You have found "ONE GOOD HOME" for YOUR small dog or puppy.
It is our desire that YOU will find one to bring into YOUR home.
" A N N O U N C E M E N T S " are found below this contact form.
Click Menu Tab, "AVAILABLE NOW ... or SOON", for all available puppies.
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND ALL NEW PUPPY OWNERS READ AND REVIEW THE INFORMATION
PROVIDED UNDER "BREEDER's BLOG", PRIOR TO TAKING A NEW PUPPY INTO YOUR HOME,
FOR YOUR PUPPY'S HEALTH, SAFETY AND SECURITY... AND ALSO FOR YOUR SANITY.
===============================================================================
It is our desire that YOU will find one to bring into YOUR home.
" A N N O U N C E M E N T S " are found below this contact form.
Click Menu Tab, "AVAILABLE NOW ... or SOON", for all available puppies.
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND ALL NEW PUPPY OWNERS READ AND REVIEW THE INFORMATION
PROVIDED UNDER "BREEDER's BLOG", PRIOR TO TAKING A NEW PUPPY INTO YOUR HOME,
FOR YOUR PUPPY'S HEALTH, SAFETY AND SECURITY... AND ALSO FOR YOUR SANITY.
===============================================================================
" A N N O U N C E M E N T S "
Phone: Landline 606-416-5413
Phone: Landline 606-416-5413
February 9, 2022: Blessed with Eleven Bichon Maltese-Shorkie puppies
(7 Males, 4 Females), born this night to 13-lb Bichon Frise dam, "Skye"
and 12-lb Maltese-Shorkie sire "David". Accepting Holding Deposits of
$300 on total price of $900 for the Females and $800 for the Males.
June Update: REDUCED...Six available: "Shawny", "Sandy", "Sunrise", "Shady" "Skylar", "Sugar".
November 22, 2021: Blessed with Four Shorkie puppies (1 Male. 3 Females), born this morning to 7-lb Shorkie dam, "Faith" and 7-lb Shorkie sire "Phriendly". Accepting Holding Deposits of $300 on total price of $1500 for FANCEE and $850 for FRANKEE and $800 for FREDDEE.
June Update: REDUCED...Two Available: "Freddee" and "Frankee"
April 29. 2021: Blessed with Three MaltiPoo/ Shorkie puppies (1 Male. 2 Females), born this morning to 7-lb Shorkie dam, "Faith" and 10-lb MaltiPoo sire "Larry". Accepting Holding Deposits of $300 on total price of $1000 for the Females and $900 for the Male.
REDUCED price... $600
Happy 1st Birthday "FRITZ".
June Update: Last One available: "Fritz".
March 15, 2020: Due to the FAKE Coronavirus Pandemic...
we will temporarily limit our Hand Delivery area to 250 miles ONE WAY.
You can still Pickup your puppies in Somerset KY, or an agreed upon location.
Thank you for understanding during this temporary situation.
September 22, 2018 ; Blessed with Four Malti Poo puppies (2 Males,
2 Females), born early morning to 10-lb, Toy Poodle dam, "Lacey" and 7-lb, Maltese sire, "Tanner". Accepting Holding Deposits of $300 on total price of $800 for the Males and $900 for the Females.
Happy 3rd Birthday, "Larry".
REDUCED price... $550.
June Update: Last one available: "Larry".
April 1, 2018: Blessed with Three SHORKIE puppies (3 Males) born this morning to 8-lb, Shih Tzu dam "Phoebe" and 6-lb, Yorkie sire "Saman".
First generation... dam "Phoebe", 100% Shih Tzu, sire "Saman", 100% Yorkie. DNA Tested. Accepting Holding deposits of $300 on total price of $650 for the Males.
Happy 4th Birthday, "Phriendly"and "Phlighty".
REDUCED price... $500
June Update: Two available: "Phriendly" and "Phlighty".
December 28, 2017: Blessed with Nine Bichon Frise puppies (7 Males, 2 Females), born today to dam "Skye" and sire "Marshall". Accepting Holding Deposits of $300 on total price of $750 Males and $850/ 900 Females.
Happy 4th Birthday, "Edward", "Harold" and "Isaac".
REDUCED price... $400 each.
June Update: Three available: "Edward", "Harold" and "Isaac".
