Animal Tales
Frosty the dog wins the hearts of his new owners.
One day, I got a call from Casey, a friend who worked with a dog rescue agency. I had asked her to watch for a pet that fit my husband’s criteria. Eldon wanted a lap dog that didn’t shed. She said she would bring a small male dog to my office.
When I arrived, I found this cute little white Maltese dancing on his hind legs in the middle of the room with everyone standing around, enchanted. I knew in an instant this was my dog. Frosty and I bonded right away but he barely tolerated Eldon at first. Peace prevailed as long as Eldon did not come between us.
At bedtime Frosty made it clear he did not want to be away from me for a minute. When I closed the door on his carrier with the cushy pillow inside, close to my bed, he started whimpering. I talked to him in a reassuring voice, to no avail. He whimpered and yelped for hours. I tried many things over the next few weeks. Nothing worked; he wanted to sleep between Eldon and me. Fortunately, my husband is a tolerant and loving man, and Frosty won his heart and a place in our bed. Despite weighing 12 pounds, Frosty was a tiger when it came to protecting his territory (which included me). Rabbits, raccoons, deer, cats—nothing was allowed on his turf. If he heard something outside, he ran through the pet door and chased whatever dared come into his yard, barking. Usually I sauntered out to see why. But one summer day when I got to the door, I was shocked to see a huge black bear. I’d heard that if you encounter a bear, you should try to look as big as you can and make lots of noise. I am not recommending this, but that’s what I did. I stood in my doorway hollering as loud as I could for Frosty to come inside. The bear looked down at the barking little pest, looked up at me, then sauntered away. Satisfied that the bear was leaving and he had saved me, Frosty ran to my side. In time Frosty passed away, and our loss is great. Eldon and I would like another, but that little dog’s huge heart was irreplaceable.