The phrase, “A dog’s life” isn’t always a bad deal. That is, if it happens to be the dog my wife Carolyn is taking care of, then the phrase, “You lucky dog” is much more appropriate.
Carolyn Ingles in Poughkeepsie Journal Newspaper.
Click on image to enlarge.
You see, it happened like this. I got a job with IBM in Poughkeepsie, NY. At first, the only place we could afford to live was in a trailer park in Hyde Park. The accommodations were not exactly what you would call first-class. We didn’t live there very long, it seemed longer.
Oh, yes, before I forget, the newspaper picture was taken after we had moved into an apartment in Poughkeepsie. That means a couple or fifty years ago.
From the Pound to the Palace
Anyway, back to the dog. When we were in Hyde Park, we went to the pound and got a puppy. We called the dog Cindy but Carolyn had named her Cinderella, which was appropriate because she went from the pound to the palace. That is to say, once with us, Cinderella was living in tall cotton.
Something funny did happen when we took Cindy to the vet to have her spayed. After the deed was done, Carolyn said to the vet, “Does she have an incision I have to watch?” He smiled and replied, “She has an incision but you don’t have to watch it.” A vet with a sense of humor. I liked that.
Cindy was a good little dog and very gentle, which worked right well since I had two young daughters. She wasn’t real big and I think she must have been part Labrador. Cinderella quickly became a member of the family.
That old dog spent three years of her life in New York and then came with us to North Carolina and lived quite a few years longer. When it was time for old Cindy to be put down (I hate that phrase), Carolyn was the one who had to take her to the vet. As usual, I was out of town on business.
Well, that wasn’t much of a story. It’s just that I’ll always remember that little puppy and how I think of “a dog’s life”.
