Before Fudge and Vern....Part Two!

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Recently, I did a blog on our rescue dog, Honey, but I feel like I have to give equal time to our wonderful dog, Hershey. My oldest daughter came out of the womb chanting the word dog.  We lived in an apartment many years before we could afford our own home and I always told my oldest that as soon as we got our house, she could have a dog. Rule #1: Kids never forget. As soon as we got our house, she started hounding (no pun intended) us for that dog. Of course, she promised she would do everything for the dog and we, as the parents, would just need to go get the dog and then sit back and relax while she handled all the care. We had had fish and hermit crabs and I vaguely remembered that it was me wetting the sponge, cleaning the fish tank, and feeding the fish most nights, but she convinced me this pet would be different. We had a couple of greyhounds in the neighborhood and I tried to talk her into adopting one, but the only dog she wanted was a Chocolate Lab.

 

Nowadays, I know all about health testing and checking out the parents, etc., but in those days we were stupid and ruled by the overriding desire to stop the incessant little voice that kept saying, "You promised I could have a dog." As luck would have it, a friend had a friend and her Lab dog had just had puppies. The father, they assumed, was a roving Lab in the neighborhood.Our daughter had now joined forces with her younger sister and every conversation with the two of them began with a question about how soon they were getting their dog.

 

Most smart dog people would have been asking questions like, "Have the parents been health tested?...Is there a guarantee in writing?...Could we see the parents?" After weeks of listening to begging and badgering, all my DH and I cared about, at this point, was our mental health, so instead of asking those good questions, we just turned to each other and said, "Let's just get the dog, so she shuts up."  Luckily, for us the decision about which puppy to pick in the litter was easy, because out of the six puppies, the mother had two chocolate, three black, and one yellow. One of the chocolates had died in birth, so that left just one chocolate and her personality seemed very mellow and sweet.

 

We just had to wait for the pup to mature before we could bring her home and those weeks waiting can only be described as hell. I would wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat just knowing this was the worst decision we had ever made. I tried to talk to my DD about how much responsibility a dog was going to be and wouldn't she like the money that we were paying for the dog instead. Not good parenting, but I was desperate. I swear that kid always liked yanking my chain a little, because she would act like she was thinking about the offer and then look up at me and say, "Nice try, mom, but you promised I could have a dog." I made a mental note to myself not to use the words, "I promise," EVER to that little relentless darling of a daughter. Years later, as an adult, when she decided to get her French Bulldog, her fiance (now husband) said he didn't want to get a dog. We told him he might as well start picking out dog names, because it was only a matter of time before she got her dog.  I know he thought we were being dramatic, but within a few short weeks, he got right on board with her getting that dog. We think she applied her, "Keep asking until I drive the person nuts" technique to him too. Oh, and now they have two dogs.

 

By the time we picked up our pup, we had all agreed on the name Hershey. Usually, when we get a pet, we all put our names on a piece of paper and into a hat, and then try pulling one out and seeing if any one else likes the name too. My DH is always putting dumb names in the hat, because I guess when you live with three women you have to amuse yourself any way you can. Almost always it is a name like Stupe or Dumbo, or for our rabbit, Stew. Once the girls figured out it was not short for Stewart, but rather Rabbit Stew, the name got tossed. The youngest tended to pick names like Brownie or Furry, so she has named very few pets in her day. The oldest just wanted to make sure she got full credit for picking the name.  I don't remember who picked the name, but because I don't want to hear about it, let's just say the oldest threw in the name Hershey and we all agreed. We thought we had come up with the most clever name ever for a Chocolate Lab until we realized almost all the chocolate labs in our county were also named Hershey.

 

By today standards, we pretty much did everything wrong. Hershey never went to a doggie daycare, dog sitter, or one obedience class. We crated her in the basement from night one and I listened to her pitiful cries upstairs in our room crying right along with her. I could still kick myself for being such an idiot. Yet, with all of our mistakes, she blossomed into a fabulous dog. She loved everyone and almost every dog, except the mean Jack Russell that lived next door. She was kind to cats, birds, bunnies, and never pulled on a leash like Fudge and Vern. In fact, we would sit outside with her all the time and never even leashed her and in the morning, I let her out to do her business and she would come back in when finished. She knew which neighbors had dog treats in their car and would run to their car when they got home from work and often escort them to their house, just in case they forgot some other goody they had for her inside. The kids in our neighborhood loved her and she loved all of them.

