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- Story Listed as: True Life For Adults
- Theme: Family & Friends
- Subject: Comedy / Humor
- Published: 06/03/2022
VOFSEN
Born 1943, M, from San Jose, United StatesA Dog Gone Good Friend.
Long before I decided that uneven, multi-colored rock walls beat out four, standard everyday type walls, I lived in houses just like most everyone. I did many things like most others too. I even had pets at different times.
That brings me to the story that convinced me to never love a pet dog again. At least not the way I loved Vofsen.
It’s strange how, when you try and tell some people about any of the smart and/or funny things your dog will do… their dog will do it better. So what? Dogs do things for various reasons. Some just have a mean streak in them. Others couldn’t get mean if you bribed ‘em. The latter was Vofsen.
Vofsen could switch from happy-go-lucky, to… ‘one more step like that, and your hamburger’. The problem with that was you never knew when he was kidding. Did I say ‘kidding’? Oh, yeah. This dog had a sense of humor that would have put some comedians on alert if only he could speak. Unfortunately, he could only bark or howl. He was limited to dog-speak. But that didn’t stop him from using human comedy. Confused? I’ll explain.
We got Vofsen when he was about six weeks old. I had bent down to get a closer look at the little guy. That’s when he decided to let me know who the boss was going to be if he settled on going home with my wife and I. He pushed his little body upward in the air far enough to nip my nose. He fell back and just looked at me as if to say…”well… whatta ya gonna do about it?” Before I could react to his show of defiance my wife kneeled down to look at him. He looked up at her and fell over.
He lied there so still, I thought something serious had happened to him. Something did. He did in that moment, something I had done several years earlier. He fell in love with my wife. From that minute on I only existed if my wife was there too.
I think the following episodes may help explain Vofsen and the love he had for my family. Somewhere along the way Vofsen decided that he would be the guardian of the family.
When my daughter was still sleeping in a crib Vofsen made sure he was close by her. He somehow knew her different cries. If she did a slight cry like a moment of discomfort… no problem. If her cry was more of anguish or hungry, etc, he was there. Not sure about the cry, he would immediately grab my wife’s skirt or pant leg and pull her toward our little girl.
Of course his patience would wear thin too, on occasion. If the baby was crying because of temper or teething, Vofsen would go to the front door. This was his signal that he wanted out. If we were late getting to the front door… a price would be paid.
Once outside in the backyard ( if because of punishment) he would decide whether or not he should accept the fact that he was wrong or… its time to teach the humans a thing or two.
Sometimes that ‘thing or two’ would just be a minor mishap, like chewing the hose to death. Other times it may have been one of his other favorite-things-to-do.
Maybe it was pure luck, maybe a sixth sense, but Vofsen knew that digging up his mistress’s tulips and placing them on the door-step… well, it was fun. Then to top it off… he would bark until she came out to tell him ‘shush’. As usual, he was braced for the reaction he’d get when he saw the look on her face after seeing the tulips gasping for air, dirt, or whatever they gasp for. (If indeed, they gasp for anything.)
The mild-mannered housewife was nowhere to be found. In her place stood ‘The Mad Mistress’. The chase was on. As far as Vofsen was concerned, this was quality time with the human he loved the most. As far as my wife was concerned… let’s just say she didn’t really ‘hate’ the pup. She just didn’t like to show her feelings for him. He saw the warm feeling she had for him. He somehow knew she was hiding her feelings and was happy to know she loved him too.
This all brings me to what convinced me that their little play-acting, love-hate thing was for my benefit. Come to find out they had been planning this one devious episode for quite some time.
I had been working nights, but not getting home too late. We did not live far from my work so I usually got home around eleven o’clock. And like most people, I had to take the garbage out on the appropriate night. Well, this was the night. A night to remember even forty years later. I still sometimes think back to that night as I am doing that once-a-week thing.
I was a little later than usual that night so I tried to be extra quiet while carrying out the garbage cans. I just finished putting the last one at the curb when our porch light came on. ‘Rats’, I thought. ‘I woke up everybody when I banged that one can against the wall.’ I started to call out to my wife that everything was OK, but before I could, she gave Vofsen the ‘attack’ command. That was one command he knew very well. I know… I trained him.
Bad luck for me, I left the gate open. He started out the gate with teeth bared. A deep growl flowed out of him as if he were readying for the fight of his life. I yelled out “Vofsen, its me. Its me, you dumb dog. Heel, heel.”
The more I yelled at him to stop the faster he came at me. As he leaped toward me all I could do was brace myself for teeth. He hit my chest as though he was a three hundred pound wrestler.
I immediately felt around for teeth on my neck. What I felt was his tongue licking me. I swear I heard him laughing. I know he was laughing. As he slid down my body I saw a look in his eyes that said… Gotcha!!
Of course not everyone believes this story and I’m sorry that they don’t. Vofsen was proof to me and my family and friends that animals truly live for another day. It may sometimes seem that all they do is sleep their lives away, but Vofsen was a living example of how each animal chooses to live its life. Fortunately for my family, our Vofsen chose to have a good time and live life to the fullest.
VOFSEN(Louis M. Serra)
A Dog Gone Good Friend.
Long before I decided that uneven, multi-colored rock walls beat out four, standard everyday type walls, I lived in houses just like most everyone. I did many things like most others too. I even had pets at different times.
That brings me to the story that convinced me to never love a pet dog again. At least not the way I loved Vofsen.
