In memory of Dutch

by Greg
(Marshall, Texas)

My wife died in 2000, and Dutch was born a week later. He was black, with a very small white cross on his chest. I was overwhelmed with loneliness when I picked him up. He was just 5 weeks old. My brother-in-law went with me to pick him up in another town...what a guy.

Dutch and I slept together every night, and we had so much fun playing together. He was always tenacious playing, so I got a pair of thick welder's gloves (the first pair of many). I always used just the left glove, so if anybody needs a bunch of right hand welder's gloves.....Anyway, I had some pretty cool squeak characters that I would hold in my left hand. They would jump up on my leg, make a few squeaks, and then hide behind my leg again. Our favorite was a Mexican bandit with a big sombrerro that would lift up when sqeezed.

Needless to say, whenever Dutch saw me pick up the welder's glove, he'd run to the bedroom, jump up on the bed, and start growling and barking for me to hurry up and get there. I could write a book about Dutch and the good times we had together, but suffice it to say that Dutch passed away 11-4-2011. He was 11 years old.

Thank you, Dutch.

MEG: WHAT A CHARACTER! WOULD LOVE TO SEE A PHOTO OF HIM GREG