Ghost
I can hardly believe it’s been a year since we lost our dear friend Ghost.
Where do I begin? Mike and I had moved to Tennessee in the summer of 2004, out in the country–the real honest to goodness country. It was a drastic change from living in Las Vegas. Our dogs absolutely loved their new lives–grass instead of rock, a real back yard and no more 110 degree summers.
We cherished the serenity of living in the country and often took walks down a meandering gravel road near our little blue country cottage. One afternoon Mike and I were taking one of those walks, when out of no where appeared a dog that began walking beside us, as if we were long time pals. He was white as snow with ice blue eyes and a cotton candy pink colored nose…still just a puppy. He immediately became the neighborhood dog, not living at any one house in particular. This went on for a few months until our neighbor, Arlene, decided to adopt Ghost. She put an ad in the newspaper to make sure he didn’t already have a family. No calls came, so Ghost became Arlene’s dog; although we still considered him to be a member of our family as did many of the other neighbors. Let’s face it, Ghost was not the type of dog to be owned by anyone. He had a free spirit and a love for adventure.
Ghost befriended almost every dog he met and it wasn’t uncommon for a stray dog to show up and off they would go on some dog adventure. Sometimes we wouldn’t see him for several days. Just as we would begin to worry that something had happened to him, there he would be, sitting on the front porch without explanation, looking as if he had been on vacation and was back for a much needed rest.
There was one time when Ghost was gone for about a week before showing up wounded with fang marks on his neck. He was weak and bleeding, but knew where to come for aide. Arlene was at work when he showed up. So Mike and I, along with another neighbor, decided he had to see a vet. “He’s been attacked by some dogs, probably bit bulls from the size of the fang marks”, the vet said as he cleaned his wounds. Within a few weeks Ghost was back to his old self, running like a mad man around our fence teasing our dogs with his freedom.
Another time Ghost’s leash got caught on Arlene’s bumper as she left for work and he was dragged for several yards before she realized. We thought he would be blind in one eye from the looks of it, but no, not Ghost. He was as tough as nails.
Ghost being a country dog had access to all sorts of dog loving stuff, like a fresh deer head which he found in the woods and thoroughly enjoyed for weeks. I think that skeleton is still around.
We had already moved to the other side of town when I had my first bout with breast cancer. But we continued to return at least once a week to spend time with Ghost. His friendship got me through it. He laid in my lap while we rocked back and forth on a weathered old porch swing as he looked up at me with those blue eyes of his, as if he understood all that I was going through. I’m certain he knew that I was hurting.
Sadly, Ghost was hit by a car as he crossed the road to see one of his many dog friends. Mike and I had planned our weekly visit to see Ghost. We still made that trip but we would visit his grave site instead. So you see, Ghost left an indelible impact on the lives of so many, especially mine.
Please consider making a donation to one of my favorite charities for homeless, abused or neglected animals in honor of this most gentle & loving dog, Ghost.
My friend Ghost.
Gale Compton
