Friday, April 4, 2014

D is for Dogs I Have Known - KC Kendricks (2014 A to Z Blogging Challenge)

April 4, 2014

2014 A to Z Blogging Challenge
A Rural Life
Day 4

D is for Dogs I Have Known

We’ve made it to the first Friday in the 2014 A to Z Blogging Challenge! This year is all about my rural life with a little book promo tossed in at the end for good measure. Thanks for making a stop here at Between the Keys as part of your 2014 A to Z Blogging experience. 

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Only once in my life have I been without a dog. I’d lost a most beloved companion to Cushing’s disease and the thought of “replacing” him was unbearable. I suppose I took his loss harder than most because he was my companion for the seven years I lived alone. He was a pointer-hound mix, and very handsome with incredible yellow eyes that shone with bright intelligence.  In his prime, he was a muscular ninety pounds and when people asked if I was afraid of living alone, I laughed.

The dog who shares my life these days is an aging black Labrador Retriever. I got him as a pup and helped him develop every bad habit he has. In other words, he’s a bit spoiled. But he’s an excellent companion and if I had to choose between man and dog, it would be a close-run thing keeping in mind the dog doesn’t watch sports.  I grieve a little with each new gray hair on his muzzle.

Life has many seasons and looking back, each dog who has shared my life has given me their particular season. Rebel was my youth, and Reba my teenage years. Kelly saw the passing of my father and beautiful Raven with her long feathers my first home. Little Bogart taught me life is sometimes unfairly short, and poor Blackjack that some souls are so damaged that to set them free from pain and fear is the greatest gift you can give them.

I’ve loved all of them singularly for who they were, and I loved them all as Canis lupus familiaris. Each one was a unique individual as identifiable as “self” as any person. The day is coming (far too soon) when it will be time to make a home for another pup. I know while I won’t forget those dogs who came before this future bundle of joy, I’ll love the new one at least as much.

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Has a dog ever been a character in a KC Kendricks book? Yes! Check out Ranger in Kentucky 98 Proof. He’s modeled on Cal, pictured above, and the best dog I ever had.

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You didn’t really think you’d get away without 


a brief book promo, did you?

D is also for DESERT SNOW. 
What happened at the White Party was more
than he ever dreamed possible.

For more information please visit
https://kckendricks.blogspot.com/p/desert-snow-by-kc-kendricks.html


KC Kendricks

8 comments:

Anything and Everything Paranormal Blog said...

I love my doggies. I have two, and out of my life I'm only lived a few months without a dog near me. Got love 'em

Christiane France - Author said...

Our pets are our best friends and that makes losing them one of the hardest things we have to face.

KC Kendricks said...

It's all about what's best for them, not us. Cal let me know it was time for him to go and it was the hardest thing I've ever done. But it was the absolute right thing to do. He'd started to suffer and to let that continue because I didn't want to lose him would have been true cruelty.

Unknown said...

Losing a furbaby can be unbearable. We lost our Golden Retriever to cancer after 10 years and I mourned for a long time. I just couldn't get another dog because just like you, I didnt want to "replace" him.
We did eventually get another dog and this time went with a Chocolate Lab. Labs are awesome dogs too. Sadly after 5 years we lost him too. I haven't been able to get another dog since. Too painful.
I am thinking about getting cat sometimes this year. Not that I think a cat will lessen the loss but maybe it will be a different sort of companion for my busy life.
Great post and an awesome picture.

Cheers, Michelle
http://anotherlookbookreviews.blogspot.ca/

KC Kendricks said...

I'm so glad I eventually got this black Lab. He's been a joy every day he's shared my life. He taught me that a puppy cures all manner of heartbreak.

When the time comes, I won't wait past the next spring to get another pup. I don't want to have to take a puppy outside in snow. He might learn snow is c-c-cold to pee in when your puppy legs are short. That would seem counter-productive to the goal :)

Anna (herding cats-burning soup) said...

Aws what a handsome boy! Dogs are really amazing additions to the family. I don't think I've ever not had one since the day I was born! Huh. I'd never realized that. I've got a 13 and a half year old girlie now. She's a riot and totally stole my heart 11 years ago :)

Happy A to Z-ing!
~Anna
herding cats & burning soup.

Rebekah Loper said...

It's amazing how animals worm their way into your heart and refuse to leave, even long after their physical lives have ended.

I've only been without pets one time in my life - for a few months right after my husband and I married.

And I recently lost a childhood pet as well, the cat I'd had since I was 15. He succumbed to kidney failure two weeks before Christmas, and that was rough. I still cry for him a lot.

But I'm starting to feel the itch for another cat. We still have two, one (Winnie) is my husband's that we inherited from his family right after we got married, and my sister's cat (both the cat and my sister live with us).

And while Winnie is an (obnoxious) dear who is more than happy to claim me as her other 'person', it's just not quite the same, you know? She's daddy's girl, and I need another fur baby of my own!

We'll see if that fur baby ends up being a dog or a cat, though, lol. It could go either way at this point.

~Rebekah Loper
Fantastical Ponderings - The A-Zs of Worldbuilding
The Rabid Rainbow Ferret Society

KC Kendricks said...

I found my current cat when he was very young. I don't know if he wandered away from a feral mother or if someone dropped him out. It was on my birthday so of course I had to bring him home with me.