HIS EARSTramp was a mixture of Terrier and Cocker
and he came to us early in our marriage.
For several years, he would be a child to us
as well as grandchild to our parents. Tramp
would go everywhere with us -- quick trips to
the supermarket and day trips to my parents
in a nearby town.My parents gave him a stocking filled with
treats at Christmas and his other "grandmother"
would save him the soup bones. He was really
quite spoiled. When our children arrived in
1989 and 1991, he became their guardian.He loved to lay in the sun near the cradle swing
when they were first born and would come and
get us if we didn't respond quick enough when
they cried. Tramp was a wonderful companion
to me on my days off, as well as a>hearty playmate
to my husband and children. They loved to play
tug-of-war with his blanket, he seemed to love to
make them laugh.I could never take a step without him shadowing
me. On one occasion, while putting up our
Christmas tree, he decided to lay behind me as
I was decorating the tree. I didn't realize he
was there so when I turned quickly away from
the tree, I fell over him. No one was hurt, luckily,
just a little surprised. In 1997, we decided to add
a rescued kitten to our family.At a very early age, Cleokatra (a mix of
Burmese and Tabby) decided that Tramp was
hers. She would follow him around attacking his
tail and stealing his spot of sunlight on the floor
-- he would always give it up for her too. On
the other hand, Tramp acted as though he couldn't
be bothered with her. Little did we know how
much that would change.Being up in years, 14 to be exact, Tramp was
beginning to lose things, particularly his hearing.
He was becoming deaf. On one particular evening,
as we were going to bed, my husband and I called
for Tramp to come upstairs to bed. We could see
him at the base of the stairs, but he didn't
respond.At that moment, Cleo looked at us and talked,
as if to say, "should I get him?" She has never
really meowed like a cat -- she speaks more like
the Burmese in her. I said, "Go downstairs and
get your brother." She promptly ran down the
stairs and nudged him all the way back up.
That was the first of many occasions where
she acted as his "ears."As the days and months progressed, Tramp lost
the sound of the doorbell as well, so Cleo began
to race to the door for him. She seemed to
know that he could no longer greet the incoming
guests as he used to. But she always stepped
aside when he got there.Tramp is gone now and Cleo has taken up his
sentry position at the front door. I know she
misses him terribly, for days after she would
go to the back door waiting for him to come in,
or look past us when we came in, to see if she
could find him behind us.At night she would wander the rooms, crying,
looking for him. He was more than a dog to us --
he was our companion and she was his "ears."~~Andi P.~~
Winona, thanks for sharing this story with me.
