Skip to content

For The Love Of A Dog

Basenji Talk
  • :) While reading this story, I thought the dog could easily be a Basenji. It is worth sharing.

    GREAT DOG STORY

    Anyone who has pets will really like this. You'll like it even if you don't and you may even decide you need one!

    Mary and her husband Jim had a dog named 'Lucky.' Lucky was a real character. Whenever Mary and Jim had company come for a weekend visit they would warn their friends to not leave their luggage open because Lucky would help himself to whatever struck his fancy. Inevitably, someone would forget and something would come up missing.

    Mary or Jim would go to Lucky's toy box in the basement and there the treasure would be, amid all of Lucky's other favorite toys. Lucky always stashed his finds in his toy box and he was very particular that his toys stay in the box.

    It happened that Mary found out she had breast cancer. Something told her she was going to die of this disease… in fact, she was just sure it was fatal.

    She scheduled the double mastectomy, fear riding her shoulders. The night before she was to go to the hospital she cuddled with Lucky. A thought struck her... what would happen to Lucky? Although the three-year-old dog liked Jim, he was Mary's dog through and through. If I die, Lucky will be abandoned, Mary thought. He won't understand that I didn't want to leave him. The thought made her sadder than thinking of her own death.

    The double mastectomy was harder on Mary than her doctors had anticipated and Mary was hospitalized for over two weeks. Jim took Lucky for his evening walk faithfully, but the little dog just drooped, whining and miserable.

    Finally the day came for Mary to leave the hospital. When she arrived home, Mary was so exhausted she couldn't even make it up the steps to her bedroom. Jim made his wife comfortable on the couch and left her to nap. Lucky stood watching Mary but he didn't come to her when she called. It made Mary sad but sleep soon overcame her and she dozed.

    When Mary woke for a second she couldn't understand what was wrong. She couldn't move her head and her body felt heavy and hot. But panic soon gave way to laughter when Mary realized the problem. She was covered, literally blanketed, with every treasure Lucky owned! While she had slept, the sorrowing dog had made trip after trip to the basement bringing his beloved mistress all his favorite things in life. He had covered her with his love.

    Mary forgot about dying. Instead she and Lucky began living again, walking further and further together every day. It's been 12 years now and Mary is still cancer-free. Lucky? He still steals treasures and stashes them in his toy box but Mary remains his greatest treasure.

    Remember... live every day to the fullest. Each minute is a blessing from God. And never forget... the people who make a difference in our lives are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. They are the ones that care for us.

    If you see someone without a smile today give them one of yours! Live simply. Love seriously. Care deeply. Speak kindly.

    :)

  • How sweet. Thanks for sharing it!

  • Very touching.

  • Great story…how true those words are...thanks for sharing...

  • All teary about this..THANKS for sharing :)

Suggested Topics

  • Dog Tales

    Basenji Talk
    17
    2 Votes
    17 Posts
    6k Views
    sanjibasenjiS
    I found the transcript from the documentary. If the age part is true, the rest is not (unless there's difference between our European bred Basenjis and those in Africa): NARRATOR: Sharing the same curly-tailed trait [as the Akita] is the venerable African Basenji. DEBBYE TURNER: Basenji is the granddad of ancient dogs. However, they’re not that trainable. They will not do obedience tricks like other breeds. Come back here. And here’s an example! NARRATOR: There is something else very wolf-like about a Basenji… SOUND OF DOGS HOWLING NARRATOR: …its yodel. These breeds reveal much about how dogs may have appeared and acted after they first transitioned from pack hunters to scavengers and provide clues as to why they may have first appealed to humans. DEBBYE TURNER: You won’t see Basenjis doing tricks, but because of their closeness to their wolf ancestors, they are considered very adept hunters. Here's the video link. Basenjis mentioned 25 min. into it. https://www.pbs.org/video/dog-tales-vskr2y/
  • Need a gift for a dog lover; customized dog art ideas??

    Basenji Talk
    4
    0 Votes
    4 Posts
    4k Views
    lisastewartL
    I have had a couple stained glass made, but there is normally a 3-4 month lead time as the artists are already booked up for Xmas this yr. Most of the artists on etsy will be booked this late in the yr, I had two quilts and a needle felt made a couple yrs ago and I placed my order in June in order to guarantee Xmas delivery. If you have a nice photo, there is a company called treasure knits that does wonderful woven afghans out of a photo with about a one week turn around. I have had both afghans and pillows made from photos as xmas gifts from them and they do great work.
  • Dominance in dogs

    Basenji Talk
    3
    0 Votes
    3 Posts
    2k Views
    P
    I think you'll enjoy the magazine Fran and I can recommend it to any one who is interested particularly in holistic rearing.
  • My dog is so dumb- My dog is so smart

    Basenji Talk
    14
    0 Votes
    14 Posts
    7k Views
    J
    Hollie will hide her treats and her dog food. Her favorite hiding place is under MY pillow in the bed. She has tried to hide her entire food bowl by pushing one of her plush toys with her nose in an attempt to get the toy on top of her food bowl. Why doesn't she just use her mouth to pick it up and place it on the bowl? Silly dog!
  • Devil dog/good dog

    Basenji Talk
    6
    0 Votes
    6 Posts
    4k Views
    nobarkusN
    Yes I agree Pat, Fort Funston could get very crowded and dangerous for smaller dogs as packs of bigger dogs playing could cause injury. My 2 Basenjis were very good and stayed pretty close to me and got used to the crowds. The only problem I had there was with this lady who had an older Tri color female Basenji. It would bite my blk/wht, Nika who was 1-1/2 on the butt. A few times of that and I stayed way away from her. The problem is Nika was a very playful girl and never did anything like that. A few times of getting nipped on the butt started her doing it to other dogs and Basenjis. A Basenji would want to play and Nika would chase and give a nip and the the other dog would get mad and a fight would occur. Nobody would ever get hurt thankfully. It was rare that it would happen as I took them there for 9 years, mostly on the weekend without problem. We had a lot of fun and people loved the Basenjis! Ringo, the red/wht was a very entertaining clown when we'd go down to the beach.
  • Dog Hair…..

    Basenji Talk
    6
    0 Votes
    6 Posts
    3k Views
    nala121498N
    Yes, the tape works great, but I think I know what rubber brush you mean. My sister has a broom like that - she got it at an Equine Affair in MA one year. It works great. Gets all the hair up when she sweeps. She's got a black Aussie/Golden mix - can you say HAIR??!!! I don't think I could handle it…LOL!