Just read about Jake on Jaffe's blog...and my Pa was in turn reminded of another dog of mine... a long time ago.

A long time ago, when Pa was in pre-school, his brother and him found a cross-breed dog. Pa called him Dan X.

This was way before Dan X and Deb B which you might have read before... Dan X of Pa's childhood was the first one.

Pa says he remembers him clearly... he was a trusty dog with unbelievable intelligence. He was always regarded as a mutt for the kids until one day, he threw his entire weight onto my Grandmother's door, waking her up in the middle of the night.

When she opened her door, he grabbed her by her hand with his mouth and pulled her to a fire that was beginning to take place. With that one act, he saved the Farm thousands and thousands of dollars. Flammable materials were then all moved outside into the open. He was then fed the best food Pa's Grandma would cook for him.

Back then, kibble and doggie nutrition was at best a guessing game.

Like all farm dogs, he usually get into fights with other dogs and one day came back with a wound on his hind leg. It didn't seem to get better as usual and the fur was falling off.

Pa's father simply thought that it was just time for him. I guess back then Vet's weren't that great either. The Vet advised Pa's father to put him to sleep as he might worsen in the near future. Dan X according to Pa's father...seem to know that it was the end for him. My father held his paw as the Vet injected Dan X in the vein...and Dan X cried.

None of us knew what happened of course.

It was only when Pa's father found a bottle of kerosene that he remembered the old timer's remedy of pouring kerosene onto wounds to help heal it. Pa's Grandma who was trying to help Dan X, unwittingly caused his death. The kerosene most likely had created the hairloss as well.

Pa's daddy never forgave himself after that. He killed a perfectly healthy dog with a skin problem. Pa never had another dog until Dan X & Deb B...

I guess, life is incredibly short. We should all cherish whatever time we have together. Cause that is something we do not get back again. I'm 26.5kgs now...