September 30, 2017: Blessed with Five MALTI-POO puppies (2 Males, 3 Females), born early this morning to 10-lb, white Mini Poodle "Lacey" and 7-lb, sire Maltese, "Tanner". Accepting Holding deposits of $300 on total price of $800 for Males and $900 for Females.
Happy 4th Birthday, "Lyncon".
REDUCED price... $450.
June Update: Last one available: "Lyncon".
September 16, 2017: Blessed with Five MALTI-POO puppies (4 Males, 1 Female), born late this evening to black Mini Poodle "Rosie" and sire, Maltese, "Tanner". Accepting Holding deposits of $300 on total price of $800 for Males and $900 for Females.
Happy 4th Birthday, "Roman".
REDUCED price... $400.
June Update: Last one available: "Roman". .
April 11, 2017: Blessed with Four YORKIE-POO puppies (1 Male, 3 Females), born this afternoon to Toy Poodle dam, "Sadie Mae" and Yorkie sire, "Saman". Accepting Holding Deposits of $300 on total price of $800 Male and $900 Females. Happy 5th Birthday, "Sammy".
REDUCED price $400!
June Update: Last one available: "Sammy".
March 18, 2016: While doing my dog chores this morning, we received an unscheduled inspection visit from the
Animal Control Shelter of Pulaski County.
At the conclusion of their in-depth inspection,
when revealing their findings to us... they stated:
"this was the best facility they had seen in the county".
(However, we did still have one small infraction...
one dog was out of food.
We now, affectionately, call "Fo Fo" the "Gobbler". LOL)
March 23, 2013: Effective immediately...
we will no longer ship puppies air cargo or ground shipment. We will continue to hand-deliver them for a small fee.
An incident occurred this past week which made us realize that for the best interest of the puppies, (and that's what really matters), we will no longer ship our puppies. They can either be picked up in the Somerset, KY area,
or we will hand deliver them to any mutually agreeable location, (meeting place or your home), for a small fee, (about 50 cents per mile + Tolls, ONE WAY). Optionally, YOU can arrange for any shipping you desire; we will not be liable.
January 2, 2012: I am starting a BREEDER's BLOG, available here (Tab above) and in the "BLOG-o-sphere", containing pertinent information specifically related to our experiences with puppies here at ONE GOOD HOME, but important information for others as well.
March 2016... I Apologize... My Blog has been HACKED! Beyond repair...
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND ALL POTENTIAL, NEW PUPPY OWNERS...
READ AND REVIEW THE INFO PROVIDED,
PRIOR TO TAKING A NEW PUPPY INTO YOUR HOME,
FOR YOUR PUPPY'S HEALTH, SAFETY AND SECURITY...
AND FOR YOUR SANITY.
Upate
OUR SHORT STORY, longer than expected to be...
"ONE GOOD HOME" was officially started in 2011, when we found ourselves spending more time, energy and money on our dogs... than we were on ourselves. (Our adventure with dogs actually started many years prior.)
My wife and I are care-givers, by nature. She is a retired nurse and I am, well, just retired and a giving person. When both her parents moved to heaven after we cared for them in our home, throughout their final years here on earth, our lives were changed. For about four years we had been providing 24/7 care for our bed-ridden parents, with dementia among many other health issues. After legal matters were somewhat resolved and after taking a much-needed vacation for a month, we decided to pursue being foster parents to medically-challenged children. We went through the whole process of getting certified and approved, but we started getting small "road bumps" in our journey. Long story short, the Lord did NOT want us as foster parents... of children. We had no idea that we would soon be using all our medical training, care-giving skills and foster parent training... to care for dogs.
The "Introduction" started with the rescuing of an old, homeless Shih Tzu dog from the streets of a nearby town, who was in extremely pitiful condition- barely existing! We could not even determine his gender until after we took him to the groomer that day! We brought him 'back to life', with assistance from our Lord, groomer, vet and our bountiful love and care for him. Our vet stated that with all his issues... surgeries and medications could easily run us $4000-6000 or more, just to "bring him around". He would never be right/ lead a normal life. We declined, saying we would give him a good home... providing love, care and attention for as long as he survived. He was so appreciative of the love and attention he received, that he followed my wife around faithfully... everywhere she went... hence, he was named "Shadow". We still have "Shadow" to this day... without the exorbitant expenses of those surgeries from the vet... and he is doing very, very well. Thank you.
