Tuesday, September 23, 2008

More on Smokey Bear

I ended with Smokey being a gentle dog even though he was big and black, thus the name Smokey Bear as he looked just like a big black bear. He was not very friendly with men except for my brother-in-law Si and my neighbor across the street, Everett DeLaMare. Everett could do just about anything with Smokey and Smokey would do just about anything for Everett. For some reason there was a great friendship between the two of them.

In 1983, I had to go to the hospital for major surgery. Everett and Marge said that they would be glad to take care of Smokey while I was in the hospital. That was also the year that we had had tons of snow and as it melted in the spring, it filled Settlement dam to overflowing and we had water everywhere. The water was gushing down both sides of our street. The neighbors had sandbagged all of the yards and driveway entrances on the north side of the street as the water ran like a river. Everett and one of the other neighbors had built a bridge across the "river" so people could get to their homes. The day I was to go to the hospital, Maureen and Johnny came to take me there. Everett came across the street to get Smokey (Johnny wasn't about to take the dog over because there was no love lost between him and Smokey). Anyway, as Everett was taking Smokey across the bridge, Smokey's back legs slipped off the board and he fell into the water and Everett just dragged him through the water until he could find dry land. Maureen and I laughed at the sight, but Johnny just stood there with his mouth open.

I had been in the hospital for about a week when Marge called and asked when I would be released. I told her I didn't know and she said I should ask the doctor because Smokey was sitting by their gate looking at my house and crying. She said that there were big tears in his eyes. When I told Dr. Gubler about the situation he said that he would let me go home the next day because we couldn't have an unhappy dog. (He is a dog lover.) Smokey was so excited when I got home. He hardly left my side for days.

As I said before, Smokey liked to ride in the car. One day I had to go to the car dealership to get an appointment to have my car serviced and I took Smokey with me. Everett was a saleman at the dealership and had seen me drive up. Smokey jumped into the front seat as usual when I got out and started his ritual of barking. One of the other salesmen mentioned to Everett how noisy that big dog was. Everett told him that he could go over to the car, pet the dog, and get him to quiet down. The salesman told Everett he would be crazy to try, but Everett said he could do it. The salesman's eyes nearly popped out of his head when Everett got Smokey to settle down. Everett told the salesman that he and Smokey were neighbors.

Smokey was always beside me when I went outside to work in the yard. He would follow me from place to place and laid next to me when I would pull the weeds. If I went across the street to visit he would always want to go with me. Whatever I ate, he would want the same thing. If I bought a hamburger, he would have to have one too. I would go to Baskins and Robbins for an ice cream cone and I would buy one for him. I guess I could say that he was kind of spoiled. I realize now that I made a mistake giving him "people" food because he really got fat and it was getting hard for him to get around. I also regret not being with him when he passed away. Sharon, Mike, Michele and I had gone to Lake Powell for the Labor Day weekend and I had left Smokey at the kennel in Bountiful. We came home on Labor Day, and my sister, Marge, had said she would go to the vet's to pick Smokey up the next day for me. I was going to get him after school. Marge called and told me not to hurry, because the vet had called and said that Smokey had had a heart attack and had passed away on Labor Day morning. I cried all the way to Bountiful and for many days afterward. Smokey was my special friend and I still miss him after all these years. Occasionally I look for things and find his collar and a lock of his hair that the vet had saved for me. If there is a "doggie heaven", I know I will be greeted and overwhelmed by the dogs I have lost in body but not in spirit, memories, or thoughts.