
My dog Spot died in his sleep on April 24, 2011, Easter Sunday. They say all dogs go to Heaven; he couldn't have picked a better day! He had his 15th birthday on March 23rd. And for those who are wondering, Spot was a lab/coonhound mix. His mom was a chocolate lab and I'm not exactly sure the exact breed of hound the father was.
I got Spot at the end of first grade, right before summer. I know Spot isn't the most original name for a dog, but give me a break, I was 6. I think it was actually pretty creative on my part. I considered Socks because of his four white paws, Ace because it was the name of my grandparents' dog when I was little and Buddy because that's what I called him half the time anyway, but I chose Spot because right in the middle of his forehead was a white spot.
I don't really have that many memories of our first summer together, but the memories I have will last a lifetime. The first memory I have of Spot is one in the days after he was born. (He and the rest of his brothers and sisters were born next door to our neighbor's dog.) I think there were 13 puppies in the litter, but I'm honestly not sure. What I am sure of though is that Spot was the second puppy I picked up. He snuggled right into my hands and then bit my finger. Somehow, I knew at that moment, Spot was going to be my dog.
The next memory I have of Spot was during our first summer together. I'm not sure how far into the summer it was, but it was while he was still with the rest of the litter. We were playing in the side yard and I was sitting on top of a small rock wall about 2-3 feet high. I threw an old ball or some sort of toy for him to chase, but one of his brothers got to it first. Spot never really was the confrontational type. He just turned around and looked at me and started to sprint. Once he got close, he jumped right into my outstretched arms. I hadn't moved. This puppy jumped 2 and a half feet into the air! After that, he just looked at me. Tongue out and little tail wagging, he just looked up at me, happy and curious with his brown eyes. We were the only things that mattered to each other at that moment.