What?

This issue is just a list, in more-or-less reverse chronological order, of the dogs I’ve lived with. As I’ve mentioned, I’ll never understand photography, and one of the things I don’t understand about it is that I can’t find a single photo of any of them except Hayley, the dog who’s looking at me right now. So the other photos are standins, but that’s what they all looked like. Spot and Chloe, in particular, looked exactly like that. One thing that might be ususual; except for Spot, they all came complete with names. Well, we might have named Millie; I don’t recall for sure.

I’ve also “lived with” a couple of other dogs but they weren’t my dogs. When I was very young, maybe 3 or 4, my grandmother had a pug named Trina. I only vaguely remember Trina, but I’m pretty sure she didn’t like me. And then there was Oats the poodle. He was named Oats because as a puppy he was the biggest in the litter and was weaned on oatmeal — which he loved so much he never left any for his brothers and sisters. Oats was really my brother’s dog. He was a purebred poodle and even had an official French AKC name: Monsieur Avoine (“Mister Oats”).

Hayley

Hayley was our neighbors’ puppy until they had to move someplace that didn’t accept dogs. We agreed to look after her for a week or so, but by then couldn’t let her go. That grin is authentic and unretouched. She is also known as The Little Bark Machine, but argues convincingly that her nickname really ought to be The Big Bark Machine.

Chloe

Chloe was the only (apparently) purebred dog on the list. She came from a shelter in New Hampshire. She did not have a reasonable sense of scale; I’m pretty sure she thought of herself as much bigger than she really was.

Zack

Zack came from the same shelter as Chloe, at about the same time. He was the kindest, gentlest dog on the list. This saved him (and me) on at least two occasions when we were out for a walk and met local skunks. Zack immediately made friends with them and touched noses, and they went on their way without spraying either of us.

Cricket

Cricket was born in California, and moved with us across the country. She was very, very clever, and generally bossed around the other two dogs of that era, Chloe and Zack.

Millie

Millie was born in California, and lived with Cricket. She also traveled with us across the country, but was older and only lived about a year after the move. She was the smartest dog of the bunch, and very motherly. She took a dim view of our parenting abilities and appointed herself the official caretaker of our daughter, patiently explaining to us the many things she thought we were doing wrong.Spot

Spot was the first dog I ever had, when I was about 8 or 10 or something like that. He came from a shelter in Connecticut, and I have to say that while he may have been pretty smart, he didn’t always use his powers for good. I took him to obedience classes but he was much stronger than me and was never a good listener. He was also the biggest food burglar of any dog on the list.