After we had been in Little Rock for a few months (we had bunkbeds but were working on the rest of the list), my friend Katie called. There is this amazing dog at the PetSmart dog adoption she said. You have to go see him. It was a Sunday afternoon and we had a few hours free. We put the boys (ages 2 and 5) in the car and trekked to meet this dog. He was a black dog with a white chest. He looked scared. My husband Bryan leaned in and offered his palm. This strange dog rested his head in Bryan's palm. At that point I knew we were bringing that dog home with us.
A little history on dogs and me. I grew up with a dog- always loved dogs- until I was rehearsing with a fellow acting student in Los Angeles and his dog aggressively jumped at me with teeth narrowly missing my head as his owner called him off. Since then I'd been terrified of dogs.
Cut to us putting this new dog in the back of my car. As soon as we put him in the car he poops everywhere. Of course the poor thing had been in a cage in the store for who knows how long. But this was different than taking care of my kids when they were babies. This was strange dog poop. All over my car. The kids laughed. They were delighted. Bryan said he'd clean it up as soon as we are home. He was serious. Oh boy we were keeping this dog. I could tell.
That night it was storming. Bryan left to play an indoor tennis match. The kids were in bed. I sat on our couch. The dog was in his crate. We were mutually distrustful, and if I'm honest, scared of each other. Without Bryan there as our buffer we didn't know how to treat each other. Then the electricity went out. My first insane thought was that this new dangerous animal would get out of his crate and attack the children and me. Crazy thinking I know. Of course he didn't. Maybe he would be okay; it was kind of nice having company on a stormy night.
Jackson wanted to name the dog BatmanSupermanSpidermanHero. Bryan said great idea we'll call him Hero. We named him Hero.
I remained wary. We didn't know much about this boxer/lab mix who was around six months old other than he had been abused. Didn't abused things often abuse others? Were my children safe? Someone though he looked like a pit bull. I was remembering we had two weeks to return him when my dad Mac came over. Mac, if he is anything, is safe. Aware of all dangers. He would know what to do. He blew me away when he told me what a great idea we had Hero. Such a good dog. Oh no he would never hurt us. In fact this dog would protect us. Without my dad giving me an out, I settled on keeping this abused, scared dog.
One of the best decisions ever.
Hero grew into a beautiful large'ish dog. He protected his home and people vigilantly. He would gulp down any food left on the counter but storm the door whenever the doorbell rang. He lived to bark at the UPS and postal workers. When I would sit and meditate, he would sit right next to me. We took many walks. He brought so much joy.
We interrupted his life when we brought another dog Champ home four years ago. Hero took it in stride after he was assured he would remain Alpha.
Hero's last day was fitting. We knew he had cancer but thought he would live a few more months. The day we brought him home it stormed, and the day he left our home it stormed. I came home to find him looking out the window and struggling to bark at the UPS and mail woman even as he was having trouble standing. His large brown eyes were very sweet and appreciative, as always.
He passed quickly as the storms blew through. Just the day before he had eaten a large meal and napped in the sun. He truly lived to protect his family and be adored. Humans are lucky to have animals. Thank you Hero for taking such good care of your family and for raising us.
Hero Turriff
Best Dog Ever
2/07-4/17
