Friday, November 21, 2014

KIDS & DOGS...

There’s something about kids and dogs, I think, that appeals to photographers; something that speaks of the sweetness of childhood, of unconditional love.

Here we are, my brother and I, with our first family dog. I don’t remember the photographer, but the backdrop suggests it was a formal affair, probably in Boston someplace in the late 1940s.

His name was Ferdinand, and he belonged to my mother; he was a college graduation gift from her parents in 1941.
He was named for a bull in a storybook my mother had loved—a bull who wasn’t very “bullish,” which is to say that he spent his afternoons lying down in Farmer Brown’s field sniffing the wildflowers.

My father, who was a lifelong dog lover, told us that the only reason he married our mother was to get her dog—an excellent reason to marry, he said.
          We believed him.

When I was about five years old, we moved from Boston to Portland, Maine.
Ferdinand came with us, of course, and settled in the neighborhood. We lived near a private school playground, and Ferd spent recess there every day, playing with the children: dodgeball, catch, tag; he was such a part of the community that the kids would knock on our back door to ask if he could come outside!
Summers he spent with us at our grandparents’ summer home, near a lake at the foot of Mt. Monadnock in New Hampshire, swimming, chasing squirrels and chipmunks, sleeping in our beds.
He loved car rides, walks, and Oreos.

When it came time for him to take his Last Ride, my father, teary-eyed, lured him out of the house with Oreos, one after the other, talked him down the walkway to the Ford; he lifted him into the front passenger seat, got behind the wheel and drove Ferdie away...


...it was a long, long time before we ate Oreos in my house again!

17 comments:

  1. Oh well now you have successfully brought tears to my eyes. The unconditional love of a dog. I wish I had met Ferdinand. He sounds the best sort of dog and is obviously much missed. That photo must be treasured all the more for it.

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    1. Ferd was a sweetie, Alex -- one of the best dogs my parents owned in their 55 years of marriage!

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  2. I remember that story of Ferdinand the Bull. We must have had a copy of it at some stage, but sadly not any more.

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    1. Oh, I'm grinning! You're the only person I've ever (sort of) met who knows that story...

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  3. When it has become time to put my daughter's dogs to sleep they are treated to what has been called the 'death steak'. No-one is keen on eating steak for some time afterwards, Ferdinand was a lovely dog,

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    1. Somehow, Bob, "death steak" sounds a lot more dignified than "death oreo." We all have our ploys, yes?

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    1. Thanks! I remember that dress, too -- with the smocking!

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  5. Yes, I know that story of Ferdinand the Bull. If they ever make a movie about Ferdinand the Dog, I won't go because I know how it ends. I've gotten so that I hate to cry.

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    1. Another Ferdinand veteran? We're a party of three -- you, Jo and me...

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  6. Well, we can be a party of four. I know the story of Ferdinand the Bull. We had that book & a good story it is, too! We've also had animals having to be 'put down'. It's not easy, but I don't remember having ritual 'death oreos' of 'death steak' beforehand though it sounds kind of nice - a sort of 'last supper' farewell.

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    1. Probably a good can of Alpo would do the trick; I still have trouble with Oreos, even after nearly 60 years!

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  7. Oh, my! As a dog lover this brought tears to my eyes! I too, may never eat Oreos again! Love the part about your father marrying your mother to get the dog. That's a great family story!

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    1. It is a great family story; the funniest part is that my brother and I actually believed him -- sounded perfectly logical to us!

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  8. Lovely photograph. they are all looking in the same direction, all probably responding to the "watch the birdie" command.

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    1. And I'm not sure if the photographer is trying to engage us or the dog...the dog probably had a longer attention span...

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  9. Oh dear, a two tissue post this week. It seems we all know the Ferdinand the Bull story. And wasn't there a song about The Little White Bull - boundforoz

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