Digger was 17+ years old. We got him from the pound in October of 1993, right after we moved into our house. James, my youngest son, picked him out. Technically Digger was his dog, but in the end we were all Digger's Family.
He was a funny dog, a true mutt. He was solid black with a Chow body and tail and a Lab head. His front paws were turned in like a Bulldog, but we don't know if that was a trait, a birth defect, or the result of an accident.
When we first moved in, there was a four foot privacy fence along the breezeway to the garage. Digger's dog house was against that short fence and he would jump up on top like Snoopy and lay on his belly. From that position he could watch the street and bark at the mailman, the yard crews and pretty much anyone else that came by.
He loved to chase squirrels and bark at the landscape crews or anyone else who showed up in our neighborhood. In the early years, when our subdivision was building out, we had a lot of Possums that would run the length of the street on the top rail of the privacy fence. Digger loved to run up and down the fence barking and jumping at the Possums.
One day we were all sitting in the backyard. All of a sudden Digger ran to the far corner of the yard and started barking like crazy. We were all trying to figure out what he was barking at, when all of a sudden there was a snap and a cracking sound. We watched with amazement as a rotten tree, three or four houses down, suddenly fell over. Digger heard it breaking up before we actually saw anything.
Another time, he took off across the yard chasing a squirrel that ran for the far corner and jumped up on the fence. Digger jumped right behind him and got his right front paw stuck in the V-notch at the top of the fence board. He pulled the muscles in his paw. We had to keep him inside for a couple of weeks so he could rest and would not chase squirrels!
When James was learning to drive, he and I would take Digger with us on Saturday morning to ride around and practice driving. We would always go through McDonalds and get three sausage buiscuts. One for James, one for me, and one for Digger. Digger would hop down on the floorboard to eat his, then hop back up on the seat to see where we were going.
Digger had a girlfriend, Jasmine, a yellow Lab with a touch of Charpe on her head. When James would want to bathe them, he would let the tailgate of his truck down. Both dogs would hop up there, thinking they were going for a ride. James would shut the tailgate, climb in the back and give them a bath. After they had dried, he would take them for a ride around the block as a reward.
As he got older, Digger's fur turned silver in some places and brown in others. We always said he was rusting in his old age. He developed a really bad ear infection in his left ear. The doc had to knock him out and lance his ear to drain out all of the infection. After that, his left ear would never stand up again. So along with his other personality traits, he always looked at you with one ear up and one ear down.
As Digger got worse and worse this summer, we started keeping him inside. We set up a pin with some rugs and a dog pillow, and he would lay there most of the time. Eventually he would get up, but he was moving slower and slower each time. We had our Vet check him out about a week ago. He assured us that Digger was not in pain. Much as it would have hurt us , we would have put him down if he was suffering.
Cindy's Dad, Gene, loved that old dog. He used to sit out in the backyard for hours with that old dog. Now that Digger has gone, I reckon that if there is a back porch or a patio in Heaven, then Digger's out there with Gene. And Jasmine, Bailey, Goober, Sandy, and Reville. And any other mutt that's wandering around up there.
Rest in Peace old man, you have earned it many time over.
Happy New Year everyone! While you are saluting your friends and good fortune, raise your glasses to Digger, the best dog a family could ever have.
Dave
