A DIAMOND IN THE RUFF

“I want this dog Mom,” my 10-year old son Alex said. We were at the humane society and we were determined to get a dog.  We were both “softies” for dogs, especially labs, and this one looked sad and lonely and hungry for affection.  She was also totally adorable! Ginger (her name at that time) wasn’t barking and whining like some of the other dogs.  Alex was determined that this was the only dog we could ever take home. He climbed into her cage and wouldn’t budge.  There was another family equally interested and the man suggested that if we didn’t want her, his family did.  I wasn’t sure that she was the “right” dog for us, but in the end I trusted Alex’s wisdom.  We learned that she hadn’t had a good life up to that point, having been malnourished and left alone outside for hours at a time.  I wondered how anyone could do that to her; she was such a beautiful and gentle-looking dog.  Now, however, there are many days when I thank her original owners for caring enough about her to give her another chance for life.

Alex and I brought her home and introduced her gradually to Felix and Nipper, the cats in charge of the household.  It was a slow get-acquainted process and never really evolved the way we might have liked.  She had a real fixation for cats, but they did eventually adapt to one another, although reluctantly.  I suspect that this golden lab just had an innate intrigue about cats.

My husband Heinz thought that Ginger was a silly name; he decided to start calling her Martha.  The name grew on us after a while and we couldn’t imagine calling her anything else. 

Some of Martha’s happiest times were going to our cabin in Wisconsin, where she loved to run along the lakeshore and go for long walks on the cabin roads.  She also loved to curl up by the old fireplace and jump in the rowboat with Alex to head over to Blueberry Island.  Years ago Martha had an exciting one-night adventure on the island with Alex and his cousin Dan.  They built a roaring bonfire and took Martha along for companionship, as well as comfort and security, like a warm blanket.  Somewhere along the line she must have let them down though because they rowed back to the cabin in the middle of the night.

Some especially memorable adventures with Martha were trips to the doggie bakery in south Minneapolis.  It no longer exists, but what a haven it was for dogs and their owners!  There were scrumptious looking doggie treats in all shapes and sizes and the whole emphasis of the shop was on DOGS.  There were all kinds of dogs that came through the doors and most of them felt completely at home.  It was great fun watching the dogs and dog owners interact.  It was a very unique experience and Martha loved going there.

As the years progressed, Martha developed a tumor in her spleen and the outlook was not good.  A friend and I took her on a mini road trip to Wisconsin.  I think it was one of her best trips ever and very poignant.  It was a magical, nostalgic drive, wonderful and bittersweet.  Martha seemed very content and at peace.  I was flooded with memories of Martha at the cabin and on other trips to Wisconsin, in all seasons.  The irony was that Martha was teaching me about “being in the moment”, one I’m often reminded of to this day.

Martha died not long after that trip to Wisconsin.  She’ll always be my favorite pet because she had such a gentle, loving spirit.  Everywhere she went, she made people smile, whether riding in the car with her ears flapping out the window or her paws on the steering wheel.  My friend had taught her to bark her name in two syllables, which was hilarious.  She was always reaching in her toy box for the right toy for the moment.  She loved stuffed animals, which I had fun buying at thrift stores.  She would take the stuffing out, fling them in the air, and shake her head like crazy.  She was incredibly playful.

After Martha died, I wanted to do something special to honor her, so I developed a variety of greeting cards and called my little venture MARTHA’S BONEYARD.  It was just for fun, but always with gentle-spirited Martha in mind. 

Our son Alex is now 27, married, and a new professor with a great career ahead of him, but he still loves labs of all kinds and can’t wait to get his own.  I’m no longer in position to own a dog, but I’ll always have fond memories of that wonderful dog named Martha. She was truly a DIAMOND IN THE RUFF.