Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Houn' Dog

Houn' Dog
Mary Calhoun ~ Roger Duvoisin ~ William Morrow, 1959


Sorry about the miss yesterday folks, but I've been nursing my sweet Sugar Dog. Unfortunately, it looks like we'll be losing him today. In honor, I thought I'd highlight another lender (thanks Thingummery) about one particular pooch with a knack for smellin' and bellin'... though Sugar was always more of a snuggler than a fox chaser.

Of all the noses and all the voices of all the dogs back in the hills, Houn' Dog was the very best. Old Houn' Dog had the sharpest smeller and the sweetest beller. With that nose of his he could smell out a coon two miles away. He could track down Old Man B'ar when B'ar hadn't been by for three days.

And when he picked up the smell of Slyfoot the Fox -- well, you could hear Houn' Dog's beller clear over in the next county.


Reading about the exploits of this spunky little hound, it reminded me of another dog memory. When I was little, my family used to vacation in Saluda, North Carolina every summer, a town somewhat famous for its annual Coon Dog Day Festival. That town was also the first place I remember being heartbroken by the loss of an animal. One summer, we picked up a sweet stray that we found on the tennis courts and aptly named Tennis Ball. He spent the whole vacation parading around town with me and my sisters and sleeping at the foot of our beds. We were so enamored with this pup, that come the final day, we decided to take him home with us. As we loaded the car, we couldn't find him anywhere. After a thorough search of town, my mother finally found him by the railroad tracks, where he'd been hit by a car. I think we cried all the way home over that dog.

He was a good one, but not as good as this one has been. Now I'm off to get some snuggle time and spend the day with proper goodbyes. I'll leave you with a quote from one of my all-time favorite books, My Dog Skip by Willie Morris.

The dog of your boyhood teaches you a great deal about friendship, and love, and death: Old Skip was my brother. They had buried him under our elm tree, they said—yet this wasn't totally true.

For he really lay buried in my heart.


Thank you, Sugar Dog, for sharing nine of the best years of my life.

Also by:
Petunia
Petunia, Beware!
The Rain Puddle
A Child's Garden of Verses
Veronica and the Birthday Present
Donkey Donkey
Petunia's Christmas
The Old Bullfrog
Petunia Takes a Trip
Our Veronica Goes to Petunia's Farm
White Snow Bright Snow
A Frog in the Well

—————

Read along on Instagram, Facebook, tumblr, Twitter and Etsy.

10 comments:

strawberryluna said...

So sorry to hear about your babydog, (((((((hugs)))))))) to you and your family. We know this feeling all too well.

It's so hard to lose our best four-pawed friends, but it's an honor that we can share our lives with their all too short ones.

Dogs are magical. xo

Lise said...

I'm so sorry about Sugar Dog. Hugs to you and your family.

Ms. said...

I too know this hound dog love, and the loss as well. Love given and garnered is the increase of love itself. My empathetic hug is passing with these words. May the passage be kind to all.

Kate said...

Sorry to hear about Sugar Dog. I can really identify with that quote from My Dog Skip - my first dog was my big sister (she was already 5 yrs old when I was born, and lived to be 16 yrs old). I learned to bark before I could talk. I missed her terribly when she died - as bitterly as if she had indeed been human.

Burgin Streetman said...

a friend of mine actually had a dog named Sister. I always thought that was the coolest name for a pet...

Michelle E. said...

I'm really sorry to hear that.

Christina said...

One of my favorite quotes is "All dogs are good dogs" (from the board book Big Dog). Sugar Dog certainly sounds like a good dog — sorry for your loss.

Melissa@Julias Bookbag said...

My lab Annabelle was the kindest dog I've ever met -- she was my best friend for 11 yrs -- pets just break your heart don't they? Such special members of the family that leave us too soon...

Becca said...

I am so sorry to hear about your Sugar Dog. Losing a fur baby is heartbreaking.
Today we had to put down our beloved old toothless purr buddy Elmer. He was old and riddled with illness and I know it was time, but it is still like a knife in my heart.
Amazing creatures, these furbabies. Awesome blessings that leave a tremendous gaping hole when they leave the fabric of our lives.
RIP Sugar Dog and RIP Elmer. Much, much loved.

john & catherine said...

So sorry--much love to your family today.

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