barked and tapped on the floor when she wanted to go outside.

Little did he realize that she was training him to surrender...He thought he was training her to be her “natural wild miss thing self.” In reality, she was wild and natural all along. He just gave her directions on how to be domesticated. That helped them both cause on a certain level, he was being domesticated as well.

Soon their relationship calmed down..

She watched him watch the fire. She’d watch him cook in the kitchen. She’d watch him have his morning cup of coffee..She’d watch him decorate the Christmas tree. She’d even watch him tie his shoes in the morning. She’d watch him eat pistachio nuts.

He’d take the nut out of the shell and give it to her. She loved pistachios and walnuts. She wanted nothing to do with almonds. He loved watching her eat the nuts

She'd watch him play in the garden, planting all kinds of bushes and flowers and vegetables. She loved being outdoors with the old man. She loved the smell of compost and hay in the garden. She’d roll around in it. She would attempt to sneak bites of compost while the man wasn’t looking. She watched him more than he knew. She slept on the floor at his feet on cold nights. She’d clean up leftover food off his plate or off the floor when he dropped something..He appreciated that.

She was always polite in her begging. Patiently sitting and looking for a bit of what she smelled..She learned early on that making noise for food doesn’t get a desired response. She did take a steak off the table once. That made the man laugh so hard. He quickly taught her that was not a good thing to do.

She’d hang outside with him in his green space. They both loved the outdoors. She soon became the mascot for the green space. They’d sit on the steps together and look out into the world. She’d put her paw on his lap as they watched and heard the city move..

She had a natural wildness that the old man adored.

He’d take her to a dog spa day every four weeks or so for a bath, nail clipping and gland cleaning.

It was his way of treating her like the royalty he saw in her.

Besides, Missy had her own scent. You know, that doggy smell, right? It was really strong after rolling around in the compost.

She could tell when he was moody and would stay close.

He could tell when she was moody and would lie down next to her and rub her belly.

There are so many little stories to share here. The fact of the matter is that they were a serendipitous match.

All of his friends grew to love Missy….She was easy to like...Fortunately, some training came from the doggy day care, Wag Time. Which was around the corner from her house..He’d say, “let’s go to Wag Time, she’d run directly from their front porch to the front door of doggy day care.

He finally left her purple and pink leash in his hand because she was determined to get there at her own pace.

It really does sometimes take a community to love a dog. Missy had a community that loved her. She even became the mascot for his green space. She was a well loved dog..

More available in a soon to be published book:

The Old Man and His Dog.

Thank you, Wag Time, Lucky Dog, Hillside Pet Hotel and Vet. And all of the folks who supported the man and his dog, Missy. And a special thanks and love to Jesse and Meghan who cared for Missy for that one special year.