The dog

Calgary, March 2021

John and Mary were an elderly couple who had it made. They had a nice house in the city, a place in Mexico to escape the harsh winters, and enough money to afford a comfortable retirement. John had been working hard all his life running his business and Mary was a good wife to him and good mother to their children. Now the children were adults, had their own families, lived in different cities and the contact with parents was scarce. John felt that he already fulfilled his family obligations, so he sold his business and was ready to enjoy the well-deserved retirement. But the new lifestyle had its drawbacks. It was boring. For Mary the retirement did not change her routine, she was doing the usual chores like before, but John had nothing to do. He had no hobbies and was missing the excitement of doing business and meeting people. He was lonely and needed something to keep him occupied.

“You have me!” Mary reminded him more than once.
“Yes, I know, and I am glad to have you, but when I had the business, I was always busy and never had enough time. Now I have too much of it.”
“You shouldn’t have sold the busines. You knew you will miss it”
“We went through that before. You yourself told me that the stress was too much for me.”
“Yes, that is true. So, what do you want to do?”
“I want to get a dog!”
“A dog? You want to replace me with a dog?
“No, I don’t want to replace you. I want you and a dog.”
“And how will a dog help?”
“I could play with it and take care of it. I certainly have enough time for that.”
“OK but count me out. You will be on your own, I am not a dog person.”

John went to a pet store and got himself a small Yorkshire Terrier. The store owner told him that those types of dogs are playful and fearless with an energetic spirit. They enjoy exercise, such as walks, playing outside, or running errands. Also, dogs have to be brushed daily and the hair in front of their face needs trimming. All that should have warned John that he was getting himself into more than what he was bargaining for, but he did not care. He felt that he found a new purpose of his life: To love his dog.

The beginning of John’s new purpose of life was somewhat rocky. When he brough his dog home, Mary’s reaction was not outright hostile, but wasn’t loving either. “What is its name?” she asked.
“It is ‘he’ and I want to call him Charlie”
“Like Charlie Chaplin? You think that he will make you laugh?”
The answer to this question came right away. As soon as John let Charlie into their living room, the dog hid under the sofa and made a small and smelly puddle right on the carpet. Mary was not amused.
“You clean it! It was your idea to have a dog.”
It was true, it was his idea. Now John had three problems all at once: He had to do something about Charlie, he had to clean the mess and also to pacify Mary. Fortunately, John did some preparations; he bought a leash, a collar, a box where Carlie will sleep and a dog food. Therefore, to solve the first problem, John dug out Charlie from under the sofa, put on his collar and leash and tied him outside. Then he washed the carpet and began negotiations with Mary.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t let Carlie run in the living room,” he apologized.
“You certainly shouldn’t. What are you going to do with it now?”
“It is ‘he’. Charlie is now part of the family.”
“Not part of my family.”
“OK, not part of your family. To answer your question: I will give Charlie some food and then I will prepare a box where he will sleep.”
“Where are you going to put the box?”
This was a tricky question. John knew that the bedroom or living room were out.
“In the corner of the basement,” he answered. That was the only place Mary would approve.

This way the first emergency was resolved, but there was more to come. Charlie demanded a lot of attention. The early morning walks, pooping in the most inconvenient places, barking every time the bell rang, fur all over the house, chewing anything and everything he could reach, all those were the undesirable side-effects of John’s new purpose of life. Nevertheless, with time those problems got sorted out and John could fully enjoy his new love. The walks in the park, playing in the backyard, laughing when Charlie was silly, all that made John happy. Even Mary reluctantly accepted Charlie as a part of the household. But John’s love for Charlie was not reciprocated. Being a dog, Charlie did not realize how good he had it. He was dreaming about running round in the fields, chasing rabbits and copulating with the like-minded females. In short, Charlie wanted his freedom.

His chance came in one cool afternoon during the fall. He was in the off-leash area of the park, running back and forth, when he saw another dog in the distance. The instincts took over and he run at full speed towards what he hoped could be his companion. The other dog also felt lonely, so the attraction was mutual. Even better, the new dog was female. Charlie was about to fulfill his dream of copulating, but the other dog’s owner violently interrupted the sex assault and Charlie fled. Now there were two options available to him: To return back to John and to the comfortable and boring household, or to run away and experience his new freedom. Charlie selected the second option. He stayed overnight in the park, but soon realized that the life of a stray dog is hard. It was cold outside, there was no breakfast waiting for him and there was nobody to play with. Charlie was about to return home when he saw another stray dog, and that gave him an idea. Maybe the other dog knows more than I do? Maybe I can learn something? As it turned out, Charlie was right. The other dog showed him how to get food from garbage, how to beg or steal it from people, where to spend nights and how to enjoy life. There were rabbits in the park, and Charlie could chase them as much as he wanted. Freedom was nice, but the memory of the old life was still in the back of his mind.

In the meantime, John was very unhappy. He searched the neighborhood, contacted the local animal shelters, posted notices at grocery stores, but there was no response. Charlie was lost. Mary felt sorry for John but deep down she was relieved that the dog was gone. The date for their annual trip to Mexico was approaching and traveling without Charlie will be way easier.

“John, we have to get ready for the trip. I have to book the tickets and send a note to the agency that we are coming,” she kept saying, but John wouldn’t listen. He was still waiting for Charlie to return. Finally, Mary had enough. “John, I am not going to spend the whole winter waiting for a dog. If you don’t want to go, I will go by myself.” And she did go.

Now John was double miserable. Charlie was lost, Mary was in Mexico and children were far away. He was passing time by walking in the malls, doing some cooking and watching TV. It was depressing. Then, one day in the evening, John overheard barking at the door and when he opened, there was Charlie. Skinny, dirty, smelly, with scars on his face, but still his beautiful Charlie. Suddenly, the gloom and doom changed into a pure, genuine joy. John washed and fed him, and then held Charlie in his arms. The feeling of happiness, of having him back, was overwhelming. Now John could take Charlie to Mexico to join Mary, but he didn’t really want to go. He felt that his new purpose of life was finally achieved.