Remembering HarryBoy

I’ve never understood people who don’t like having animals in their lives, dogs especially. How can you not like something that gives you unconditional love all the time? No matter how much the world pisses on you, your dog will always greet you at the door with a wagging tale. My sister had such a dog. Harry Boy passed away today, which also happens to be my husband's birthday. He was almost 12 years old which is very old for a Rhodesian Ridgeback. I remember when she got Harry Boy, it was two months before my wedding. He was a typical male Ridgeback—shy, gangly and absolutely dominated by the two female Ridgebacks she already owned. Sushi used to act like he smelled! She would actually turn up her nose when he was around. And I know she was wondering when he would be returned back to wherever he came from. Simba took to mothering him because he was so little and pathetic. He grew into a beautiful dog with a perfect ridge on his back (he even won a ribbon when he was a puppy for his ridge). He was so easy-going that my sister used to take him into the office and to houses she was showing when she was a realtor. Of all the dogs she had, Harry Boy was the only one that attached solely to her; the other two were too independent. When she was getting a divorce and moving to another home, she took Harry Boy there and sat down with him in the empty house and said, “Harry Boy, do you think we can be happy here?” They were. Harry Boy and the rest of her dogs really helped her through a really tough time. They made her little house a home and she didn’t feel so lonely because every time she walked into the house, Harry Boy and the others were waiting at the door for her. Actually they nearly bowled her over. Now I’m so glad that she has a new husband that will help her mourn Harry Boy. She also has Kaede and Freddy to help her too. I wonder if Sushi will still turn her nose up at him in doggy heaven.