Dukiebird

Dukiebird was our 3rd. dog. First was Cleopatra Floppyears Brennan the beagle. Then there was Ringo. Ringo was a stray that my parents stopped and picked up beside the road one cold and rainy night. Later Ringo had puppies. We had given all of them but one away when she was hit by a car and met a tragic end. We kept Dukiebird.

We loved Dukiebird but it turned out he was a mean dog. He wasn't mean to his family though. (us) One time he cornered Jeff on the gym set. He couldn't come down to mow our grass until somebody put Dukiebird up.

As kids we couldn't understand why we couldn't have a mean dog. Especially if he wasn't mean to us. Poor Dawn. She was the little girl next door. Apparently Dukiebird jumped up on her and scratched her one day. This prompted my mom to take Dukiebird and give him to a man on the other side of town - way, way out in the country. We blamed Dawn for this and made her life unmerciful for awhile. Least ways until her Daddy died in the mines. Then we let up on her.

We missed Dukiebird so badly that my mom went back and got him after a couple of weeks. We were some happy, cheering kids in the car that day. It didn't last long though. Dukiebird committed his third strike and was banished from our happy home forever. I was left with a lifelong affinity for bad dogs (and men?) after that. I still love a mutt with medium length fur that is black with tan trim.

That's what Chico looked like. Chico was a bad dog too. Fortunately he liked me and when he became too much to take his owners gave him to me. One time my brother and I were having a dispute over a car. I knew he was going to try to repossess it in the middle of the night, so I chained Chico to the bumper. My brother may do a lot of things but one thing he would never do is harm a dog. That night I heard my dogs go nuts. There were footprints in the snow leading up to the car. They ended at the point where Chico's chain started.

That was one time I foiled one of my brother's sinister plots.