The story of Dug, the dog
1.) Share a story about a stray you took in or an animal you once rescued.
In my life, I’ve owned four dogs. My first dog was a lab mutt mix named Stan. His full name was Stanley Stanford (aka, Stan Stan). He was a fabulous pet and friend, and when he died suddenly one summer morning, I screamed in the middle of the yard and cried for weeks.
About a year later, I decided Miss Sassy Pants and I needed a pet, so we adopted Bella. Bella was some sort of a hound mix and was about 9 years old. I found out about her through a friend, and my father drove all the way to West Virginia with me to meet her foster family and pick her up. Bella was a nice dog, but she was old and crotchety. She began to go deaf, was having seizures, and started limping. After having her for about a year, it was time to take her to the doctor and put her to sleep.
I was in the middle of adopting my little Boston Terrier, Lemonade when Aaron and I first met. Actually, her name was originally “Lemalade,” so named by Miss Sassy Pants who was three at the time and couldn’t pronounce the real word. My brother and his wife have had two Bostons, and I love these dogs. Lemonade is hilarious, smart, stubborn, and quite beautiful.
One summer, we went on a trip, and Lemonade stayed the week with my brother and his three dogs (a German Shepherd, a boxer, and another Boston Terrier). When we brought Lemonade home from our trip, she moped around the house, and we quickly discovered that she was lonely.
Aaron wanted a big dog. Lemonade is cool, but she was my baby. Aaron needed some more testosterone in the house, so we started looking at the local Faithful Friends sanctuary. That’s when we found Dug.
Dug was a lab who had been abandoned by his family. Apparently, a neighbor watched as Dug’s family drove away while Dug ran for as long as he could to try to catch them.
When we met with Dug’s fosters at the park, it was love at first sight. We’d been told that Dug was apprehensive of men, but he took to Aaron very quickly. The next week, we brought him home and named him. (He was originally named Buddy by the fosters. They weren’t sure what his real name ever was.)
It took Lemonade about a month to get used to having this huge creature around. Dug is gentle and wanted to play, but Lemonade wasn’t sure she had the same feelings.
We are so happy we have Dug, now. He may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, and he lingers a bit too long around the table while we’re eating. But, I’m not sure life would be as fun and crazy without him.
Why did we name him Dug? Have you ever seen Disney’s Up!? The dog in the movie had the greatest voice and was always distracted by squirrels. We felt like Dug would have that voice if he could talk. And when we brought him home, he only wanted one thing: Ethel, the cat. So, we just assume that a conversation with Dug sounds something like this: “Hello. I am Dug. I am your friend. I want to be your friend. Will you be my master? I love to play — ETHEL!”
