A dogs love story - Aaron Orosz

 

Can I tell you a story of how I met Ted? He's my dog. He's the love of my life, and I learned a lot about my dad the day we got him.

The night I first learned of Ted's abuse was when I knew we needed to do something. 

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I walked through the backdoor into the kitchen and noticed my dad, Jim, leaning in the doorway. He was staring at me. 

"Where have you been all afternoon?" he growled.

"Dad, I was with Havana," I said, looking at him. I didn't want to say where I had been. I knew he would be upset.

"No." He said sternly. "You were with him!" He quickly stood up straight and pointed his finger at me. "You lied to me. You told me that you would be studying, and you lied." 

I stood there waiting for him to continue. But he didn't; he just stared at me. I didn't know what to say. 

I shrugged. I broke the tension by rolling my eyes. "I'm sorry. I've been watching him from my room. They test him horribly." I stared tensely into nothing. "I'm worried they are going to kill him. I can't just sit back and watch his life disappear." 

"I get it," He said, interrupting me. "But he's the neighbor's dog. He's not ours. I know that they don't care for the dog. But we don't know anything about the care he's getting... Or not getting." He stopped talking and thought about what he had said. His words haunted him. His demeanor changed—his thoughts were on the dog too. 

I walked up to him. "what do you want me to do?"

"I want you to leave him alone," he said quietly.

"Well, I can't do that." I paused and thought for a second. "I won't do that."  I was not too fond of the conversation, so I walked out of the kitchen and upstairs to my room.

The following day, I woke up and looked out the window, like I always do. I expected to see the dog chained up to the barn-colored shed. But he wasn't, He was gone.

I quickly got up and dressed. I ran downstairs, grabbed my coat, and ran out the door. I knew something terrible had happened. Deep in my stomach, I knew something had happened to the dog.

Dad was standing outside staring at the next-door neighbor's yard. He was waiting. 

"What's going on?" I said, running over to my Dad.

He didn't say anything. He stared at the neighbor's porch. 

Suddenly, the front door opened, and the neighbor let his dog outside onto the porch. The dog was wet and muddy.

My shock of seeing the dog limping made me tear up. I didn't realize that they were beating him. I knew that he was being treated horribly. But, hitting him. I was outraged. I was about to run to him and save him, but my dad put his arm out. "stop!"

My tears filled my eyes. I felt helpless. 

my dad called out to the dog. "Here, boy. Come here." 

The dog's ears pricked up, and he came over to my dad. 

The neighbor, Bill, came out and noticed what was happening.

"Hey there, Jim," he said, looking at my Dad. "What can I do ya for today?"

My dad looked at the dog and back at Bill, "What do you want for him?"

Bill looked puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"I want your dog."

"you want this dog?" he said, pointing.

"Yes, I think he will be much happier with us." 

Bill looked at Jim and me. "are you serious? This dog is worthless."

My dad interrupted him. "Not to us he's not." He said, frustrated. "For many months now, we've watched you show zero love to this dog. He's chained up outside without any protection from the elements." He stopped to let that synch in. "you have two choices here. You can either give the dog to us. Or we take him from you. The choice is up to you."

The dog hobbled between us. It was almost like the dog knew what was going on.  

I knew that this wasn't going to be an easy fight. I wasn't worried about my dad. I think he's been in many battles. All though he's never told me he has been in any. People in town say he was a spitfire when he was younger. 

Bill thought for a second. "you have to drive a hard bargain, but I don't want to give up this dog. He is priceless to me. My X-wife owned him before, and he's worth a lot to keep him away from her."

My dad ignored him and knelt to the dog put his hand out, and started to pet the dog.

My thoughts started racing. What could happen here? Would Bill even give you the dog? He didn't even care about the dog.

Bill didn't like what was happening and moved toward my dad. 

My dad stood up quickly, moved the dog behind him, and stood up to Bill. 

They stood face to face for a few seconds. The tension between them was pretty intense. My Dad didn't even flinch. He was determined, and when my dad was determined, he got his way.

"Let me tell you what," Bill said, breaking the silence. "How's about I give him to you." he took a breath. "I'm feeling charitable today." Bill slowly turned around and went back to his porch. 

I quickly bent down and snatched up the dog. It wasn't easy to pick him up; he was a golden retriever, so he wasn't light.

My dad turned around. "Thanks a lot, Bill; I knew you would make the right choice."

And Like that, the conversation was over, and we made our way home. I put the dog on the front porch. I grabbed a Mattress that was made for dogs like him. It was comfortable and soft.

My dad walked past us. He bent down and petted the dog. "Good boy."

From that day on, we were a different family. We have added another member. What was I going to use to clean his wounds? I grabbed my phone and looked up first aid spray for dogs. It was an easy search. I bought a misty spray and a special cream for his chapped paws. Now that he was with us, I knew he would feel better. 

"what am I going to call you?" 

I stared at him for a second. "one of my favorite TV shows was 'How I meet your mother.' so I think I'll call you Ted."

The dog put his head up, almost in approval.

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It's been three years since that day. My thought goes back to the day we saved him. I knew it wouldn't be easy to keep Ted, but I'm glad my Dad stepped in and helped save him. Ted was the perfect member of our family. We trained him after he got better, of course. His limp slowly healed. We got him a scarf, which he took to very quickly. As soon as I put it on him, he almost smiled. It was like an identity thing. 

I'm sitting next to the Christmas tree writing this story in my journal. The snow softly falls outside. Ted is at the window staring out. Ted played in the snow today. He likes the snow.

My dad sits in his favorite lazy boy, pretending to watch football. He's slowly falling asleep. He works a lot. He's gone early in the morning and gets back late. He usually brings home dinner. I don't cook, and neither does he.

I think we have the perfect family. Well, in my opinion anyway.

Photo by Kraymer Lorig on Unsplash