My Best Bud

See! I do have a friend.

This was taken a while long ago at one of my son's Little League games. We found Ralph there, he had been living there for about a week off the garbage cans full of half eaten hotdogs and such. Animal Control had tried for two days to catch him, but no luck. We had a black Lab at the time that we always brought to the games, and this dog just seemed to like her, or us and kept hanging close by. One night after a game, I decided I wasn't going to come back and hear how that poor Shepard got hit by a car yesterday, so we stayed till everyone else left and the lights went out in the park. It took about an hour and a half of sitting very still to get a rope around his neck, but second it was on, his attitude was "where we going and don't leave me behind."

He was dubbed Ralph because he had a look on his face that made you think that was what he was going to do. It started out as a joke, but it stuck.

From his reactions to certain people and things we "deduced" that his previous owner was a mean woman who kept him chained and would yank his ears for punishment. It took about 4 or 5 months before he was comfortable around my wife, my boy...no problem, he could roughhouse with him and it was play, if my wife tried to play, he'd just shy away. Leashes were just tolerated at first just because that meant going someplace. If you just gave a toying tug on his ears, for almost a year, he would yelp like you'd kicked him and he'd run away. He didn't like hugs for a long time either, always leaning away from you. These have all passed now and I hope his doggie brain has forgotten them completely. You can bear hug him, yank his ears all you want and the sound of a chain means road trip/walk.

For the next six years I never went anywhere without him. I was the Manager at work so I made the rules, and my dog became the unofficial mascot. Vacations, pet friendly motels were the rule. Weekend long family gatherings, if my dog isn't welcome, I won't be there.

Ralph is about 12 years old now and when I had to change jobs four years ago, he became a house dog. He's a lot wider now, but I still see him as that stray we found in a park so many years ago.

P.S. We have another hound, two cats and a bird, and I'm sure you are eager to hear how we "acquired" these misfits.