Tag! You’re it!

He was a problem from the moment we got him.  A rotten, albeit, adorable little Labrador-Boykin Spaniel mix that we named Buttons.  He chewed, he barked, he created a ruckus.  He antagonized the other two dogs in our house.  “It’s ok, he’s not my dog.” I thought to myself.  We had gotten this adorable-rotten little puppy for my husband’s parents.  We were only going to have him for a few weeks and then he would be out of my hair.

I issued specific instructions to my family not to become attached to this dog.  “No crying when he’s gone,” I commanded.  We were going to train him and then drive him to Ohio for mom and dad. When the time finally came to deliver the pup, however, I was unable to heed my own instructions.   I cried all the way back to Georgia after leaving him.

He turned out to be a great dog for our parents though.  Well, I guess you’d have to define “great”.  He chewed, he barked, he created a ruckus.  Apparently, that was just going to be his nature.  But he also did some things that I can truly define as great.  He became their companion.  He became their protector. He became a part of their family and he made them happy.

He also made them crazy!  I know that for the first three years that they had him, we would cringe each time the phone rang.  We answered each call tentatively, wondering what he had done “this time”.  Undoubtedly, he had chewed up the umpteenth pair of slippers, ran off with grandma’s dentures again, or slipped out the front door after the neighbor’s cat not to return for several hours.  No matter the infraction, they loved him and were always willing to make concessions for him.

Five years ago, Buttons came back to live with us after mom and dad passed on.  We used to joke that they were both in heaven laughing at the fact that we were getting this raucous hound back.  That he was being returned to us for penance after all the craziness that he put them through.  I could just see them smiling and saying, “Tag!  You’re it!” knowing that we were in for a rousing dose of Buttons.

Indeed, adding this dog back into our family was an adjustment.  We still had two large Labrador retrievers that kept us busy full time but I thought, “What’s one more dog at this point?”  What indeed!  He chewed, he barked, he created a ruckus.  Same old Buttons.  And then, he became our companion.  He became our protector. He became a part of our family and he made us happy.

Yesterday was Button’s last day on Earth so we decided to dedicate the whole day to him.  We did everything that he liked to do.  We went for a ride in the car.  We bought him a Happy Meal with extra fries.  We took him out for an ice cream cone.  We took him for a walk even though it was raining.  We baked him chocolate chip cookies and left them precariously perched on the edge the counter for “one last steal”.  He wasn’t quite up for that but I’m pretty sure he appreciated the gesture.  We all told him how much we loved him and I think he was happy.

I believe that God gave us dogs for a reason.  I think that they are a faithful reminder to us of our Creator. You cannot earn love from a dog, it is simply given to you. It is unconditional. Finding unconditional love and faithfulness is a pretty rare thing. People may give up on us but dogs never do. They teach us so much about life and about ourselves.

And, I also believe Buttons is in heaven right now.  He’s reunited with mom and dad.  I’m not sure how he’s behaving up there, but I just wanted to say to them, “Tag!  You’re it….again!”