Update: May 19, 2015... "Shadow" left ONE GOOD HOME for his best forever home today... he will be greatly missed. Thanks for the years You allowed us to care for him. "Shadow" is all healed now, and no doubt... roaming the streets again... only this time, streets of gold in Dog Heaven!
Little did we know at the time, that this would be the start of our new calling in life. One dog turned into two, and then three, and some more... we couldn't resist. Everybody said "we just want a good home for our dog"... so we would take them! The "straw that broke the camel's back", however, was when the local animal shelter had a pregnant dam that was about to give birth "at any moment"... unsupervised, as they were closing for an extended weekend. We took her home under their foster program, (we didn't adopt her, we were just going to care for her over the weekend and give her back on Tuesday, with or without pups). However, my wife was so excited during the whole whelping process, that the dam and her soon to be born puppies, never went back to the animal shelter!
This really was "Chapter 1" of "One Good Home", although it did not really become official until much, much later.
We also purchased many dogs during this time... realizing that we enjoyed small breeds better than the larger ones, non-allergenic and non-shedding ones as opposed to others. We gave all our dogs everything they needed and wanted. People commenced saying that when we took in a dog, that they had gone to an "early doggy heaven", which was great for the dogs... but it was overwhelming us! After awhile, the chores and expenses involved with caring for nearly 50 dogs was taking a toll on our time, energy and pockets. The feeding, housing, transporting, vet bills, medications, parasite control, grooming, toys, snacks, etc., led us to place dogs with friends and family to reduce our chores and expenses. But not many were as committed as us to accept a dog into their environment. We tried selling some for a nominal fee, but without any success.Families were not interested in investing the time and money that it takes to raise a healthy, loving pet and they were not interested in compensating us for doing that for them. People desired small and fluffy, purebred, pedigree puppies... and they wanted them for free!!!
It was then that we started focusing on things we should have done at the onset. Things like, not taking in larger dogs (because they are stronger, heavier, and can knock you down, eat more and defecate more). And things like, what are folks likely to want as a pet, if you place them. And most importantly, what do we like, if we keep these dogs forever. Now, we didn't stop rescuing dogs, we were just better focused on what we wanted to do. An appropriate expression would be "we no longer allowed the tail to wag the dog, now the dog was wagging the tail". We placed those that we didn't desire, more quickly. As we gained more experience, connections and contacts, some of our dogs started to be purchased, some were placed around the country, two of our yellow Labrador pups are currently in training as therapy dogs.
Because my wife thoroughly enjoyed the whelping process, we decided to start breeding dogs in order to increase our income and offset our expenses.
I can hear all breeders chuckling and laughing out loud at that last comment. We soon discovered that there was a lot more to learn about being responsible breeders. We learned the "hard knocks" way, but we learned.
Fast forward to 2012, we focus our breeding efforts on Maltese, Shih Tzu, Poodles and Yorkies. And Designer Breeds: like Malti-Poos, Morkies, Shorkies, Yorki-Poos, and our favorite: Malshi's (Malti-Tzu).
January 2016 Update:ONE GOOD HOME now breeds Bichon Frise.
The Final Chapter of ONE GOOD HOME is not in the immediate future.
Are we having fun yet? Wish y'all hadn't asked...
the Final Chapter could be sooner than we think. LOL
AL NORTH
OneGoodHome@yahoo.com
(606) 416 - 5413
Last Major Revision: July 31, 2017,
Hourly Updates on Availability of puppies...
Hershey Kisses, 7 lb. Maltese Shih-Tzu
BEWARE OF DOG
Why own a dog? There's a danger you know...
You can't own just one, the craving will grow.
'Cuz they're addictive, therein lies danger...
Own a few... you'll be poorer, and stranger!
Great Dog Story: "Reggie", aka "Tank"
They told me the big black Lab’s name was Reggie,
as I looked at him lying in his pen.
The shelter was clean, no-kill, and the people really friendly.
I’d only been in the area for about six months,
everywhere I went in the small college town,
people were welcoming and open.
Everyone waves when you pass them on the street.
But something was missing as I attempted to settle in to my new life here, and I thought a dog couldn’t hurt. It would give me someone to talk to.
And I had just seen Reggie’s advertisement on the local news channel.
