My Best Friend

This is a story about our dog "Stormie" who has brought so much joy to our lives.

Our dog Jack  was 14 when he got sick and we had to say goodbye to him.  It left a huge hole in my heart, and after just two weeks without him, I started looking at pictures of dogs from local shelters. I looked at over 500 photos, and one tugged at my heart.  It was a 10 month old Australian Shepherd mix female dog named “Stormie.”

Stormie was at the Animal Control shelter in Overland.  This was during Covid, and they required you make an appointment to see the dog of your choice.  When I called for the appointment they directed us to ring a buzzer near the front door, and wait for them to bring Stormie outside to meet us and our other dog Tango.  They warned us that Stormie was very shy, and overwhelmed by the noise of all of the other dogs inside.  

We sat on a bench waiting for Stormie to appear.  As soon as the attendant appeared with Stormie and she saw me, my wife, and Tango, her tail wagged a mile a minute, and she strained on the leash to meet us.  

The first thing she did was exchange sniffs with Tango, then she licked him on his muzzle.  After that, she turned to each of us, and licked our hands as we petted her.  She was anything but “shy” with us.  The attendant couldn’t believe this was the same withdrawn dog that she saw when she was inside the shelter.

After a few moments we were invited to go inside with Stormie and they put us all in a small room where we got further acquainted.  I gave Stormie a quick intelligence test.  Basically, I was seeing if she knew any commands.  She did.  She sat, and came when I asked her.

We were told that she needed to be spayed, and that this would be done at the Humane Society on Mackland.  They said she would stay where she was for a day or two, and they would transport her, and we could pick her up after she’d been spayed.  We were very excited and couldn’t wait to get her.

While we waited for her I worried about getting her into the car.  I was afraid if I had to lift her I might disturb her stitches or something else.  I worried for nothing.  The day we picked her up an attendant walked her out to our car.  I opened the back door and she climbed right in.  This was a special dog.

When we got home she came right out when I opened the car door.  She had one of those dog cones around her neck to keep her from pulling out her stitches, and for the first few days we had to try to keep her from doing too much.  That was a challenge.  She was eager to play with her new older brother Tango.

Some how we got through those days of semi-restraint, and when it was okay, she followed Tango right through the dog door and the two of them immediately started chasing each other in the back yard. They would continue like that, chasing and wrestling, for years.  It filled my heart with joy to watch them having so much fun together.

I didn’t have to spend a lot of time training Stormie.  It only took a few training sessions before she knew other commands like Stay, Lay Down, and she would give me both paws on command.  She also learned to come when I whistled, or knocked on the window to get her inside.

Her favorite game after wrestling with Tango was to fetch a tennis ball.  She had so much energy.  Her personal best was 40 retrievals before she finally laid down on the grass for a little break.  

She slept in my bed each night as Jack had done.  She quickly learned to lay down on the side next to me, and every morning she waits until I turn off my sound machine, and then she comes up to the pillows next to mine, and lays down like a little human.  She puts her head on the pillow, and lets me love on her to start our day.

She’s an excellent watch dog, and no one can walk on our front porch without her alerting us with a series of loud barks.

Sadly, last year Tango died.  I wanted to immediately adopt another dog, both for myself and for Stormie, but my wife has some health issues and we’re going to have to wait for now.

I’ve had cats, and I’ve had lots of dogs in my lifetime.  Is Stormie perfect?  What dog is?  She’s chewed on furniture, gnawed holes in the drywall, used one of my sandals as a chew toy, but she’s only had one accident in the house in nearly 5 years.  She’s mostly outgrown the destruction phase and understands what’s our property, and what is hers.  She’s a great comfort dog when my wife and I are going through an illness or some stressful situation.  She’s my best friend, and I talk to her like she’s a person.

I consider dogs and cats a gift from God, especially at times like now, when there are so many upsetting things happening in the world and our country.  I believe when we all die, we’ll be reunited  in Heaven with our family and our pets.  

Somehow, that thought is reassuring to me when there’s so much hate and evil in the world we live in.  I’ll stop now.  Stormie just came into my office, and I must love on her.