Just Say, "Good Dog."

I called my mom this morning and she was on her way to put Linus down. My brother Tyler was there to help her. I was unexpectedly filled with a rush of emotion. I got a little choked up as I held back my tears and told her to give him a hug for me. We got Linus when I was 16. It was the summer before my Junior year of high school. I was so excited. We had never really been a dog family. Actually we had never really been a pet family in general. We had some goldfish once that kept jumping out of the bowl and would die and then we'd replace them. "Katie" and "Kelly" they were always named. I don't know how many Kaite's and how many Kelly's we actually had. We had a dog for a couple of years when I was about 8. He was crazy and hyper and never really a part of our family. We were sad though when he ran away (actually my dad took him to the pound and didn't tell us). I still don't know how my parents sat back and let us make signs to put around the neighborhood for our runaway dog. I didn't know the truth until many years later. Then we got a floppy-eared bunny and named her Gidget. But bunnies don't really do much and their cages stink. It was different when we got Linus. He was a part of the family.
I remember when we went to pick him out of the litter. He was so friendly and the biggest one. I know that it's advised not to get the biggest and friendliest puppy in the litter, but we did anyway. We couldn't help it. We bought a dog training book called "Just Say, 'Good Dog.' " I was determined to train this little puppy. And I did. Once he mastered potty training, I taught him a couple of tricks. Sit, shake, lay down, roll over. We never could keep him out of the trash though. He would turn into a completely different dog when he got a hold of trash. It was like Jekyl and Hyde. There was no getting back what was in his mouth and we learned that it was best to just let him be. And he was never one of those dogs that would loyally stay by your side on a walk or that you could take on vacation or just sit around unleashed in the front yard. No, he was a Beagle with a weakness for new smells and following a good scent. But he was playful, smart, and a good friend. He would lay at my feet when I played the piano and doze off to sleep. And he could sit, shake hands, lay down and roll over. How cool was that?
When I went to college I kept a picture of Linus in my room. He reminded me of home. Then my mom sent me a "Pound Puppy" in a package and it looked just like Linus. Linus helped me to remember home when I was away. Linus always made you feel so welcome. Everyone felt welcome by him actually and so he had to often sit outside when we had guests. He loved a good petting from a newcomer. I would never come home from college without a very excited greeting from Linus. It was the same greeting everytime, until the last few years when he was just getting too old. Linus was still around for my three girls to meet him. They don't like dogs, but they liked Linus. I still don't know if my family was ever really a dog family. We were just a Linus family. He was a good dog.

Goodbye Linus. I know you are happy. I love you!

{Linus as a new puppy in 1996}

{Linus 2009}