The shelter had said they had received numerous calls right after the ad,
but said the people who came down to see him just didn’t look like
“Lab people,”... whatever that meant. They must’ve thought I did.
But at first, I thought the shelter had misjudged me in giving me Reggie and his things, which consisted of a dog bed, bag of toys (almost all of which were tennis balls), his dishes, and a sealed letter from his previous owner.
See, Reggie and I didn’t really hit it off when we got home.
We struggled for two weeks (which is how long the shelter told me to give him to adjust to his new home). Maybe it was the fact that I was trying to adjust, too. Maybe we were too much alike.
For some reason, his stuff (except for the tennis balls --
he wouldn’t go anywhere without two stuffed in his mouth),
got tossed in with all of my other unpacked boxes.
I guess I didn’t really think he’d need all his old stuff...
that I’d get him new things once he settled in.
But it became pretty clear, real soon, that he wasn’t going to.
I tried the normal commands the shelter told me he knew,
ones like “sit” and “stay” and “come” and “heel,” and he’d follow them –
when he felt like it. He never really seemed to listen when I called his name- sure, he’d look in my direction after the fifth or sixth time I said it,
but then he’d just go back to doing whatever.
When I’d ask again, you could almost see him sigh and then grudgingly obey.
This just wasn’t going to work.
He chewed a couple of my shoes and some unpacked boxes.
I was a little too stern with him and he resented it, I could tell.
The friction got so bad that I couldn’t wait for the two weeks to be up,
and when it was, I was in full-on search mode for the shelter's phone number amid all of my unpacked stuff. I remembered leaving it on the stack of boxes in the guest room, but I also mumbled, rather cynically,
that the “darn dog probably ate it, or hid it on me.”
Finally I found it, but before I could punch up the shelter’s number,
I also found his bed and other toys from the shelter…
I tossed the bed in Reggie’s direction and he sniffed it and wagged,
some of the most enthusiasm I’d seen since bringing him home.
But then I called, “Hey, Reggie, you like that?
Come here and I’ll give you a treat.”
Instead, he sort of glanced in my direction - maybe “glared” is more accurate - and then gave a discontented sigh and flopped down…. with his back to me.
Well, that’s not going to do it either, I thought.
And I punched in the shelter phone number.
But I hung up when I saw the sealed envelope.
I had completely forgotten about that, too.
“Okay, Reggie,” I said out loud,
“let’s see if your previous owner has any advice.”
____________ _________ _________ _________
To Whoever Gets My Dog:
Well, I can’t say that I’m happy you’re reading this,
a letter I told the shelter could only be opened by Reggie’s new owner.
I’m not even happy writing it. If you’re reading this, it means I just got back from my last car ride with my Lab after dropping him off at the shelter.
He knew something was different.
I have packed up his bed and toys before and set them by the back door before a trip, but this time… it’s like he knew something was wrong.
And something is wrong… which is why I have to go to try to make it right.
So let me tell you about my Lab...
in the hopes that it may help you bond with him and he with you.
First, he loves tennis balls. The more the merrier.
Sometimes I think he’s part squirrel, the way he hordes them.
He almost always has two in his mouth, and he tries to get a third in there. Hasn’t done it yet. Doesn’t matter where you throw them,
he’ll bound after them, so be careful – really... don’t do it by any roads.
I made that mistake once, and it almost cost him dearly.
Next, commands. Maybe the shelter staff already told you,
but I’ll go over them again: "Reggie" knows the obvious ones - “sit,” “stay,” “come,” “heel.” He knows hand signals: “back” to turn around and go back when you put your hand straight up; and “over” if you put your hand out right or left. “Shake” for shaking water off, and “paw” for a high-five.
He does “down” when he feels like lying down - I bet you could work on that with him some more. He knows “ball” and “food” and “bone” and “treat” like nobody’s business.
I trained "Reggie" with small food treats.
Nothing opens his ears like little pieces of hot dog.
Feeding schedule: twice a day, once about seven in the morning, and again at six in the evening. Regular store-bought stuff; the shelter has the brand.
He’s up on his shots. Call the clinic on 9th Street and update his info with yours; they’ll make sure to send you reminders for when he’s due.
Be forewarned: "Reggie" hates the vet. Good luck getting him in the car.
