The GRUMP

[hoarsewhisperer]

i never have any original stuff. This is from another forum poster who died last March. His writing for me was very moving. I love the message, and I'd like to share:

I had this friend, a mighty good friend in fact, who I just called Grump. I called him that because that’s what he was... a grouch. He didn’t like anyone when I met him. Hell he especially hated me. I kid around and tease which he was definitely not into, but I sort of understood that about him and lightened up. It’s hard to tell the difference between being harassed and played with sometimes. It all depends on how well you know the one teasing you.

When I met him he was tied to a dying chinaberry tree in a friend’s back yard...oh yeah Grump was a dog. I forgot to tell you that. He just seems like a friend in my mind. He was a big bony dog with a lot of pit bull, and pit bull attitude, in him. Someone had given him (gladly I’m sure) to my buddy because they couldn’t handle him. Hard as he tried, he couldn’t get close to Jaws after 3 weeks. He had to push the food pan, an old ford hubcap into his perimeter of death with a stick to keep from being bit. It was obvious that the dog had been mistreated terribly somewhere along the way. Every time I went to Gary’s house that damn dog acted like he wanted to kill me, but something about him was familiar and I knew it wasn’t hate but rather fear I saw in his eyes...(in between snaps and snarls that is).

Every day for almost 2 weeks I made a point to go to Gary’s house and sit down in the yard just out of Cujo’s reach like Foghorn Leghorn. I would talk to him calmly try not to look at him and only make eye contact now and then. I must have looked pretty ridiculous sitting there on that oak stump talking to myself. I didn’t try to buy him with food nor approach him in any way. I like having all my body parts, ya know. He seemed to have other ideas about that though

Sometimes I had only a few minutes to spare but I kept on. It was like some challenge I didn’t understand , but i knew what he needed even if he didn’t. I refused to give up, much to his frustration. I shudder to think of the things he wanted to do to me.

One Saturday morning I went to Gary’s to swap some lies and to schmooze the devil a little and found no one at home to bullshit, so I went to the back and sat in my usual place. Grump growled hello at me but for the first time didn’t show teeth. I didn’t pay much attention to that figuring he was just luring me in. Pfffft, nice try dog of death. I’m not as stupid as I look. Well I sat there talking to the dog like a fool and failed to notice that the devil was not only loose but had eased up behind me. He was straining forward cautiously sniffing of me like a pork chop on a boarding house plate and I guess trying to decide where to bite me first. I literally came close to pissing my pants when I realized that I was in the danger zone and that one wrong move could get me killed by this huge angry dog.

I don’t know why, but something in me just suddenly made me not afraid, not worry, not care or something. It was too late for that anyway. He had me dead to rights and we both knew it. I turned around (slowly) and put my back to him and went back to talking, ignoring him.. He must have thought I was crazier than him,.... I know I did. A strange thing happened though. He just made this sound like a surrender or a plea maybe. It felt like the first time someone says “I need you” and you know they really do. He laid down like a puppy next to me and never left my side again.

I never tied him after that , maybe that‘s why he trusted me, I don't know. He never strayed, nor bit anyone. Kids could roll on him and he understood that they were small. He protected them just like he did me. We were like brothers almost. He loved me and I loved him. He calmed down around people and never threatened anyone unless he thought they threatened me in some way.

We would go for long, sometimes overnight, hikes in the woods, just the two of us. He chased every living creature he could but never tried to hurt any of them. When I camp I don’t use a tent and just put my sleeping bag down by the fire. He would lay there all night at my feet, growling occasionally at some spook, real or imagined, and I promise I never worried about boogers. He was just a good dog that’s all.

A couple of years ago we went on expedition in the big woods. We had a great day and were both exhausted long before dark came. I set up camp, we ate dinner together and listened to the night woods talk. The next morning I got up to make some coffee and ol grump didn’t stir. At first I thought he was just tired so I didn’t even try to break camp. I wasn’t in any hurry and figured we both needed the rest. Well it wasn’t long before I realized that Grump was in a bad way. We were way too far out in the sticks for me to carry him for help and I couldn’t get him up. I thought about making a sled to pull him home on, but I saw in his eyes what he already knew. It was his time. I know this sounds funny talking about a dog this way but to me he was a friend...not just a dog.

I’ll never forget the way he looked at me while i sat there saying goodbye the very same way I had come to know him......talking softly trying not to look at him and making eye contact only now and then. That’s where the trail ended for me and Grump. I buried him there where he had been so happy. It’s hard but I still camp there once in a while, hoping my friend will come back. I guess they never do. I just know how it feels to be left behind or forgotten by a friend...........don’t you?

just food for thought

[Tee]

Thanks for that story. That hit home cause I just lost my 17 year old friend a month ago. His name was Tee.

[hoarsewhisperer]

Originally Posted by Tee

Thanks for that story. That hit home cause I just lost my 17 year old friend a month ago. His name was Tee.

awwwww, a cat lover, so are we......

thanks for the affirmation Tee.... a loss of a longtime pet is like losing a family member for sure!

[K C Muffin]

That absolutely WAS a well-written story. We have a very old dog that one of these days...... Thanks for sharing, hoarsewhisperer!