Animal Tales
Bumper delighted his adopted family with his attitude of gratitude.
When a family rescues a cocker spaniel, he brings joy to their lives.
The story was on the news: Almost 300 dogs, cats and birds had been rescued from a hoarder. My co-worker suggested that I go see the dogs, which were taken to the Tails Humane Society in DeKalb, Illinois. I resisted at first because I knew I’d want to help them all. But I couldn’t stay away.
In one cage, a freckled cocker spaniel inched forward, and I scratched his chin. As he wagged his tail, a volunteer said, “He hasn’t shown any signs of being happy until now! Do you want to walk him?” We already had a cocker spaniel, Maggie, at home, so I declined. But I left my name and number in the “Dog 28” file, saying that I might be interested when adoptions were open.
Long story short, that’s how the pitiful, shivering, underweight yet beautiful “Dog 28” became part of our household. Having grown up in a crate, he wasn’t used to being out and about and was quite clumsy. He’d get excited, start running, and crash into the furniture. My wife, Sandy, named him Bumper.
Eventually, he would sneak out of the crate, grab one of Maggie’s toys and run back, on guard. Soon he had all her toys in his crate, leaving little room for him!
When Bumper sat with me on the bench in the backyard, he’d watch the birds, sniff the air and lick my face periodically as if to say, “Thanks for rescuing me. I won’t be a burden. I’ll be a good boy.” He never needed much, just a bed to sleep in and a chin scratch once in a while.
One night the phone rang and I let the answering machine get it. When the recording started, I heard a low moaning sound. I turned and asked Sandy, who was laughing, “What is that noise?” She said, “It’s Bumper howling at the answering machine.” He howled every time from then on. Later, he didn’t even wait for the machine. He’d just start howling on the second ring.
After Maggie passed away we got a new spaniel puppy, Sadie. Bumper let Sadie roll all over him and was always gentle with her.
In late 2014, we noticed Bumper couldn’t seem to see a treat placed right in front of him. We learned that dogs, like people, can become farsighted as they age.
By 2015, Bumper was totally blind. I was devastated. But the vet assured me that blind dogs cope very well, as they rely more on scent and hearing to make their way in this world. He was right.
In late 2017, Bumper’s annual checkup went fine. But four days later, Bumper passed away. To the end, he was always a good boy.
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