Spanky was our doberman pincher. We bought her for $300 from some folks in the paper when Mom got spooked about crime for some reason. I must have been about 9 or 10 years old. I remember when we went to the people’s house to meet her. They were kind of stiff types. I liked Spanky immediately though. She would put her head in your lap so you could pet her.

She was afraid to bark when we got her. We took her to dog school for protection training. The instructor got her to bark by harassing and harassing her, pinching her little stubby tail until she barked in spite of herself. We “good dogged” her until she got it that it was ok. Her previous owners must have beat her up when she barked.

They must have been creeps too.. a few months after we got her, Mom took her to the vet and he found out she had heartworms. He figured the old owners must have found out and would rather sell her than spend the money to treat her. It was their loss. Spanky was a great fucking dog.

Spanky was scary looking but in reality was a total marshmallow. We always joked that if a burglar came in, she would help them out with the furniture. She hated getting a bath. But when she was done, she would tear across the yard, back and forth.

She was fun. We used to crack each other up. In our house the living room was connected to the den which was connected to the kitchen. So we spent many afternoons chasing each other around the circle and surprising each other until I was out of breath and laughing so hard I couldn’t breathe.