Whenever a story about dogs, cats, horses or other animal companions come my way, I have to read it. There is just something about animals that lowers blood pressure, floods the brain with melatonin and soothes the spirit. Part of the appeal is that animals do not fret, worry or plan. They are in the moment.
My dog story begins with an ad in the paper that said: “Two traditional chairs for sale, make an offer.” I called the number and got directions. We were to drive passed the 5th Mrs. Lamar Palm Reading sign, turn right and look for the third mailbox on the left painted with magnolias.
My two Aunts and my Mother joined me in the red van and we launched forth on the road to ‘one man’s trash is another man’s treasure’ hunt. Both Aunts had their doubts about anything with ‘make an offer’ as a selling point. But I had visions of splendor and the phone number of a good furniture re-upholsterer.
When we passed the 5th Mrs. Lamar Palm Reading sign and turned right, all eyes searched for the magnolias. When the road turned to gravel and ended, the Aunts had a great deal of advice and many comments about coming out without the newspaper, and thus the phone number of the seller.
We tried Mrs Lamar number 6 and 7 without any better luck. The clamoring Aunts were getting on my last nerve, so I turned into the first driveway that had a newspaper container under the mailbox. As I knocked on the back door a small, fluffy, white dog moseyed over wagging her tail, and solemnly observed me with soft, dewy eyes.
The lady of the house cracked the door, clutching her robe at the throat. When I asked if she had a newspaper she said, “No I always give it to my neighbors and they pass it on around.”
I said, “Well, if you can’t help me then you’ll just have to give me your dog.”
“Oh I couldn’t do that!” And picked up her darling protectively. “But she had two puppies and you could have one of them.”
All three of my passengers bail out to see what was going on. When the lady saw the three Vaughn Girls, she said, “I know you. I put bread on your table. We bought two pianos from J.Rigg Vaughn Piano Company, and my church bought one.”
That started a grand time of visiting between my family and the lady, Mrs. Pridemore.
By now chairs were forgotten and I was eager to see the pups.
Mrs. Pridemore led us through the pasture behind her house to a pen and dog house . On the way a young woman from next door called out to my Mother, “Mrs. Gillis, my favorite teacher.”
Turned out Melissa was Mrs. Pridemore’s daughter and had taken a class in business from my Mother at the ‘W’. Our merry band was now six and we tromped through the tall grass laughing and talking.
When they heard our approach, the two puppies tumbled over each other jumping out of their house and greeted us with happy yaps and yips.
What a sight they were. The two four- legged brothers could not have been more dissimilar to each other, or to their Mother. One puppy had long silky black fur, short legs and a luxurious tail. The other brother was solid white, with a naturally bobbed tail, long legs and short fur. The only thing they had in common was an extremely high cute factor.
Needless to say our quest for chairs was replaced by a new found deep desire for puppies. Yes, both of the brothers were swooped up and whisked away to live and play at my home in the Lee Park area of Columbus. They flourished, thrived and took over our lives. My husband did not know what to think when we drove up with two puppies rather than two chairs. But, he soon fell under their spell and romped around with them like an overgrown hound himself.
The future held many adventures for the little guys, and provided all who knew them with much fun, and on occasion some angst. How they got their names; what became their favorite treasure to bring home; who they visited on the sly; and other wild and wooly tales is fodder for future stories. Stay tuned for The Further Adventures of ….well that would be telling, now wouldn’t it?
