by Gary Wethington
Hes Only A Dog I brought home a furry 2lb puppy as a Christmas present for my wife in 1992. She had her own sheltie in Illinois before she moved to Indiana and had to give her up. Her dogs name was Tasha and I knew she really missed her old friend. But now I brought her a new one to try and fix the hole in her heart that was caused by leaving her beloved Tasha behind. This was a tall order for this little fur ball, because after all Hes Only A Dog. But from the first moment she held this little guy she marveled at his beauty! Of course most people think an animal can not be beautiful, and after all Hes Only A Dog. As the days progressed so did the little sheltie she named Alexander P MacBeth. The Alexander came from a T.V. Sitcom whose main character was named Alex P. The MacBeth was to honor her parents sheltie that she adored, his name was Mac. I know an animal should not have a name so regal because after all Hes Only A Dog. The days went by and the little sheltie name Alex became a part of our family. He was like a child to my wife and I since we were beyond having any more children together. We kidded our daughter and sons that they had a new Brother in the house now, and they all spoke almost in unison Hes Only A Dog. But like a child this sheltie behaved more like a person than an animal. He listened intently to any conversations between our family and sensed our likes, our dislikes, our joy and our sorrow. If he knew there was an argument insuing, he would be the peacemaker, jumping into our laps and kissing us to calm us down. He knew, He knew, but how is this possible? How can he pick up such a sensitive nature that he knew when to make us laugh, and be ever so quiet when we were in mourning for loved ones we lost? After all Hes Only A dog. Alex amazed us with his antics, and he became house broken faster than any dog I had ever owned. He would go to the door and bark, and I swear he would look right at us and wait patiently for one of us to let him out. Never soiling the floor, even if we had more important things to do at the moment. He would wait ever so patiently till we could take him. I have had my share of trying to potty train small children, and if they said Ive got to go potty, if you didnt attend to them immediately, you were changing a diaper or training pants! In some respects, he remembered not to do things better than a child who goes through those wonderful Terrible Twos. He behaved when he had to, never destroyed a single piece of furniture, never broke a knick-knack, never tore any clothes, shoes or curtains. Never got onto a couch or bed unless he was told to. So unlike a child, but so much easier to train and after all Hes Only A Dog. My oldest son was in the air force stationed in Montana, and he met and married the girl he loved. He decided to stay there and raise his family in the mountain air, and he and his wife had a son who became the grandson we would not see very often, My wife regretted his decision, but accepted it. She would phone him at times and tell him how his Brother Alex would be, and He would say Im not his brother mom, Hes Only A Dog. She loved teasing him that if Alex sired puppies he would have a lot of new nieces and nephews roaming around the house, and after a time our son knew that he may as well accept his sibling role to Alex. Alex was like the regal authority of the house, he had his place of honor with us and he knew how much he was adored. I think that the name my wife chose for him went to his head, because he knew that he was in charge. I know someone could doubt this, but if you saw how regally he sat or lay down at his favorite spot, you would swear he was thinking, You can worship me now! He ate when we ate, never really catching on that he should be eating the premium pet food we had chosen for him on our vets advice. He wanted people food, and the better the food, the more he wanted. One day I went the store to shop for a cook out with my in-laws, and came home with a round steak that had been marked down to less than a dollar for two pounds. I cooked burgers and hot dogs for us, and cooked the steak for Alexs meal for that day and maybe the next two. It was when I brought the meat to the table that my Brother-in-law remarked Ill have what hes having! He asked how we could spoil Alex like that, since after all Hes Only A Dog. What really amazed us, was one day when Alex was only about 2 years old, he had lapped up a plate of left over spaghetti. After he finished his meal, he came over to me and put both paws up on my knees. I teasingly thought, He wants his mouthed wiped off, since the sauce was on his chin and mouth. I knew he probably just wanted more spaghetti, but I proceeded to wipe the sauce from his fur. To our amazement, he went to his favorite spot and lay down to let his meal digest. For the rest of his years on earth, Alex always came to us and wanted us to use a napkin to wipe away any spots that his little tongue could not reach after every meal. How could he recognize this as appropriate behavior? After all Hes Only A Dog.
