Gunter's first nap after a full tummy. Gunter at the table
In Loving Memory of Gunter Grass
(1/28/87--5/28/01)
How do you say "goodbye" to a dog you've loved for over 14 years? Not easily, believe me.
In May of 1987, I stopped to look in a pet shop. One look at that sweet wire fox terrier, and I was in love. And I like to think the feeling was mutual because when the pet shop salesperson opened the crate, Gunter leaped out at me and flung his little wire fox terrier paws around my neck. I promised him I'd be back, and three days later, after begging my parents to let me have him (at 28, I was finishing up my university degree and still lived at home, so I had to beg), I showed up back at the shop with all the money from my bank account ($400.00--college students often don't have much savings), and he was mine! Whoever says money can't buy love never owned a dog like Gunter!
His first day home, he ate and ate, ran around the kitchen like a demented chicken (later like a demented "sausage on wheels") and finally settled in for a nice long nap.
Gunter's first nap after a full tummy.
Gunter at the table
Gunter and Barbara (me) Gunter looking pensive. Gunter snoozing.
Gunter snoozing in his
pajamas. Gunter racing around like a "sausage on wheels."
When I married at the age of 30, I went to live with my husband. We lived in a condo, so Gunter had to stay with my parents for one year until we moved into a house. After that nothing separated us again (me and Gunter). Gunter slept in my husband's and my bedroom, lay on the sofa with us while we watched television, and took us for walks (pulls, I should say.). He knew a number of tricks and performed them well, especially while we were eating. Gunter could yawn on command, salute with his right paw, beg--especially for food, howl when we sang (he was a critic), and do other doggy tricks such as roll-over and shake (except he didn't care to shake hands that well because his front paws were ticklish (is this a fox terrier thing or what?). He loved to eat the strangest things for a dog: carrots, iceberg lettuce hearts, tomatoes, cucumbers! Also, he could bounce really high on his back feet (like Tigger)--it was like he had springs or shock absorbers in his legs.
Gunter waiting for the mail. Gunter is disgruntled because mail doesn't arrive
on Sundays.
The Worst Decision I've Ever Had To Make