My friend Betty and my nephew Harley
As I sat in my chair this morning, holding my bible but very distracted by the beautiful birds just outside my window, I wondered how many folks have been as lucky as me and have received a thank you card from a dog.
I have received a thank you card from a dog only once. A thank you card from a dog?! Yep, it had his paw print right on the card after "love you". I know you are anxious to hear the rest of the story. Soooo...it all started with a walk down the canal and a broken piece of glass...at least that was what was deduced.
My friend's son took the family dog, Harley, down the canal for a walk. During the walk, the dog (a beautiful, biggg, blonde lab) stepped on a piece of glass and cut his paw. By the time the son and dog got home the injury looked pretty daunting. My friend Betty ( a serious pet lover) surveyed the damage and decided to take the dog to her elderly country doctor. Rumor has it that he is a real saint. After a thorough examination, the instructions from the elderly doc were to stop by a store on the way home, purchase a tube of super glue, and apply it to the pad of Harley's paw. You see, Harley had sliced opened the pad on one of his paws (filleted it was the term Betty used).She was supposed to wash his paw, then apply the super glue, actually gluing the pad together.
Yes, there is more to the story....life is a real journey for Betty and I. Betty comes to my house on Thursdays and we spend most of the day together. It is our time and we really covet that. We do anything we want but it always includes a great meal and solving some world problem. Well, this Thursday, Betty decided to bring Harley out with her. She was worried about him and didn't want to leave him home alone. She needed to apply the glue several times and did not want him to lick or fuss over his paw. So, with my blessing, (I have a bassett hound so what is one more dog in my kitchen) she loaded up Harley, his toys, some dog bones, and the super glue and made the drive some thirty miles out to my home in the country.
Upon arriving at my home, we were anxious to start in on solving the dilemmas’ of the world but as responsible parents, I mean dog owners, we made the decision to tend to Harley first. Betty got out the super glue and sat down on the floor, not an easy task with a lovable lab and spoiled bassett hound trying to lick you and sit in your lap. After gaining control of Harley's paw, she instructed me to open the super glue and hand it to her. Try as I might, I couldn't get the top off that aggravating tube. Of course, I was toooo vain to put on my reading glasses and it didn't occur to Betty either (well, that's her excuse). After much effort, telling the tube how stupid it was, and a short discussion on how manufacturers should let us design their tops for them, we decided it best to take a sharp knife and cut the top off. "Just slice the top right off", I remember saying. So, that was exactly what I did. Then I handed the tube to Betty, still sitting on the floor, holding Harley's paw. We both knew we were in business now. Well, not exactly! After much squeezing, muttering, and squirming (Harley not Betty), we still were not getting any glue to come out. I took back control and of the blasted tube and discovered it had a ball down inside that let only a little glue out when you applied pressure. The pressure thing was certainly not an options since we would have to apply pressure to the filleted paw. So, out came the knife again. I sawed more of the top off, but wasn't paying close attention. Within, seconds my fingers were stuck to the tube! As I ran over to Betty (she pried the tube off my fingers), we knew to work quickly. But, we weren't quick enough. As Betty was gluing the paw she was also gluing all her fingers together. Boy, Lucy and Ethel...get it together! Then the "tickle bug" got us. We were laughing so hard but I was able to aid her and force her fingers apart. She got up and started to wash her hands (that stuff really sticks), and I did the first smart thing of the day...went and got my reading glasses. I then discovered the instructions on the package that had clearly stated to remove the top just line up the arrows. Line up the arrows...neither one of us saw any arrows. It also gave the pressure instructions which we would have known so we would not have gone there had we had our glasses. But, then again, if we had read all the instructions we would not have the memory we have today. It still causes me to giggle.
Betty and I are great friends and have been for about twenty years. A lot has happened to us during those years and we have had each other to share them with, good or bad. I love Betty, her humility, her compassion, her loyalty, her sense of humor, and her like thinking. We really have FUN together and we laugh a lot. We say we do things the "old school" way, our children say the "old fashioned way". That is why several days later when a card arrived in the mail I knew it was from Betty. That is one of her many gifts, she is faithful always to send a thank you note. Not just for big things but even and always for all the small things in life. She is a very grateful person. To my surprise there was not only a thank you from Betty for the lunch and allowing her to bring Harley, but a cute card from Harley. The card thanked me for letting him visit with Olivia (my dog), and thanked me for helping Betty take care of him. After writing the note, Betty painted one of his paws and stamped it on the card with "I love you". The card really made me laugh and we have now decided that Harley is nephew status and Olivia is niece status, since we have been through so much. Harley has made several more visits out here to the country but none as memorable as the day we tried to doctor him.
Thank you Betty for being such a good friend and filling me up with so many good memories, thank you God for putting her in my life all those years ago and giving her a heart to stay with me in the here. I pray dear Father, that along with my family, that Betty will be going down this journey ,where ever it takes us ,with me in the after.
