by Amanda Loomis
Rufus
There is a well-known saying that a dog is a mans best friend. I completely agree. Rufus was our family pet. He was born on my aunts farm in Indiana and was part of our family from before I was even born. About three years ago, we decided to put Rufus to sleep. We did not want him to suffer any longer than he already had. Because he was part of the family, this was not an easy task. Even my dad, who never cries, was crying when he came home from the vet. We have thought about getting a second dog, but havent yet. No dog will ever be as good as Rufus.
Despite being born on the 3rd of July, Rufus was still terrified of fireworks. His favorite food was peanut butter bones. He was half beagle and half boxer with a brown head, white feet and chest, and black tail and back. He was about knee high; not too big, but not too small. As long as my mom was not in the car, Rufus would get shotgun. Along with sleeping, playing with balls, and going on walks, Rufus loved to bask in the sun. He was always able to find the only spot of sun in our house.
We taught Rufus to sing Happy Birthday. When the song came to the ending Happy Birthday to you, Rufus would start to howl. It was so cool, and I have never known any other dog who did that.
Rufus did not bark very often. When he did bark at the mailmen, garbage men, people walking down the street, or creatures outside, the hair on his back would stand up. When my brother was little, he would say that Rufus looked like a dinosaur. I can remember his bark as if he was just barking yesterday as the mailman delivered the mail.
We use the same Christmas tree skirt every year. It is red with felt snowmen all over and a white fringe along the edge. When Rufus was a puppy, he went around the tree skirt and chewed off all of the snowmens bowties and some of the bodies. When people come over during the holidays and see the half eaten snowmen on the tree skirt, they look at it strangely. Despite their opinions, we still like it and use it every Christmas.
Rufus was a very smart dog. Now, youre probably saying to yourself that everyone thinks that his or her dog is the smartest, but, seriously, Rufus was very smart. He would get very excited if we ever said the words walk or outside. So, we started to spell the words out instead, but, soon, he realized that when we said W-A-L-K it meant walk and O-U-T meant outside.
We did not go on many family vacations that we could not bring Rufus with. If we did go somewhere that would not allow dogs, we took Rufus to stay with my aunt. One time, we decided to have one of our neighbors watch Rufus for us. We had barely pulled in the driveway returning from our trip, when Rufus came bolting out of their house down the sidewalk. I will never forget how happy he was to see all of us. We felt so loved! Rufus always greeted us when we walked in the door. As soon as we would pull into the driveway, he would start barking. He would be waiting on the other side of the door as we opened it with his tail wagging and a smile on his face.
Rufus lost most of his hearing when he aged. He also got arthritis and a cough. It got to the point that my parents decided to put him down. There was no need for him to suffer any longer. The first week or so after he was gone was the hardest. We had to get rid of all his toys, food, bed, and bowls. My parents also got rid of the blanket that had been on their bed. The snags all over it from where Rufus nails had caught reminded them too much of him. I didnt go to school the day that we put him down, but it doesnt bother me as much, now that a few years have passed, to think about him. Though we dont have very many objects that remind us of Rufus, we do have many pictures that remind us of what a great pet he was.