Back to the PawMark Article Menu© 2001-1998 by Ed Presnall
All Rights Reserved
As Published In The AKC Gazette
Excuse me, I’m looking for my friend. Have you seen her? I lived with her in a nice house St. Paul, Minnesota until a few months ago when she went away.
Maybe I should explain. My name is Jewel and I’m a Clumber Spaniel. No, not a Clumberland or Clumbsy Spaniel, a Clumber, the King of Dogs and the Dog of Kings! I’m a sophisticated young lady who is almost three years old.
When I was younger, everyone thought I would be a show dog. I learned how to present myself in the ring and went to a lot of dog shows with my handler. After 18 points and one major, my breeder decided that I should be bred, to help mature me, so off I went to the whelping box.
Soon after the puppies were whelped I went to live with my new friend Betty in St. Paul. She was alone and needed a friend. Her husband and first friend, a Clumber who had lived with her for ten years, had passed on. Her son Dave, a real nice guy, had purchased me to be Betty’s companion.
It was a wonderful home. I had lots of toys, a cedar filled cushion of my own (with a pheasant pictured on it!), treats for being good, treats for not being so good, and lots of brushing, petting and loving. I got to go on walks with Betty and visit with the neighbors and friends. Life was good!
Then one day, Betty went away. Dave was sad and I tried to cheer him up. Betty wasn't an old person. I knew she'd come back. I waited. Since I am a Clumber, I waited patiently. Each time the door opened, I knew Betty was coming home and I'd trot to the door to greet her. Each time, it wasn't my Betty.
One day Dave went back to work so I moved to his house. Each day I would patiently wait for Betty to come home so that we could visit her friends and play again. Dave was still very sad. He and I would go for walks when he got home from work, but it just wasn't the same.
All day I was alone in my crate and I wanted so bad for Betty to come and get me and for our lives to be like it was before. Dave was very busy at work, so we did not spend a lot of time together. I didn't like being alone all the time and when Dave went out of town on business, I had to go live in a kennel. It was not fun.
Sometimes when Dave came home, I'd bark at him -- to tell him that it was time for me to go back to his Mom's home and be with her. One night, as we sat in the floor and he brushed me, he told me that I could never go back home.
He said that Betty wasn't coming home again -- ever. He told me not to be sad, that she would wait for me at the Rainbow Bridge and someday I would see her again. Now I was sad too. I loved Betty. She was my friend and she was a good owner. She spent all day most days with me.
One night Dave sat down with me and we had a heart to heart talk. He knew it wasn't good for me to be in the house in my large crate all day. He knew I wasn't getting enough attention and exercise. He knew his lifestyle was not good for being a dog owner -- let alone a Clumber owner -- as everyone knows we Clumbers are "People Dogs" and like to be around folks. He told me that he thought the right thing to do would be to find a new home for me. A home with people who were there to play with me and give me the proper attention that a Clumber deserves.
Now while I agreed in part, I did have reservations about the whole thing. I explained to Dave as best I could, that he needed to be careful in placing me. That Clumbers require lots of care and love -- the kind his mother had given me. I must have gotten through to him.
He sat down at his computer and connected to something called the internet. On it he talked with people in Texas, Arizona and Wisconsin who all wanted to help find me a new family to live with.
He listened to what each of them had told him and decided to search for a home in the St. Paul area where he could come and check on me and visit with me to make sure the transition went smoothly and that all would go well for me. After all, I am a good, well-mannered lady.
Dave found someone who wanted me. But, as luck would have it (and at this time my luck wasn't running too good) things did not work out in the new home. They didn't realize that I took a lot of work besides a lot of love. They also realized that dog ownership takes time out of a person's day that they are used to having for other things.
So, Dave took me back to his place and we got back on the internet and started over again. The new friends we had met on the computer recommended someone who lived a few hours drive away. A place with people and other dogs where I could stay until the right home could be found. A new home, like Betty’s with a family that would commit their time and love to a Clumber. Someplace that I could go and live and have fun and be loved until it would be time for me to go and be with Betty once again.
One Sunday morning, Dave came to me and said we were going to a new home. My big crate would not fit in his small car, so we put all of my stuff in the back and I hopped into the front seat next to him. As we drove through the countryside he scratched my head and talked to me about how much better it was going to be. In a little town we met a nice lady that I was going to stay with until we found the right home. Dave was very sad and I licked his tears and tried to tell him it that everything would be ok. As Dave drove away, I watched through the window of the truck and knew we had made the right decision.
The new house and the nice lady was wonderful. Almost like Betty’s, except there were not as many treats. I guess that Betty and Dave had gone a little overboard on the treats since the vet said I was kinda robust. We started exercising, taking long walks again and playing with the other Clumbers in the house. Life was starting to be fun again.
The nice lady and all of her friends on the internet worked together to find me a new home. After a couple of weeks, several trips to the vet to clear up an ear infection, and dropping a few pounds with daily exercise, I learned that I might have a new home. It seems that a family who was looking for someone like me had also used the internet thing to find the same people that Dave had talked to.
It was with a family who lived a long ways away and I would have to fly on an airplane to get there. The trip sounded scary and Dave would not be able to stop by and see me, but everyone promised me that this family would really care for me and make me a part of their family. Since I was getting a lot more attention in my temporary home since Dave had used this internet thing to search for help, I felt better.
A few days later, we loaded up all of my things and headed for the airport. The man at the counter said it was too hot for me to fly, so we drove back home. Two days later, we made the trip again only to be told the same thing. Finally, they decided to try someting new. We got up at midnight and left for the drive to the airport at 2 am. Arriving at 4 am, yawn, it was cool enough for me to fly to my new home.
While all of the paperwork was being completed, I sat in my crate, calmly knawing on a sterilized beef bone. In a few minutes, the nice lady came up to me to say goodbye. She was crying like Dave did when I left him. I could not crawl into her lap or reach her to lick her tears away, but when she touched the crate, I could lick her hand as a Clumber thank you. Then a man came with a forklift and took me to the airplane ... and off on the next stage of my journey to meet my new family.
It was dark and very noisy on the airplane. I was a little scared but I remembered all of the people across the country who had worked so hard to find me a new home and just knew that they would not let me down. Five hours later a nice man opened my crate and said I was the most beautiful Clumber he had ever seen.
His name is Ben and I will be living with him and his wife Loren in North Carolina. They have a really neet house, a big yard and spend most of their time just playing with me. Oh yeah, I almost forgot. They have a son named Arie and we play all the time. We’re real buddies! I’m starting to settle in here and really like my new friends. It’s much hotter here than it was up north, but the air conditioner sure keeps it cool inside.
I’m going to start watching closely when Ben and Loren get on their computer and hook up to this internet thing. They will be using it to stay in touch with Dave and all of the nice people who helped us. I hope there are not more Clumbers out there looking for their friends like I was, but if they are those folks will help them too. Gee, without the internet and all of the caring people on it, I’d still be in a kennel or locked in my crate waiting on my friend to come home. Life is good, again !
© 2003-1996 - Ed Presnall - All Rights Reserved