Dogs of my Life

.....I have had a four-legged friend of the dog kind in my life for as along as I can remember. The only exception to that were the three years I spent in the army oif Uncle Sam. Then, I would look of the window at the large Belgum hares on the lawn in Germany and long for my loving friend. Since then, I have had a constant companion. I am going to try to list as many of dogs of my life. I wrote a little unpublished novel about these dogs concerning their "after life."

.....The first two dogs that I remember were Babe and Spot. Babe was a very old collie that was the family friend. I was two young to build large ties with her. But, when she died of cancer, it was very hard on my father. A lot of pups today probably sitll carry her blood line.

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.....This is Spot with my sister Imelda.

.....The second of these had the common name of "Spot." He was part bull dog and part fox terrier. He was very pugnatious. If he got into a fight, he would never quit. He was never on a lesh and would always guard the King home at night. I think that he was killed by one of the neighbors because he would fight their dog. But, I don't have proof of this.

.....In between these two dogs was a ill-fated little beagle named Bobby. He was hit by a car and never was the same. His end is so unsavory that I would rather not talk about it. When I became a teenager, my first normal beagle came into my life. She was called "Pokey," and was named after the bassett hound on Lassie. She was not the picture perfect looking beagle, but she was a good hunter. Many a evening, after school, I would pick up my mossberg shotgun, call Poke, and we would go back on the hill hunting. When it got dark, I would never have to call her. She would miss me and come running. After we moved to Camp Ann Baileym I joined the Army. I was sent to Germany. One day mom wrote me and told me the sad news that Pokey had died while having pups. She had encountered a groundhog that looked like it had the mange. She caught the mange from the groundhog and nearly died. But, she was too weak to have pups. We had hunted many a rabbit together.

.....Not long before I came home from Germany, my sister Betty had given Dad a beautiful beagle with the classic Beagle looks. Of course, my mother had called her Pokey, She became my dog because Dad died from cancer about a year after I came home. Pokey II was a great hunter. But, after she got older she got a little sneaky. She would rather lie by the fire. So, after pretending that she was going to have a great day of hunting, she would slip around the hill and go back to the house. That beautiful dog was another cancer victem.

.....After Pokey came, you guessed it, Pokey III. But, Pokey III was more of a harrier which is like a taller beagle. Although she was a decent hunter, what distinguished this dog was the fantastic litter of pups she produced. This litter was born on the farm at Sixteenmile. When we moved to Caldwell, I had five good beagles. But, they were not too well received by my in-laws.

.....Since my daughter was always bringing in strays, there began a parade of dogs. Some were special and some were not. But, I always took good care of all of them. Two came of their own free will.
.....The first of these was a little dog they called Rusty. He had wire hair and could never stay warm. So, there was not way that he could stay outside. Often he was curled up under my shirt. Cancer got him too.
.....The second of these was the one I called "Granny Chow."

......She came wandering down over the hill without a tooth in her head. I guess someone had dropped her off. She wandered around like a zombie unless she saw a cat. Then, if that cat didn't get gone quick, she would gum it to death. Although, I didn't want to, I had to tie her up. As soon as I hooked the chain to her collar, she was a different dog. She was no longer a Zombie. She thought, "Now I belong!" And whe was happy although I had to keep her on a huge chain to keep her from murdering all of Carolyn's cats. Although she was old when she came, she lived quite a few more years.

.....There was Baby, Jaeger, Blondie, Buck, Sis. Old Yeller, China Bear, and the twins with the muppet names.

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.....This is Elmo and Grover with their mother China Bear. Elmo lived to be more that 23 years old.

.....Then there is Molly, Kit, Caboodle, Sally, Buzz Lightyear, Elias Stone who is Jasper's pup. Now, these dogs were not hear at the same time of course but have been over a 34 year period.. And, there was Mushey.

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Mushey died today at the of 14 of, you guessed it, that old breast cancer. It is her death that has sparked this page. It has been a sad day becuase she was true to me.

..... There is alos Gilbert. Quite a few of these dogs were featured in the little novel. There are some folks who say they love dogs, but I think that they would really rather stamp them out through regulations.
.....There were two more beagles. One was a fantastic girl dog who loved to hunt. But, after she got to be an old dog, she got loose, went hunting, and died on the trail of a rabbit. I guess her heart just burst. She second was beautiful you dog called Ira.

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He was a natural. But, I came home one day and he was gone. I thought some one had stolen him, but now I believe that the cyotes got him. He may have been the best among the best.

.....Perhaps the gratest peril to a dog here today are the cyotes. I believe that they have killed a number of beagles here that were hunting on our hill. The dogs just disapeared with out a trace. Then, one of the neighbors said his dog was killed by a mountain lion. Although the state still denies that these cats exist, we know better.

..... I have had dogs over the years who would not come in the house. These were, and are, pure mountain dogs. They were tough and strong and had nothing in common with some town persons poodle. They earned their keep by protecting the garden from the deer. But, they all had a place in my heart...and they knew it.

.....Although the Highway is three tenths of mile away, down over the hill and across the railroad, it is a very real danger tomy four-legged friends. I had a little shitzpoo that my daughter gave me when Alex died and broke my heart. I had to go out of town and could not take hime with me. I am always afraid to leave a dog in the house for fear of the house buring. So, I had to tie him up. He got loose and went down on the road. He was hit. He almost made it back to the yard before he body quit. China Bear also went that way. It is not safe to let a dog go untethered. It is also not being kind to your neighbors.

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.............Little Bettsy was stolen,

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....This beautiful dog name Candy was poisioned by my wife's Uncle.

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.........My daughter's dog Little One was another breast cancer victem.

..........Misty, a wonderful part lab, is long gone but not forgotten.

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........Nubbins was my glourious Alex's only pup. He had his mother's beagle body but his Dad's stump of a tail.

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.......Tangy, another dog of the distant past, was a good dog.

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.....This is my friend Jasper's only son Elias Stone King. He is named for my 4th Great Grandfather. He is now a big but gentle dog. When it comes to a fight, he goes in with his tail wagging. He loves a tussel and is now King of the roost. Jasper used to wallow him, but one day Elias said, Enough is enough!" Before you knew it, Jasper was penned flat on his back with Elias wagging his tail above him." He is Mushie's son.

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..........Photo by Okey L. King

.....This is Molly. She is the only girl dog now on the Koenigsberg. But, she is getting old. Molly has one brown eye and one blue eye. She is a good girl.

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.....This is my daughter's family's four legged friend Rudy. He passed away suddenly on the Evening of December 3, 2011 leaving broken hearts.

Below are the pages of my extra special dogs:

Hello! I'm Alex,
and this is my story.

Alex's Farewell Comments and His Eulogy.

Hello I am Jasper Theodore and this is Mr. Scabbers.