I don’t know how he knows when it’s time to go to the vet, but he knows.
Finally, give him some time. I’ve never been married, so it’s only been Reggie and me for his whole life. He’s gone everywhere with me, so please include him on your daily car rides if you can.
He sits well in the backseat, and he doesn’t bark or complain.
He just loves to be around people, and me most especially.
Which means that this transition is going to be hard,
with him going to live with someone new.
And that’s why I need to share one more bit of info with you….
His name is NOT "Reggie".
I don’t know what made me do it, but when I dropped him off at the shelter, I told them his name was "Reggie". He’s a smart dog,
he’ll get used to it and will respond to it, of that I have no doubt.
But I just couldn’t bear to give them his real name.
For me to do that, it seemed so final, that handing him over to the shelter was as good as me admitting that I’d never see him again.
And if I end up coming back, getting him, and tearing up this letter,
it means everything’s fine. But if someone else is reading it, well…
well, it means that his new owner should know his real name.
It’ll help you bond with him. Who knows, maybe you’ll even notice a change in his demeanor... if he’s been giving you problems.
His real name is “Tank”.
Because that is what I drive.
Again, if you’re reading this and you’re from the area, maybe my name has been on the news. I told the shelter that they couldn’t make “Reggie” available for adoption until they received word from my company commander. See, my parents are gone, I have no siblings, no one I could’ve left Tank with… and it was my only real request of the Army upon my deployment to Iraq, that they make one phone call... to the shelter… in the “event” …
to tell them that "Tank" could be put up for adoption. Luckily, my colonel is a dog guy, too, and he knew where my platoon was headed. He said he’d do it personally. And if you’re reading this, then he made good on his word.
Well, this letter is getting downright depressing, even though, frankly,
I’m just writing it for my dog. I couldn’t imagine if I was writing it for a wife and kids and family… but still, "Tank" has been my family for the last six years, almost as long as the Army has been my family.
And now I hope and pray that you make him part of your family
and that he will adjust and come to love you the same way he loved me.
That unconditional love from a dog is what I take with me to Iraq as an inspiration to do something selfless, to protect innocent people from those who would do terrible things… and to keep those terrible people from coming over here. If I have to give up "Tank" in order to do it, I am glad to have done so. He is my example of service and of love.
I hope I honored him by my service to my country and comrades.
All right, that’s enough.
I deploy this evening and have to drop this letter off at the shelter.
I don’t think I’ll say another good-bye to "Tank", though.
I cried too much the first time. Maybe I’ll peek in on him and see if he finally got that third tennis ball in his mouth.
Good luck with "Tank". Give him a good home,
and give him an extra kiss goodnight – every night – from me.
Thank you,
Paul Mallory
____________ _________ _________ _______
I folded the letter and slipped it back in the envelope.
Sure, I had heard of Paul Mallory, everyone in town knew him,
even new people like me. Local kid, killed in Iraq a few months ago and posthumously earning the Silver Star when he gave his life to save three buddies. Flags had been at half-mast all summer.
I leaned forward in my chair and rested my elbows on my knees,
staring at the dog.
“Hey, "Tank",” I said quietly.
The dog’s head whipped up, his ears cocked and his eyes bright.
“C'meer boy.”
He was instantly on his feet, his nails clicking on the hardwood floor.
He sat in front of me, his head tilted,
searching for the name he hadn’t heard in months.
“Tank,” I whispered.
His tail swished.
I kept whispering his name, over and over, and each time,
his ears lowered, his eyes softened, and his posture relaxed as a wave of contentment just seemed to flood him. I stroked his ears,
rubbed his shoulders, buried my face into his scruff and hugged him.
“It’s me now, "Tank", just you and me. Your old pal gave you to me.”
"Tank" reached up and licked my cheek. “So whadaya say we play some ball?” His ears perked again. “Yeah? Ball? You like that? Ball?”
"Tank" tore from my hands and disappeared in the next room.
And when he came back, he had three tennis balls in his mouth.
================================================================================
Why own a dog? There's a danger you know...
You can't own just one, the craving will grow.
'Cuz they're addictive, therein lies danger...
Own a few... you'll be poorer, and stranger!
Great Dog Story: "Reggie", aka "Tank"
They told me the big black Lab’s name was Reggie,
as I looked at him lying in his pen.