 

Of course, she hadn't been home two weeks when the oldest daughter, who had begged night and day for her, got tired of walking her and taking her out. Our youngest daughter, however, who had a fear of dogs, took to Hershey right away and I would have to say Hershey loved her and me best.  Our youngest had many, many medical problems, some scars from surgeries along the way, and walked with a slight limp.  I am sure you can imagine the teasing she got from some of the other kids at school and middle school was exceptionally tough for her, but when she got off that bus each day, Hershey was waiting for her and loved her just the way she was! I would catch them in the bath tub together, having a snack on her bed, and always together. Our youngest would have probably never asked for a dog on her own, so I guess I have to give some credit to her persistent (and annoying) older sister...LOL!

 

When I think about our life, Hershey was there for so many important things. She was there as our kids grew up, started dating, going to dances, and going off to college. My DH lost both of his parents while we had Hershey. She was my worried nurse during two surgeries and my DH would get me settled in bed and put her up there right next to me. She slept in our bed with us almost every night, which was no small feat considering we only had a full size bed and she weighed 70 pounds and we won't go into what the other occupants weighed at the time. She was a true member of our family.

 

We had to make the hard decision in Hershey's later years to put her to sleep. She could hardly stand, leaked all over everywhere daily, couldn't hear, developed diabetes, eye problems, and was in a lot of pain. I asked the vet why she just couldn't go to sleep one day and not wake up, but he said it didn't always happen like that and it was time. I kept telling her to go towards the light if she saw it, because I did not want to think about the alternative. To me that is the worst thing about having a dog, because I still ask my DH if we should have waited a little longer and I have tremendous guilt over my impatience as she got older. Everything took so long and I have never been good at waiting.  Hershey had been with us so long at that point, and had made it clear she loved us no matter what, that my mind tells me she understood my shortcomings.  The last day, my DH, my youngest daughter, and I all met at the vet and stayed with her until she was gone. My oldest lived in another state, but she was heartbroken too. Almost their whole childhood was spent with Hershey and she would be the only dog they had as children. Fudge and Vern have benefited from every mistake I ever made with Hershey. I learned how to have a dog from that special dog. What a great dog to teach us all about what it could be like to welcome a dog into our family. Hershey taught us that lesson from day one.

[BG and Gavin]

Beautiful story Laurie.  Thanks for sharing it.  Hershey was the true meaning of "family dog."  I bet she taught your girls alot!

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

Nice story Laurie, Hershey sounds just like I would picture a lab to be. Great with kids and tolerant of his owners no matter what. Our Murphy is our first dog ever, both as children and adults we never had one. Our children swore they would get a dog as soon as they were grown and had their own homes and that's exactly what they did. It was through their love of their dogs (one a choc. lab and one a Goldendoodle) that I learned what it meant to have a dog.

Murphy has not had to suffer the same fate as Hershey in regards to our not knowing how to take care of a dog, as I was a member of DoodleKisses for about a year before I got him. I can just imagine all the things I would've done wrong had I not been part of this site. He'd be eating Beneful and sleeping outside!  Well, probably not, but I'm sure he wouldn't be getting home cooked food and Fromm's and sleeping on a white down comforter on our bed! 

My children didn't have the joy of growing up with dogs, and for that I am truely regretful, however, our grandchildren will always have Murphy and Bella during their youth to grow and play with. Who know's if there will ever be another dog besides these two doodles in our lives as we will be well into our 60's when they pass, but Murphy is our Hershey and no other dog could ever take his place in our hearts and I finally understand that now. He too has taught us so much about what it means to have a dog as a member of the family.

 

[Jennifer,Chloe & Myla]

Wow, that was a nice touching story, I think your first will always be the standard because of what they teach you and give to you, you learn to give it back in memory of them. I've never lost a pet of my "own" my dad has lost many and I don't know how they do it . but they keep welcoming more in. I don't know if I would ever recover from that loss except to remember the love they gave us. Especially when they know it's time to leave, you can be there for them.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Laurie, thank you for sharing Hershey's story.  It's clear she was a very special dog and was deeply loved.

 

[Pat and Traveler]

Ahhh, what a great story!  Like Camilla, Trav is my first dog, and I don't think there will be another.  He's my Hershey and Darwin and Fudge and Vern all rolled into one fine bucket 'o fur.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Thanks, Taylor.

Camilla, I think maybe your Darwin is going to be the standard for all your other dogs. He sure is special!

[Camilla and Darwin]

It's so touching and interesting to hear about your first dog. For many on DK, their doodles are their 3rd, even 4th dog. For me,Darwin is my first and I wonder if the dogs I have later in life could ever measure up... :-) It's an interesting perspective.

[Taylor & Huff]

Awww:) I would love to have a dog like Hershey:) I think anybody would. She sounds very special:)