Dog on the Roof!�

2002-07-18

On the last day I was in Michigan my cousin had a visitor to her yard. One that drove her dogs crazy. A big black lab-looking puppy. He ended up on the roof. (She lives in an earth-sheltered house; you can walk around the back and onto the roof). He hung around for several hours. He wouldn't go away and no one could catch him.

Finally he came off the roof to play with my nieces and nephew. You tell the poor pup was lonely. He was happy as all get out to have someone to play with. They named him 'Marky' within minutes. A few minutes later it was changed to 'Sparky' after the sparkelers they were playing with.

Everyone thought it was likely that he was just dumped. My uncle suggested we catch, drive ten miles away and dump him again. That earned him dirty looks from everyone else present. Not to mention a couple of pointed comments from my cousin-in-law. Finally my cousin's husband picked him up and drove around to several neighboring houses asking if anyone belonged to him or knew someone who did. No luck.

He brought him back and put him in a dog run they have next to their small equipment barn. Then he let their dogs out. They ran up the hill to the barn, barked wildly at him for a couple of minutes and then went back to their yard. Keeping a wary eye on the stranger, of course.

I told my sister that my cousin needed a new dog. Her golden retriever is getting on in years, and she has another slightly younger dog. Once the older dog goes, the younger one will need a companion. This could be just the dog. My sister agreed.

A couple of hours later I went with my folks to my aunt's house so they could take me to the airport first thing in the morning.

Yesterday afternoon I talked to my sister for the first time since getting home. She brought me up to date with what happened to Sparky. They brought him home. Her husband has always wanted a dog. He tolerates two four-year-olds and a seven-year-old with good grace.

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