It’s strange how, when you try and tell some people about any of the smart and/or funny things your dog will do… their dog will do it better. So what? Dogs do things for various reasons. Some just have a mean streak in them. Others couldn’t get mean if you bribed ‘em. The latter was Vofsen.
Vofsen could switch from happy-go-lucky, to… ‘one more step like that, and your hamburger’. The problem with that was you never knew when he was kidding. Did I say ‘kidding’? Oh, yeah. This dog had a sense of humor that would have put some comedians on alert if only he could speak. Unfortunately, he could only bark or howl. He was limited to dog-speak. But that didn’t stop him from using human comedy. Confused? I’ll explain.
We got Vofsen when he was about six weeks old. I had bent down to get a closer look at the little guy. That’s when he decided to let me know who the boss was going to be if he settled on going home with my wife and I. He pushed his little body upward in the air far enough to nip my nose. He fell back and just looked at me as if to say…”well… whatta ya gonna do about it?” Before I could react to his show of defiance my wife kneeled down to look at him. He looked up at her and fell over.
He lied there so still, I thought something serious had happened to him. Something did. He did in that moment, something I had done several years earlier. He fell in love with my wife. From that minute on I only existed if my wife was there too.
I think the following episodes may help explain Vofsen and the love he had for my family. Somewhere along the way Vofsen decided that he would be the guardian of the family.
When my daughter was still sleeping in a crib Vofsen made sure he was close by her. He somehow knew her different cries. If she did a slight cry like a moment of discomfort… no problem. If her cry was more of anguish or hungry, etc, he was there. Not sure about the cry, he would immediately grab my wife’s skirt or pant leg and pull her toward our little girl.
Of course his patience would wear thin too, on occasion. If the baby was crying because of temper or teething, Vofsen would go to the front door. This was his signal that he wanted out. If we were late getting to the front door… a price would be paid.
Once outside in the backyard ( if because of punishment) he would decide whether or not he should accept the fact that he was wrong or… its time to teach the humans a thing or two.
Sometimes that ‘thing or two’ would just be a minor mishap, like chewing the hose to death. Other times it may have been one of his other favorite-things-to-do.
Maybe it was pure luck, maybe a sixth sense, but Vofsen knew that digging up his mistress’s tulips and placing them on the door-step… well, it was fun. Then to top it off… he would bark until she came out to tell him ‘shush’. As usual, he was braced for the reaction he’d get when he saw the look on her face after seeing the tulips gasping for air, dirt, or whatever they gasp for. (If indeed, they gasp for anything.)
The mild-mannered housewife was nowhere to be found. In her place stood ‘The Mad Mistress’. The chase was on. As far as Vofsen was concerned, this was quality time with the human he loved the most. As far as my wife was concerned… let’s just say she didn’t really ‘hate’ the pup. She just didn’t like to show her feelings for him. He saw the warm feeling she had for him. He somehow knew she was hiding her feelings and was happy to know she loved him too.
This all brings me to what convinced me that their little play-acting, love-hate thing was for my benefit. Come to find out they had been planning this one devious episode for quite some time.
I had been working nights, but not getting home too late. We did not live far from my work so I usually got home around eleven o’clock. And like most people, I had to take the garbage out on the appropriate night. Well, this was the night. A night to remember even forty years later. I still sometimes think back to that night as I am doing that once-a-week thing.
I was a little later than usual that night so I tried to be extra quiet while carrying out the garbage cans. I just finished putting the last one at the curb when our porch light came on. ‘Rats’, I thought. ‘I woke up everybody when I banged that one can against the wall.’ I started to call out to my wife that everything was OK, but before I could, she gave Vofsen the ‘attack’ command. That was one command he knew very well. I know… I trained him.
Bad luck for me, I left the gate open. He started out the gate with teeth bared. A deep growl flowed out of him as if he were readying for the fight of his life. I yelled out “Vofsen, its me. Its me, you dumb dog. Heel, heel.”
The more I yelled at him to stop the faster he came at me. As he leaped toward me all I could do was brace myself for teeth. He hit my chest as though he was a three hundred pound wrestler.
I immediately felt around for teeth on my neck. What I felt was his tongue licking me. I swear I heard him laughing. I know he was laughing. As he slid down my body I saw a look in his eyes that said… Gotcha!!
Of course not everyone believes this story and I’m sorry that they don’t. Vofsen was proof to me and my family and friends that animals truly live for another day. It may sometimes seem that all they do is sleep their lives away, but Vofsen was a living example of how each animal chooses to live its life. Fortunately for my family, our Vofsen chose to have a good time and live life to the fullest.
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Shirley Smothers
09/20/2022Such a sweet story. We all have memories of our fur Babies. A great tribute to a sweet dog.
ReplyHelp Us Understand What's Happening
BEN BROWN
09/20/2022Ben Brown.
I really loved that. Very amusing. I've come to suspect that dogs choose their owners. Well done.
Help Us Understand What's Happening
Help Us Understand What's Happening
Lillian Kazmierczak
09/19/2022What a wonderful story about your dog! He sure was smart...and your wife's partner in Crime! Congratulations on short story star of the day!
ReplyHelp Us Understand What's Happening
Shelly Garrod
06/10/2022I love animal stories, especially stories about dogs and this one takes the cake, so to speak. Great story! Cute name of your special pup!
Shelly
Help Us Understand What's Happening
Martha Huett
06/07/2022That was a sweet story. And Vofsen is a really cute name. Thanks for sharing!
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COMMENTS (11)