'Where Has My Little Dog Gone?'

 Nothing happening around here so nothing to report. Guess I will just tell an old story to all of you. Some of you seem to like my old stories. 

While we were living in Concord, Calif. on one of Elbert's tours of duty, our dog had two pups. When we left Concord, we brought one of them back east with us. Named him Smokey and that dog and our son were inseparable. 

Son Michael (center) holding Smokey when he was a pup! Concord, Cal. 

Fast forward a few years....

Elbert had retired from the Navy, we were living on a farm in Alabama and Smokey was not a young pup anymore. Michael was a senior in high school. We all were getting a few years on us. Smokey had run of the farm but he never strayed away from the house. 

Michael with Smokey who was about 3 years old. In Alabama

One Sunday when we drove up in the yard, there was no Smokey. We could not find him anywhere! We all searched and searched. Days went by, weeks went by. We had reconciled ourselves that Smokey was gone forever. 

Came in from church one day and we could see something moving about in the back of Elbert's pickup! It was Smokey. We found out later that a man that lived over a mile from us saw Smokey hobbling along, trying to go home. Somebody had shot through one of Smokey's front legs and he was struggling on the 3 good legs he had left. So, the gentleman brought him home and put him in the truck so he would be protected.

I mean we had a Reunion!! That dog got some loving, I am telling you. And, his tail would not stop wagging. We loved that dog so much that we hired a professional photographer to make his picture. 😄

Best we could figure out, someone had picked Smokey up from our yard. We lived at the dead end of a country road so they had no business there in the first place but they got our dog. We don't know where Smokey ended up but that dog was going to get home, one way or the other. And, he did. It took such courage, he must have been so hungry. But, he missed home.

Smokey lived 2 or 3 more years after that, hopping around on those three legs. But, time caught up with him. He was going blind and was in constant pain so we finally made the awful choice to have him put to sleep. 

What a sad day... 

Smokey is buried on top of the bluff overlooking Blackwater creek on our farm back in Bama. There just won't ever be another Smokey.