Dads

Greetings humans and most others,

Well, as all you humans probably know, today is Father's Day. I don't have much of a concept of that since I have no idea if I ever even had a father. However, I do see the commercials on tv, and I believe that after being bombarded with those, it must be important.

Missy Linda's dad was kind of the strong, silent type, she says. He did things that made her know that he cared about her though. Missy Linda told me that when she was about three, she got her first Sheltie-like dog. She doesn't know if he actually was a Sheltie, but he looked like one except his tail went up in a curl rather than going down. His name was Tippy because he had a white-tipped tail.

When Missy Linda was in elementary school, Tippy was hit by a car. He must have had a brain injury because he was suddenly extremely vicious to all people. Missy Linda's dad didn't do what most people probably would have done back then where they lived when something like that happened (euthanise with some kind of firearm). Instead, he put Tippy in a pen behind an old barn where Missy Linda couldn't see him and where he couldn't frighten or hurt her. He probably didn't want Missy Linda to see Tippy acting like that.

Missy Linda told me that she did not really believe that Tippy was back there so she sneaked around to take a look for herself. Well, he was there. When she went around the corner he lunged at her through the chicken wire of the pen and would have really mauled her had he not been contained! She was a little traumatized, but at least she knew her dad was actually trying to help her dog. Tippy really did get back to his normal friendly self, and he lived until Missy Linda was all grown up and married. The dog did have to live with Missy Linda's grandpa when her family moved when she was fourteen years old. He was still where she could visit him, and he probably would not have liked living in the larger town they where they had moved.

Of course, Missy Linda did not realize what a big deal it was for her dad to save her dog like that until she got older, but now she appreciates him for doing something so nice. That's what dads are for, she tells me, to take care of things that mean a lot to their little girls.

I am having trouble getting Missy Linda and Tio Kane in gear to take pictures of me with Nelson. I am working on it, though.