I never had a dog in my life, and at the age of 64, I figured that if I were going to adopt a canine, now would be the time to do it. After all, I wasn’t getting any younger. So, after searching for weeks through the local shelters, the SPCA, and online, I finally came across a puppy that was adorable and in need of its forever home. He was in a little that was abandoned at the Bedford Humane Society in Bedford, Virginia. No information was available on his mother or father, but there were six puppies, all of varying colors, living in a foster home at Smith Mountain Lake. The vet at the BHS determined them to be a hound/Labrador mix.

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                         I adopted the dog in January 2022, and he recently turned four. His antics occur daily, and although all of the people I encounter tell me, “Oh, he’s just a puppy,” they do not understand the love-hate relationship I have with him.  In fact, since I’ve written these two paragraphs, he has eaten a paper towel out of the trash basket, chewed up the rubber bathtub drain plug, and gnawed the bristles out of a scrub brush that I used to get you know what off of my new shoes. All within the last hour. And now he is resting by my feet, sighing occasionally, and glancing at me like I am the love of his life. You see what I mean?

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                          I’ve always wanted to write a book, and being a middle school English teacher for almost 40 years, I was introduced to a lot of great literature, including some heart-warming stories about dogs, Here’s to one more.

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                          Meet Jack, a mixed Redbone Coonhound whose antics in this story are mostly true. Most of the characters’ names in this story are fantastic people I’ve met along my journey, and a lot of the places are in my hometown.

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                         Hope you enjoy. 

                         

                        JHK