MILT THOMAS

Anyone who visits my home knows we’ve really gone to the dogs. We have four of them. Big ones.  My wife and I rescue dogs, so fellow rescuers don’t think it is so unusual. Most of them rescue little dogs though.

But this is about my four dogs. If someone told me I would have four dogs some day, I would say they’re crazy. Now they say I’m crazy.

So how did this happen? First, you should know that I like to travel to faraway places. In November I will be going to Vietnam. My wife does not like to travel. My first major post-career trip was to Egypt, a gift from her on my 50^th birthday. She gave me two gifts actually. The second gift was that she wasn’t going to Egypt with me.

But this scenario has evolved and now the routine is when I take a trip, she gets a dog. It wasn’t OUR plan to do that mind you, it was her clever scheme, clever because she figured I wouldn’t complain when she has no problem with me traveling. Now that I think about it, she encourages me to travel.

So, let me tell you a little about these four dogs.

Madonna is a greyhound, rescued from the track. She had a habit of stopping in the middle of races. Madonna was put up for early adoption.

Bella is a purebred red Doberman. She had been abandoned by owners who used her for breeding purposes and when she couldn’t bear any more pups, they let her go, out by I-95. When the Humane Society picked her up, she was half her normal weight and had a bad case of heartworms . She’s fine now. Bella has a baritone bark that is scarier than any alarm system, so she’s our watchdog. Problem is she barks at the garbage disposal, blender, oven timer….

Willie is a 15-year old yellow lab mix who weighs 105 pounds. His owner since puppyhood was dying of cancer and afraid no one would want an old dog. Let’s see, I was in Ethiopia at the time. Willie is a real gentleman, a great disposition and never stops wagging his tail. Or eating.

Ebby is a 22-month old black lab mix. She wants to play around the clock, much to the frustration of the other three older dogs and us at times. We rescued her from a home where she was kept outdoors in a cage all day without water and near starvation. She is fine now, always happy and a delight to be around. She eats everything in sight, including paper, string, etc. I “clean up” the backyard every week and can always tell which deposits are hers – they look like arts and crafts projects.

So, you can see why having four dogs, whatever the ploy to get them, has not resulted in a divorce. There have been many other dogs in the past, and I’m sure there will be others in the future, but since Ebby came to us before my trip to Vietnam, I don’t expect another new arrival when I return. At least I hope not.