I had so many warm and receptive responses from Whisker’s post a few days ago, I thought I had one more to share that I would love to have a picture from that day, but I think if you use your imagination, you will get a visual impression when Whiskers went rogue and joined the ranks of the Oompa Loompa from the movie Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
Whiskers had a lot of terrier in his mixture of a schnauzer and if you know terriers, they are inherently diggers. It’s in their blood and Whiskers lived true to his heritage. Before we rescued him, he was infamous for digging out of his yard and visiting his neighbor’s Rottweiler who was huge, but that didn’t stop Whiskers. I am sure it was frustrating to his owners to have to fill in the holes only to have him dig new ones.
I think, looking back on our life with that rowdy fella, he would have made a trucker an ideal copilot as he would have jumped into any truck or car and rode. Greg and I joke about he is trying to get my Mom to take him for a ride in Heaven and if that were possible, he would tell her to speed up so his fur would blow for his “weasel” look. Or he would round up Greg’s Mom who drove like a speed demon as she definitely would get the fur blowing.
Several times in Augusta, we didn’t have a fenced in yard, we would be allowing Whiskers out to do his business in the back yard which looked like it was in the mountains with a stream flowing, Whiskers would be strolling around and it was like something came over him and off he would run. Of course, we would get all panicky and try to call him back while he so candidly looked back and seemed to laugh that he was free and off he would go. I won’t go into the many rides and tears of worry I went through only to find he had found a big girl doggie somewhere and was visiting her. One was a big Lab and one was even a chow that was chained which normally makes them unfriendly, but there was Whiskers acting the cool hand Luke and looking at us like “What?”
When we moved to Kathleen, of course Whiskers loved the adventure of riding with Mommy and seeing places he hadn’t seen and then came that big wooden fenced in yard at our new home. All the years, we lived there, and each time he went out the doggie door, he patrolled “his” yard. Squirrels had to jump and run away from him as he was the Security Guard. We thought how nice we don’t have to worry about Whiskers running off. Right, you think? Wrong!!
On one side of the back yard, the fence had a slight opening along the bottom to keep the gate from dragging. I know that rascal probably saw that light in that opening while we were at the office working and thought why not? As it is common in Georgia where we live, we have a lot of red Georgia clay so you may begin to paint a picture. I am not sure how long he had to apply his claws to that mission, but apparently he broke through and dug out. We have no clue on where he went and how long he wandered.
At some point, and this is where the lesson came in, Whiskers had a life moment. Even as much as he loved wandering and exploring, he realized he had found humans who loved him, accepted him with his seizure condition, his scruffiness, his security, and care. We loved him when he was unwanted and we gave him a home, this home he had worked to escape to see what else was to see. When we came home, sitting at the garage door, with his famous thrown out back leg was Whiskers, totally orange from the clay covering, but wanting to go inside and never to dig out again. Whiskers had learned the lesson like Dorothy in Wizard of Oz, “There’s no place like home.”
A little side note: Greg did pour concrete in the ground at the gate and that might have been more of a solution but we like to think he learned how good he had it and chose to stay home.
Home is a valuable refuge from all of the worldly noise. We have a link to our childhood home or homes even as we move away and go in different directions. Take time to make memories to share with your children and grandchildren. I try to sit with our grandchildren and share my childhood memories and their eyes show interest and yes, they ask questions and that warms my heart. Don’t let those memories get lost. Savor those Whiskers moments by sharing them.
(C) Copyright 2012-2021 Arline Miller of Sipping Cups of Inspiration with all rights and privileges reserved. Third party material is sourced to original location/author, if known, for credit reference.
