A Boy's Best Friend

The past two weeks I have been home alone working on my house some evenings and during the weekends. My family took a vacation and because I couldn't go due to lack of vacation time, I was given a list of to-do's from my lovely wife. This was my apparent birthday present, time all to myself. "But make sure you get all this done."

They left our dog, Jake, with me to keep an eye on me I'm sure. Jake would rather have gone on vacation. Every time the drill comes on or my hammer hits a nail or I fire up the tile saw, Jake is buried in his kennel trying to block out the noise I make.

Yesterday when I finally finished my daily effort I sat down on the sofa and took off my shoes. People who know me well, know that I have very beautiful feet. They are sleek and are radiant from the many pedicures that I treat them to. Okay, I am exaggerating a little. I mean a lot. My feet are not desirable even to my socks. Most people suffer just seeing them.

As I peeled off my socks the aroma must have been to much for Jake and he instantly got off his bed and ran over to sniff the delicious odor. I was going to move my feet away but decided I'd like to see his reaction if he attempted to lick the athlete's foot infested toes. I know, I know, animal cruelty. But it was only done as an experiment. Besides, surely the smell would be too much for him and he would run with his tail between his legs at the taste.

So I let him sniff. Surprisingly I felt the cold wetness of his nose on the top of my toes. And then the unimaginable. His tongue slid out and quickly lapped one of the toes. As expected, an expression of unbelief and nervousness came over him. He looked up at me and then back at the feet. Then the unexpected happened. Hungrily he began to lick. I felt his tiny tongue all over my foot. It tickled as he sought out the good stuff in between the toes.

I briefly thought about pulling my feet away but I just couldn't deny him the pleasure and it sort of felt good to me too. As I enjoyed my little foot cleaning a sense of deja vu entered my mind and I was taken back to a time as a young boy.

I was 8 years old. I was a sad little boy. I was missing my dad. My parents had divorced earlier that year and I was living in a small farm-town called Homedale, Idaho. My mom and dad had each remarried and I was living with my mom and step-dad, Vee.  We were living in a small mobile home. It was very crowded with my 4 brothers and sisters and 2 of Vee's kids.  Mom and Vee made a bedroom out of the main living room and they slept there because the bedrooms were very small and the kids were in them.

I walked home from school as I did everyday. I liked the walk because I was usually by myself and I liked catching bugs along the old railroad tracks that ran from one side of town to the other. This particular day I wasn't in much of a good mood. I really was missing my dad and wondered how long before I would see him again. He was living in Pocatello so I knew it would be a while and it wouldn't be often.

I kicked a couple of rocks and tried to hold back my tears. I walked a couple hundred feet and then out of the weeds and onto the tracks bounded a tiny little beagle puppy. He ran up to me and excitedly tried to get some attention. I bent down and played with him for a minute and my sadness disappeared.  I looked around to see if there was anyone around who had lost their puppy. He was so young. Only like 5 or 6 weeks old. There was nobody around. There were no other puppies. There was no mommy dog looking for him. He was all alone. I didn't know what to do. I knew that he wouldn't be allowed at our home. We didn't have any room and probably couldn't afford to feed him either. I played with him a little longer and then tried to say goodbye and I walked away and continued home.

The puppy did not stay behind. He was right at my heels the entire way. As I got to our place I went inside and told my mom that I had found a puppy and that he had followed me home. She came outside with me and I showed her the cute little guy. She looked him over and then said that someone must be looking for him. He's not very old so we should be able to find the owners. You can walk around the neighborhood and see if you can find his home.

So after dinner I set out around town looking for the puppy's home. I knocked on so many doors I can't remember how many. Nobody knew anything about this puppy. Nobody knew of anyone who had just had puppies. It was getting dark and I began to head home. The puppy stayed right beside me.. His little legs must have been so tired.

When I got home I got a little plate and put some leftover dinner on it and some water and put it outside for the puppy. He hungrily ate. I left him outside and went in and did my homework and went to bed.

The next morning I got ready for school and as I opened up the door I was surprised to see the little puppy on the porch. He got excited and jumped up on my pant leg. I scratched behind his ears and then set off for school. The puppy never left my side. All the way to the school. I went in the school and made sure that the puppy did not follow me in. The puppy would have to find his way somewhere else.

School was uneventful and my mind wandered a lot. I would think of my dad. I wondered how he was doing. I wondered if he missed me as much as I missed him. A couple of times, tears welled up but I was able to hold them back so other kids wouldn't notice. Finally the school bell rang and I slowly grabbed my books and headed down the halls of the school. As I exited the building, much to my surprise, the little puppy ran right to me and began to jump around my legs. I was surprised that with all those kids walking around, it was as if he didn't even notice them. He wanted to be with me.

So he followed me home again. I got home and told mom what had happened. She was surprised and probably thought I hadn't even given the dog an option. I told her that I didn't encourage the dog and that I didn't think he would still be at the school when I came out. That made sense to her. She decided we should look for his home at some of the further out homes on some of the farms. We drove around for a couple of hours and not one person claimed the puppy. We got home and I put a little more food and water out for him and then went in for the night.

Mom told me that if he was still around after school tomorrow then I could keep him. I got a big grin on my face and I gave my mom a big tight hug. She had no idea how much that meant to me.

Sure enough the next morning the puppy greeted me at the door. Even with all of my other family members coming in and out the door, he always waited for me. He followed me to the school and then like a miracle he was outside the school doors waiting for me when school got out. He followed me home and my mom saw us coming up the road. She came out and said well we better give him a name. I threw out a couple of good ones like Ribsy or Rin-Tin-Tin. I liked those because I loved reading about them in books.

Mom said, "No, I think we should name him Eagor."

"Eagor?" I questioned.

"Yes," she replied. "You are the mad scientist and he is Eagor, your faithful companion."

I liked that. He truly was my faithful companion.

Eagor and I would have many adventures for many years. I loved him so much. I'll tell more Eagor stories later, but the one that had brought on my deja vu was this. Living in Pocatello, I used to collect night crawlers and I would sell them as fish bait. This was usually done later in the day after I was done with school and my paper routes. I would be so tired. I would grab a nice tall glass of lemonade and go sit out on the back porch and enjoy the light Pocatello evening breeze. I would take my shoes off and let the air sift through my toes.

Every time I would take off my shoes and socks, Eagor would "eagerly" (no pun intended) come over and lick my feet clean. His little tongue would feel so good and he would wet them just enough that the breeze would feel like air conditioning. I look down at him and smile. Then I realize that it is not Eagor licking my feet. It's Jake. Our faithful little beagle today. A lump swells in my throat as I ponder my little Eagor following me home that day in 1978. He was my best friend. He was just what I needed at that time in my life when I was feeling sad and alone at times.

I never found out where Eagor came from. It was such a strange mystery. He was much too young to be left alone. I like to think that someone above sent him to me to ease my pain.

So Jake, I'm sorry you had to taste whatever is between my toes. But I thank you for bringing me back such a tender memory of my childhood. I think Jake would have liked Eagor. They would have been great together. And I have two feet too. One for each of them.