The Day Mister Came to Live With Us, According to Girl

The day Mister came to live with us according to Girl: Oh my gosh, my heart was beating so fast I could hardly contain myself. Yes, this was the day I was so anxiously awaiting. We had made all of the arrangements with the landlord, the owner and the transportation details, and we had a map. We would be on our way in the next few hours to get him, and I was excited. How could Mike sleep in on a day like this, he would be my very first, no-one-could-take-him away-from-me dog, and he was joining our family as our very special pet. He would greet me with tail wagging and lots of sloppy dog licks and kisses. He would be so very happy to share our lives, I just knew it. Mike and I would sort of now be a real family with a real, honest to goodness living and breathing puppy.

I think I am actually a very big dog person. I have, however, had many disappointments along the way (at least in that area).

When I was eleven, my family was still living in a tiny apartment on McReynolds Street. I already had three siblings—Tom (9), Tim (7), and the new baby, Liz. I was so thankful when Liz was born, I had been praying for a sister for a very long time. With the appearance of Liz, I was optimistic that things were going to change—all I now needed was a dog.

That’s when "Blackie," the stray, wandered into our yard. I came home from school one afternoon, and there he was. He was a very scraggly dog, but very loveable. He had black wavy hair (filled with burrs), and was very skinny. Nancy, my best friend in the world, helped me scour the alley behind our home for important stuff to welcome my new dog. We found a lot of treasures there—old dog dishes from other people’s garbage, old refrigerator or stove boxes (we used them to make Blackie a shelter which was fine until it rained), stinky blankets, and lots of things for him to chew on.

I could not wait to get home from school each night. I would brush Blackie, pet him, get him his water and leftovers from dinner. He devoured the best of those pork chop bones, green beans and slightly stale mashed potatoes. Blackie was putting on weight and was becoming a very happy dog. Yes, Blackie stuck around.

As the weeks progressed, Mom and Dad found our little home bursting at the seams, and they made an offer on a huge two-story home across town. Before I knew what was happening, Dad loaded us, our clothes, and all our basic furnishings into our "wood on the side" station wagon, and away we moved to the other side of town—without Blackie.

Dad was not ready to be the official owner of another mouth to feed. I cried, and said goodbye to my Blackie. Nancy promised to raise him right.

"Mike, get up, let’s go get the dog." It was so very important to me. "No, let’s not stop to get breakfast. No coffee for me, I am packed and ready to hit the road. We can’t keep our new dog waiting."

My second attempt at adopting a dog was in the spring of my twelfth year, while I was visiting my cousins. They were four rowdy boys with a collie. This collie had puppies six weeks earlier, and I was getting a fluffy little cute butterball of a puppy—Mom and Dad had already said it was okay.

I found a box and a blanket. I could not put the little girl pup down, she was so soft and cuddly. She spent that Sunday afternoon in my lap, mostly sleeping and sipping a bit of milk from a doll bottle. We were sitting together in the sunlight by the west windows in the dining room, when on the buffet, the mean, ugly, black phone rang. It was the ring of death. My aunt was on the phone, demanding the return of my puppy. She said my puppy had earlier been promised to one of her friends who lived on a farm. My heart was broken.

From that time on, until Mike and I married, I had accepted my "dogless" fate. But now, things were going to be different.

Finally, Mike and I were ready to hit the road. It was going to be a long drive, all the way out on Long Island. Long Island is about thirty-five miles long and six miles wide. My map took us to the east end of the island. Our Glendale apartment was located on the west end of Long Island. Lucky for us, we still had our fast Mustang.

We were told "Mister" was a medium-sized dog, and that he had attended dog school. "He must be a very well-behaved dog," I recall thinking. The owners had to find a home for him quickly. They just had a new baby. While Mister was a great dog, they felt they had to focus on the newborn. It was so good of Charlie, our landlord, to fill us in on the details.

We drove up to the big house and property, and around to a huge patio in the back. A very sweet couple came out to greet us. All four of us shared the biggest smiles.

Then, I saw him, coming around a corner. He was beautiful. The moment our brown eyes met, I knew it was true love. He was exactly what I wanted—well, maybe a bit bigger that I had originally expected, but he was very happy to meet us.

His coat (fur) was black, gray and white, he had a tail that curled up over his back. It was wagging like crazy. He stood up on his tippy puppy toes to greet us, sort of jumping up and down, as if telling us he

was ready to go.

His "parents" told us all the details we needed to know about how to take care of their beloved baby. They explained that he had received all of his shots, and that he graduated with honors from his obedience school.

Little did I realize at the time that obedience school only meant he knew how to sit in a corner and drool for food, rather than begging out loud for pizza leftovers.

I was ready to be a pet owner, I learned how to give a Mister a bath, walk, and feed him. One of things his original parents told us was that Mister was on a special diet—he ate only a very expensive dog food. The product they suggested was very expensive, and could be purchased in only a few stores. Nevertheless, that’s what we bought for him.

That was great, as far as I was concerned. Soon the three of us climbed into that little Mustang and headed back toward the city. And he (my sweet Mister dog) was really coming back with us. I was ready.

Yes, it was truly the perfect day. The sun was shining, the grass was green and we had our first dog. Mister would be a part of our New York life for years to come.