The shelter was clean, no-kill, and the people really friendly.
I’d only been in the area for about six months,
everywhere I went in the small college town,
people were welcoming and open.
Everyone waves when you pass them on the street.
But something was missing as I attempted to settle in to my new life here, and I thought a dog couldn’t hurt. It would give me someone to talk to.
And I had just seen Reggie’s advertisement on the local news channel.
The shelter had said they had received numerous calls right after the ad,
but said the people who came down to see him just didn’t look like
“Lab people,”... whatever that meant. They must’ve thought I did.
But at first, I thought the shelter had misjudged me in giving me Reggie and his things, which consisted of a dog bed, bag of toys (almost all of which were tennis balls), his dishes, and a sealed letter from his previous owner.
See, Reggie and I didn’t really hit it off when we got home.
We struggled for two weeks (which is how long the shelter told me to give him to adjust to his new home). Maybe it was the fact that I was trying to adjust, too. Maybe we were too much alike.
For some reason, his stuff (except for the tennis balls --
he wouldn’t go anywhere without two stuffed in his mouth),
got tossed in with all of my other unpacked boxes.
I guess I didn’t really think he’d need all his old stuff...
that I’d get him new things once he settled in.
But it became pretty clear, real soon, that he wasn’t going to.
I tried the normal commands the shelter told me he knew,
ones like “sit” and “stay” and “come” and “heel,” and he’d follow them –
when he felt like it. He never really seemed to listen when I called his name- sure, he’d look in my direction after the fifth or sixth time I said it,
but then he’d just go back to doing whatever.
When I’d ask again, you could almost see him sigh and then grudgingly obey.
This just wasn’t going to work.
He chewed a couple of my shoes and some unpacked boxes.
I was a little too stern with him and he resented it, I could tell.
The friction got so bad that I couldn’t wait for the two weeks to be up,
and when it was, I was in full-on search mode for the shelter's phone number amid all of my unpacked stuff. I remembered leaving it on the stack of boxes in the guest room, but I also mumbled, rather cynically,
that the “darn dog probably ate it, or hid it on me.”
Finally I found it, but before I could punch up the shelter’s number,
I also found his bed and other toys from the shelter…
I tossed the bed in Reggie’s direction and he sniffed it and wagged,
some of the most enthusiasm I’d seen since bringing him home.
But then I called, “Hey, Reggie, you like that?
Come here and I’ll give you a treat.”
Instead, he sort of glanced in my direction - maybe “glared” is more accurate - and then gave a discontented sigh and flopped down…. with his back to me.
Well, that’s not going to do it either, I thought.
And I punched in the shelter phone number.
But I hung up when I saw the sealed envelope.
I had completely forgotten about that, too.
“Okay, Reggie,” I said out loud,
“let’s see if your previous owner has any advice.”
____________ _________ _________ _________
To Whoever Gets My Dog:
Well, I can’t say that I’m happy you’re reading this,
a letter I told the shelter could only be opened by Reggie’s new owner.
I’m not even happy writing it. If you’re reading this, it means I just got back from my last car ride with my Lab after dropping him off at the shelter.
He knew something was different.
I have packed up his bed and toys before and set them by the back door before a trip, but this time… it’s like he knew something was wrong.
And something is wrong… which is why I have to go to try to make it right.
So let me tell you about my Lab...
in the hopes that it may help you bond with him and he with you.
First, he loves tennis balls. The more the merrier.
Sometimes I think he’s part squirrel, the way he hordes them.
He almost always has two in his mouth, and he tries to get a third in there. Hasn’t done it yet. Doesn’t matter where you throw them,
he’ll bound after them, so be careful – really... don’t do it by any roads.
I made that mistake once, and it almost cost him dearly.
Next, commands. Maybe the shelter staff already told you,
but I’ll go over them again: "Reggie" knows the obvious ones - “sit,” “stay,” “come,” “heel.” He knows hand signals: “back” to turn around and go back when you put your hand straight up; and “over” if you put your hand out right or left. “Shake” for shaking water off, and “paw” for a high-five.
He does “down” when he feels like lying down - I bet you could work on that with him some more. He knows “ball” and “food” and “bone” and “treat” like nobody’s business.
I trained "Reggie" with small food treats.
Nothing opens his ears like little pieces of hot dog.
