Jack

My Turn

by  • 

Jack

I’ve been compared to Humphrey Bogart because of my dark and brooding looks. Someone once said I looked like an old fedora. No matter how I feel inside my face seems locked in a deep sorrowful gaze.

People worry about me because I always look so sad. It’s true that I used to be sad a lot before I came to Asherpark.

In my old life I had a silly name – Cyrus. Imagine being named after the king of Persia and living in squalor.

When I was Cyrus I lived in chaos. My person used drugs and had runaway kids living with her. They had drug parties and smoked a lot. The place stunk real bad.

Once somebody did something mean to me. The vet says the bone under my right eye was broken. I think somebody kicked me.

When the authorities seized me I was put in the slammer for five months while all the legal stuff got sorted out. It was cold and drafty. I could smell the fear. Day after day I lay on the concrete floor wondering if my royal name would buy me a better place to live.

When I finally got sprung from the joint, I was a big sorry mess – dirty fur, goopy eyes, and a hundred yard stare from all the misery in my life.

The first thing I did on the way to my new home was puke in the back of the car. It’s a wonder I wasn’t taken right back to the shelter. Looking back I feel ashamed about my behavior. Things didn’t get off to a very good start.

As soon as I got to my new home I attacked the young boy dog, Asher. That’s what ex-cons do. You gotta act macho so nobody messes with you. Then I pissed in every corner and on every piece of furniture.

The second time I got hissy with Ash, mom put me down hard. She wagged her finger in my face and told me to knock the crap off. Then she put me on a leash and I had to follow here everywhere for a week.

When I got off detention I realized I didn’t have to be mean to Ash. Nobody at Asherpark was gonna hurt me. Once I quit attacking Ash, he became my best friend. Mom calls him my babysitter because I’m afraid to be left alone without Ash to keep me company.

The truth is I’m a big scaredy cat. I’m afraid to be the last one in the yard at night. I’m afraid to be left home alone. I’m afraid of walks in the park. I’m afraid to get my feet wet in deep puddles. The strange thing is people love me anyway.

At Asherpark I got my new name, Jack. It’s a wonderful name. It makes me seem like one of the guys, not some goofy dead king.

I go places and represent Old Dog Haven. Because I’m calm around strangers, anybody can come up to me and pet me.

Now that Nellie’s gone Ash told me that I had to step up my game and share the responsibilities. Ash said I’ve stayed in the background long enough. I’ve had three years to get over the bad stuff that happened to me. He’s right. I’m gonna man up and start helping Ash with the DailyBark. You watch me!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Asher

Nellie Came Home

by  • 

Nellie

Long before Nellie crossed the bridge, mom talked to us about what happens to our bodies when we don’t need them anymore.

Mom explained that once our spirits cross the bridge, our days of wearing fur are over. She said our bodies would then be cremated in a respectful ceremony and our ashes would be saved.

Mom promised Nellie that her sacred ashes would return to Asherpark. She showed me and Nellie the beautiful urn she got special from her friend Julie at Julie Reisner Ceramics.

Nellie thought that was the best thing in the whole world. While her spirit was romping with Codie on the other side of the bridge, her ashes would always have a home at Asherpark.

About a week after Nellie crossed the bridge, mom and dad went to the vet and collected Nellie’s ashes. The ashes were in a beautiful box with her name on it and there was a clay heart with Nellie’s paw print.

Us mutts were real curious about Nellie’s ashes. We thought they would smell like Nellie, but they didn’t have her scent.

Mom carefully transferred Nellie’s ashes from the box to the urn. We all stood around and watched, not sure how we were supposed to behave.

Then mom created a special place for Nellie. On a table near Nellie’s portrait, mom arranged the urn with Nellie’s sacred ashes, her collar, the foot print from her last night on earth, and cards from people who wrote to say good bye.

Mom said the circle was complete. Nellie came to us as a worn out stray. We took care of her and grew to love her. When it was time for Nellie to leave us, we helped her cross the bridge. Now her ashes are back home at Asherpark.

After Nellie died people wrote so many beautiful things about her. Nellie touched something in people. She was like a pure white light of goodness and courage.

Me and mom sat quiet while we were thinking about Nellie. Mom says we will always remember Nellie and we will miss her forever, but we have to be ready for when another worn out mutt needs a safe place.

I looked at mom and we both knew that’s how we would honor Nellie. When the time is right another sorry old mutt will find a forever home at Asherpark. The magic of Asherpark will continue.

 

 
 

 

 

Asher

Where’s Our Baby?

by  • 

Nellie

After Nellie joined our pack things felt balanced. There were two blue dogs, me and Nell. There were two old dogs, Nellie and Jack. Me and Tess were the two young dogs affectionately called the Evil Twins.

How we moved was balanced too. I travel at the speed of light. Tess runs a close second but can’t ever catch me. Jack will trot, but only when he thinks there’s something to eat. Nellie wobbled as fast as she could on her old worn out legs. She was the caboose to our train.

Nellie was always getting lost because she couldn’t keep up. As slow as mom tried to walk, it wasn’t slow enough. Nellie would look right, mom would move left, and quick as that Nellie was lost.

Mom got into the habit of walking our route twice, once to show us where we were supposed to go and a second time to fetch Nellie.

Nellie had an uncanny ability to get herself into hopeless situations. Once when she still moved pretty good, she wanted to sniff real close to the fence. She lost her footing and tumbled down a bank to where the fence met the ground. She got stuck on her back with her feet up in the air.

Mom searched for a long time before she figured out what happened to Nellie. Then it took her and dad together to pull Nellie out of the ditch and hand her up the hill to where she could stand on flat ground.

Tess thought the whole thing was hilarious. Jack went in the house and pretended it wasn’t happening. I was worried sick about Nellie. Funny thing is Nellie wasn’t upset at all. She was real grateful to be right side up, but never complained about being upside down in the ditch.

After her second vertigo attack, Nellie started getting lost in the house. She’d get stuck in a corner all wrapped up in lamp cords. She would stare at the mirror and wonder why everything looked backwards.

As Nellie got more and more confused, me and mom spent more time looking for her. Sometimes we found her stuck under a bed. Another time she wandered into the bathroom and the door closed behind her.

Tess has the best nose and could easily have found Nellie, but she didn’t want to get off the couch to help. Since I’m always with mom, we formed a Nellie search and rescue team.

Sometimes I’d be sniffing in the yard when I’d hear mom yell, “Where’s my baby?”

I’d come running to mom and together we’d look for Nellie. If we didn’t find her right away, mom would say, “Ash, find our baby!”

When we finally found Nellie, it was always the same. Mom would kneel down in front of Nellie, hold her head real gently and kiss her snout. Then she’d grin and say, “Here’s our baby!”

Nellie told me even though she was deaf she could hear what mom was saying. I asked Nellie what she heard when mom said “Here’s my baby!” Nellie laughed and said she heard love.

Last night me and mom took a walk together. We went down by the little barn where all the varmints hang out. We walked all around Asherpark and looked at the stars. Suddenly mom knelt down next to me and whispered in my ear, “Ash, where’s our baby?”

It wasn’t a question that required an answer. We both knew Nellie had crossed the bridge. We just want her back.