A Doggie in the Window

Today is National Dog Day and I am remembering the first dog I ever owned.  When we lived in Luverne, Minnesota we had a Norwegian elkhound named Torgy.  These beautiful animals were originally bred to hunt, not elk, but moose (Scandinavian elk).  They did not attack the animals, but tracked and then worried and confined the animal until the hunters arrived.  These dogs are wonderful family animals, but you need a cool climate and acreage.  A Norwegian Elkhound considers his “yard” to be as much territory as he can cover in a day and still get back to his dog dish by nightfall.  They consider a fence to be just one more interesting puzzle to solve. 

Elkhounds look like small, square sled dogs.  Their thick, silver-gray fur has a pure white undercoat.  Like all of them, Torgy’s face, ears and paws were trimmed in black, but the best part was his tail.  Elkhound’s tails are curved tightly over the back, the white under fur making a kind of flag that bobs along when they trot.  They trot everywhere.  In fact, they are given to roam, and Torgy was better at roaming than most of his breed.           

One hot August in usually cool Minnesota, Torgy started disappearing in the morning, and he wouldn’t show up until we were getting supper on the table.  It was my job to brush Torgy every night.  Between the doggie odor and the loose fur, it was an outdoor job, so I brushed him on the kitchen porch. That’s how I knew Torgy was coming home clean.  There was no water from the creek or mud from the fishing pond.  No dust from the country roads or burrs and weeds from the woods. 

A few days later Mom put the baby in the pram and took us on a walk down town (it was only four blocks from our house to the middle of Luverne), and we walked by the Webb Fur Salon, the newest store in town, and the only one with air conditioning.

“Let’s see which fur I’m going to pick out today.”  Mom said, like always.

Mom looked in the window and stopped dead in her tracks.  Her mouth kept opening and closing but no sound came out.  There was Torgy, sound asleep at the feet of the fur draped mannequins, his nose comfortably twitching over the air conditioning vent. 

“Torgy!” Mom finally yelled as she ran into the store.  First she started toward the window to get Torgy, then she turned and ran up to Mr. Webb, the owner. 

“I am so sorry…” Mom sputtered.  

She turned and called to Torgy, “Here Torgy, come boy…”  Our dog raised his head, thumped the floor with his tail and then, having properly acknowledged his owner with due affection, put his head back down on the air conditioning vent.  I swear, if he could have talked he would have said “Come on over, this cool air is really nice.” 

Then she tried to apologize to Mr. Webb again but he held up his hand to interrupt her. 

“Your dog has been coming in since the heat wave started.” Mr. Webb explained.

“He’s been making himself at home in our window for days.  What is more, he has attracted a fair number of customers.”  Mr. Webb paused to smile at our sleeping dog.

“He looks beautiful with the furs, doesn’t he?” 

I hope each one of you have known the unconditional love of a dog.  There are a lot of them out there who need your love in return. 

Adopt, spay, neuter and keep the faith.