I have received a thank you card from a dog only once. A thank you card from a dog?! Yep, it had his paw print right on the card after "love you". I know you are anxious to hear the rest of the story. Soooo...it all started with a walk down the canal and a broken piece of glass...at least that was what was deduced.
My friend's son took the family dog, Harley, down the canal for a walk. During the walk, the dog (a beautiful, biggg, blonde lab) stepped on a piece of glass and cut his paw. By the time the son and dog got home the injury looked pretty daunting. My friend Betty ( a serious pet lover) surveyed the damage and decided to take the dog to her elderly country doctor. Rumor has it that he is a real saint. After a thorough examination, the instructions from the elderly doc were to stop by a store on the way home, purchase a tube of super glue, and apply it to the pad of Harley's paw. You see, Harley had sliced opened the pad on one of his paws (filleted it was the term Betty used).She was supposed to wash his paw, then apply the super glue, actually gluing the pad together.
Yes, there is more to the story....life is a real journey for Betty and I. Betty comes to my house on Thursdays and we spend most of the day together. It is our time and we really covet that. We do anything we want but it always includes a great meal and solving some world problem. Well, this Thursday, Betty decided to bring Harley out with her. She was worried about him and didn't want to leave him home alone. She needed to apply the glue several times and did not want him to lick or fuss over his paw. So, with my blessing, (I have a bassett hound so what is one more dog in my kitchen) she loaded up Harley, his toys, some dog bones, and the super glue and made the drive some thirty miles out to my home in the country.
Upon arriving at my home, we were anxious to start in on solving the dilemmas’ of the world but as responsible parents, I mean dog owners, we made the decision to tend to Harley first. Betty got out the super glue and sat down on the floor, not an easy task with a lovable lab and spoiled bassett hound trying to lick you and sit in your lap. After gaining control of Harley's paw, she instructed me to open the super glue and hand it to her. Try as I might, I couldn't get the top off that aggravating tube. Of course, I was toooo vain to put on my reading glasses and it didn't occur to Betty either (well, that's her excuse). After much effort, telling the tube how stupid it was, and a short discussion on how manufacturers should let us design their tops for them, we decided it best to take a sharp knife and cut the top off. "Just slice the top right off", I remember saying. So, that was exactly what I did. Then I handed the tube to Betty, still sitting on the floor, holding Harley's paw. We both knew we were in business now. Well, not exactly! After much squeezing, muttering, and squirming (Harley not Betty), we still were not getting any glue to come out. I took back control and of the blasted tube and discovered it had a ball down inside that let only a little glue out when you applied pressure. The pressure thing was certainly not an options since we would have to apply pressure to the filleted paw. So, out came the knife again. I sawed more of the top off, but wasn't paying close attention. Within, seconds my fingers were stuck to the tube! As I ran over to Betty (she pried the tube off my fingers), we knew to work quickly. But, we weren't quick enough. As Betty was gluing the paw she was also gluing all her fingers together. Boy, Lucy and Ethel...get it together! Then the "tickle bug" got us. We were laughing so hard but I was able to aid her and force her fingers apart. She got up and started to wash her hands (that stuff really sticks), and I did the first smart thing of the day...went and got my reading glasses. I then discovered the instructions on the package that had clearly stated to remove the top just line up the arrows. Line up the arrows...neither one of us saw any arrows. It also gave the pressure instructions which we would have known so we would not have gone there had we had our glasses. But, then again, if we had read all the instructions we would not have the memory we have today. It still causes me to giggle.
Betty and I are great friends and have been for about twenty years. A lot has happened to us during those years and we have had each other to share them with, good or bad. I love Betty, her humility, her compassion, her loyalty, her sense of humor, and her like thinking. We really have FUN together and we laugh a lot. We say we do things the "old school" way, our children say the "old fashioned way". That is why several days later when a card arrived in the mail I knew it was from Betty. That is one of her many gifts, she is faithful always to send a thank you note. Not just for big things but even and always for all the small things in life. She is a very grateful person. To my surprise there was not only a thank you from Betty for the lunch and allowing her to bring Harley, but a cute card from Harley. The card thanked me for letting him visit with Olivia (my dog), and thanked me for helping Betty take care of him. After writing the note, Betty painted one of his paws and stamped it on the card with "I love you". The card really made me laugh and we have now decided that Harley is nephew status and Olivia is niece status, since we have been through so much. Harley has made several more visits out here to the country but none as memorable as the day we tried to doctor him.
Thank you Betty for being such a good friend and filling me up with so many good memories, thank you God for putting her in my life all those years ago and giving her a heart to stay with me in the here. I pray dear Father, that along with my family, that Betty will be going down this journey ,where ever it takes us ,with me in the after.
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