Gone to the Dogs Week 11: Jack, Denny, Abner, and Dusty

Gone to the Dogs Week 11: Jack, Denny, Abner, and Dusty

Loretta Holding Puppies

Loretta grew up on a farm during times when pets stayed outside, so her memories of dogs feature outdoor dogs. Loretta only remembers getting one spanking when growing up and that was when she refused to put the cat back outside after it sneaked in the house. Needless to say, Loretta made sure the pets were outside after that!

Jack

Jack, one of the best dogs her family had when growing up; he was a good cow dog. If he heard, "Go to pasture and get the cows," Jack would take off and he'd do just that, running the cows back to the barn.

One dog was a brindle-colored bulldog mix. She had puppies several times, and Loretta has kept the picture of her holding some of the dog's puppies (above). She said that pet lived about 17 years and was a very good dog.

Denny

Tom, Loretta's husband, had a dog named Denny when he was young. Tom and Denny would go 'coon hunting and Denny would tree the 'coons. Later, Tom had several bird dogs and beagles when she and Tom lived with her parents.

Abner

The family took in several dogs over the years after moving near a railroad track. "People would just put them out by the tracks and keep going." She said they didn't ask for the dogs but would take them in. One of those dogs in particular was, in Loretta's words, "a dirty white looking thing with a skin disease." When a family member took the dog to the vet, they asked for the dog's name. "Abner" was the first name that popped out, so everyone laughed about the family's dog named Abner.

Loretta recalls a basset hound given to them by a cousin. She said it would roam around the neighborhood. Sometimes the dog would have a hard time getting his back end to follow the front end. One day Walter Brian Kluttz found the basset hound up on the railroad tracks where the dog had been hit. Loretta figured the front end got over the tracks but the dog could not move fast enough to get out of the way.

One Cocker Spaniel they had was pretty memorable too. The family decided to go camping, but the dog wanted to follow the vehicle. Tom tried to run the dog back home and thought the dog had gone back, but unfortunately, they never saw the Cocker Spaniel again.

Dusty

A neighbor, Jimmy Graham (not the commissioner of agriculture), had a rottweiler named Dusty. Loretta says that one day Johnny was walking through the woods to go over to Jimmy Graham's place and then all of a sudden he saw that big rottweiler coming toward him. He cried, "Oh no!" Jimmy heard him coming and called the dog back.

"Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it." Hebrews 13:2 (NIV)