Our daughter became very close to Alex, and wanted him to sleep with her on a nightly basis. We knew his spot was on our bed with us, but she begged and pleaded till we agreed. One day she came running into our room to tell us Come and watch what Alex is doing! She had a song playing I Will Always Love You by Whitney Houston, and Alex reared his head back and howled to every note. He changed pitch, and added the vibrato, almost imitating the song precisely. I have heard dogs howl at certain notes, but this time, he sang the entire song! We taped him on VHS, and I took the tape to my work to show every one in my office. I bragged about this to my co-workers, and most of their responses were Gary Hes Only A Dog. After viewing the tape, they walked away in amazement. No one had ever seen a dog do this kind of feat before, and it brought tears of laughter to their eyes. At any time we had family gatherings, all we had to do was start singing this song either with my wife singing soprano, my daughter alto, or me in my tenor or even bass, Alex would rear his head back and sing right along with us. He showed us he could learn any thing from us, sit, and sit-up. Speak, roll over, lay down, beg, and a host of others. One that was really impressive, was when we would watch a sporting event such as Basketball or Football on T.V., Alex would begin to bark with excitement with every point scored by our team. When we cheered, Alex cheered! He watched as we would High Five with glee as our team won. When we had a party with our team in the play-offs, we had friends and relatives over to watch. When the game was over my wife I believe, said to Alex High Five as they all watched, Alex rose to his back legs, and with no hesitation High Fived my wifes raised palms with his furry little paws. Any one who said it to him would receive the same courtesy. My nephew asked, How could he know how to do this? Hes Only A dog. Our youngest son would play rough with Alex, but never hurting his buddy. Alex in turn, never broke the skin or tore a piece of clothing from his friend. He would chase him through the house and bring him to the ground, as if tackling an opponent in a football game. But he never hurt him, ever! Our son would laugh and giggle and Alex always would voice his own laughter by barking in small yips. He was as gentle a dog as you would ever find, but one night a terrible accident near our home proved to us that he could also change his disposition at will! A fire had ensued shutting our power down that supplied our home. We all awakened to a house of darkness, and we all wandered outside to see what the commotion of numerous fire and rescue units were doing near our home, We took Alex with us and stood in our front yard. A fire fighter walked across our yard in the darkness, and we didnt even see him before Alex started barking fiercely and pulling at his leash. He wanted to get between the intruder and us with no fear in his heart for his safety. Only the safety of his friends and family mattered. Like a marine defending his post, Alex stood his ground attacking at the air between the fireman and us. We called out Dont worry, he wont bite we have him on a leash. The fireman seeing this pint-sized sheltie remarked Im not afraid, Hes Only A Dog. Years later Alex would escape the warmth and comfort of his home, and went missing for four days. We spent every waking moment and well into the night searching for Alex. We cried through each waking moment wondering about his safety and security. I asked my boss each day if I could leave early to search for him, and my boss would ask why I was so concerned because Hes Only A Dog. But he relented and our search continued. We found him amusingly so, on New Years Day behind a tavern approximately 3 miles from our home. He had crossed a major highway to get there and survived, only through his wits and his cunning or through the grace of GOD! One particular hot summer day, Alex was panting and it was apparent he was uncomfortable. He was in my lap, and I said in a calm voiceAlex, you look hot! Why dont you go in the bathroom and lie on the ceramic tile so you can cool off. To our amazement down he went, straight to the bathroom and lay down by the a/c vent on the ceramic tile. My wife told this tale to some of her co-workers and of course they responded" Jerri, he didn't really understand after all Hes Only A Dog. Alex would play a game with my wife and I; he was always free with his kisses to me when ever I requested one. But whenever my wife asked for one he would turn his nose and try to get away. I would say to him Alex give mommy kisses and like an obedient child, he would jump in her lap and kiss her and nuzzle her as if only to appease my request. We knew this was a game he played because the love for my wife was evident. They were inseparable! She would walk him, bathe him feed him and would cradle him in her lap like a child. He slept by her side and knew that she worshipped him but he was not a God, Hes Only A Dog.