Feeding schedule: twice a day, once about seven in the morning, and again at six in the evening. Regular store-bought stuff; the shelter has the brand.
He’s up on his shots. Call the clinic on 9th Street and update his info with yours; they’ll make sure to send you reminders for when he’s due.
Be forewarned: "Reggie" hates the vet. Good luck getting him in the car.
I don’t know how he knows when it’s time to go to the vet, but he knows.
Finally, give him some time. I’ve never been married, so it’s only been Reggie and me for his whole life. He’s gone everywhere with me, so please include him on your daily car rides if you can.
He sits well in the backseat, and he doesn’t bark or complain.
He just loves to be around people, and me most especially.
Which means that this transition is going to be hard,
with him going to live with someone new.
And that’s why I need to share one more bit of info with you….
His name is NOT "Reggie".
I don’t know what made me do it, but when I dropped him off at the shelter, I told them his name was "Reggie". He’s a smart dog,
he’ll get used to it and will respond to it, of that I have no doubt.
But I just couldn’t bear to give them his real name.
For me to do that, it seemed so final, that handing him over to the shelter was as good as me admitting that I’d never see him again.
And if I end up coming back, getting him, and tearing up this letter,
it means everything’s fine. But if someone else is reading it, well…
well, it means that his new owner should know his real name.
It’ll help you bond with him. Who knows, maybe you’ll even notice a change in his demeanor... if he’s been giving you problems.
His real name is “Tank”.
Because that is what I drive.
Again, if you’re reading this and you’re from the area, maybe my name has been on the news. I told the shelter that they couldn’t make “Reggie” available for adoption until they received word from my company commander. See, my parents are gone, I have no siblings, no one I could’ve left Tank with… and it was my only real request of the Army upon my deployment to Iraq, that they make one phone call... to the shelter… in the “event” …
to tell them that "Tank" could be put up for adoption. Luckily, my colonel is a dog guy, too, and he knew where my platoon was headed. He said he’d do it personally. And if you’re reading this, then he made good on his word.
Well, this letter is getting downright depressing, even though, frankly,
I’m just writing it for my dog. I couldn’t imagine if I was writing it for a wife and kids and family… but still, "Tank" has been my family for the last six years, almost as long as the Army has been my family.
And now I hope and pray that you make him part of your family
and that he will adjust and come to love you the same way he loved me.
That unconditional love from a dog is what I take with me to Iraq as an inspiration to do something selfless, to protect innocent people from those who would do terrible things… and to keep those terrible people from coming over here. If I have to give up "Tank" in order to do it, I am glad to have done so. He is my example of service and of love.
I hope I honored him by my service to my country and comrades.
All right, that’s enough.
I deploy this evening and have to drop this letter off at the shelter.
I don’t think I’ll say another good-bye to "Tank", though.
I cried too much the first time. Maybe I’ll peek in on him and see if he finally got that third tennis ball in his mouth.
Good luck with "Tank". Give him a good home,
and give him an extra kiss goodnight – every night – from me.
Thank you,
Paul Mallory
____________ _________ _________ _______
I folded the letter and slipped it back in the envelope.
Sure, I had heard of Paul Mallory, everyone in town knew him,
even new people like me. Local kid, killed in Iraq a few months ago and posthumously earning the Silver Star when he gave his life to save three buddies. Flags had been at half-mast all summer.
I leaned forward in my chair and rested my elbows on my knees,
staring at the dog.
“Hey, "Tank",” I said quietly.
The dog’s head whipped up, his ears cocked and his eyes bright.
“C'meer boy.”
He was instantly on his feet, his nails clicking on the hardwood floor.
He sat in front of me, his head tilted,
searching for the name he hadn’t heard in months.
“Tank,” I whispered.
His tail swished.
I kept whispering his name, over and over, and each time,
his ears lowered, his eyes softened, and his posture relaxed as a wave of contentment just seemed to flood him. I stroked his ears,
rubbed his shoulders, buried my face into his scruff and hugged him.
“It’s me now, "Tank", just you and me. Your old pal gave you to me.”
"Tank" reached up and licked my cheek. “So whadaya say we play some ball?” His ears perked again. “Yeah? Ball? You like that? Ball?”
"Tank" tore from my hands and disappeared in the next room.
And when he came back, he had three tennis balls in his mouth.
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