He never failed to amaze us with his human like qualities or his quirks. One in particular was if we tried to give him a sample off our plate and he thought it too large, we had to cut it into small pieces to his liking. My brother saw me do this one-day, when we cooked sirloin steak on the grill and busted up laughing and made the statementWhy are you doing that? Hes Only A Dog. Another of his idiosyncrasies was that if we were overstocked with left overs, Alex demanded to have his Warmed Up. If we did not do this, Alex would stick his nose in the air and walk away from his dish. Its like any one else I guess; He preferred his food hot and not cold. We added a mate for Alex in 1998, and they became fast friends and the bond that was between them was remarkable, Her name was Anna, another Christmas present I gave to my wife. We watched in amazement as Alex taught her every thing He had learned. We would attempt to teach her tricks, and when she could not do them, Alex joined her by her side and did each and every trick to show her This is how its done! We wanted to mate them to give us another part to our family. She presented us with five lovely girls, but not the boy I really wanted. In the autumn of 2001, our beloved friend again found his freedom for a short duration. We searched for him throughout the day, but were not able to bring him home to us. I had a dream that evening, and in the dream I saw Alex beneath our patio deck sleeping. Before I left to look for him early that morning, I went to the back door and stepped out on the deck. I called out half-heartedly Alex, Where are you? From beneath the deck he came, stretching his front legs and yawning as if awakened from his slumber. I brought him in to my wife as she was rising to join me in our search for this elusive wanderer. He jumped on the bed and began to lie down as if nothing happened. I guess it really never occurred to him what we went through again, but I guess that would take human reasoning and thought. And after all Hes Only A Dog. A month passed and our Beloved friend began to exhibit severe problems with his eyesight. Whether he picked up a bacterium or drank contaminated water while he explored his freedom when he escaped, we will never know. He lost his sight completely around Thanksgiving of his 9th year. We went to the vet and he confirmed our fears, Alex was blind. We did not give up hope, and took him to an animal opthamologist who broke the news to us that it was not reversible. We told our son that he was permanently blind and would never see again. His response was Are you going to put him down? I reminded him that I have Glaucoma, and that someday I may go blind as well. I asked him if he would put me down as well. His response It wouldnt take that much Dad! But after all dad its Alex were talking about, and Hes only A Dog. As the months went by, our beloved friend developed a severe meningitis infection. The vet said that it was bacterial in nature and that we could try treating him if we wanted to assume the expense. We never faltered, and treated him for two months. My wife faithfully gave him his medication and babied him when the ravages of this debilitating disease weakened him. He finally gave up in the month of his 10th year. I awakened on the morning of November 4th to hear Alex whimpering and moaning as if in pain. He had refused any attempts of giving him food or water. He was giving up! He no longer wanted to suffer and we knew it was time to let him go with dignity. With heavy hearts, we took him once again to the vet. He confirmed our fears and stated that Alex wants to choose his own time to go! We said our good-byes and held him in our arms as he drifted into eternal slumber. Tears filled our eyes as the thought of losing our beloved friend and companion flooded our hearts. Alex never expected much from us in his brief life. He never cared that we were not wealthy, left him behind when we vacationed, paid more and more attention to his mate and to their puppies. He never cared that there were always distractions in the house that interrupted his naps. Never cared if the house were clean or in disarray. Never cared if we were late in coming home from work. All that mattered to him was that we gave him an occasional pat on the head or a hug when we knew he needed one. He loved to sing even to the end, till he was too weak to make the notes needed. We mourn for our friend, our companion, and our son if you will. And will always remember him in our hearts. We know the pain will someday leave us, but the pain we feel today is as real as if we had lost a human member of our family. This probably will seem ridiculous to most, because you see Hes Only A Dog.